Lower Creek, one of the smallest communities in the New England region, has found itself at the centre of attention, with Federal Member for New England Barnaby Joyce praising locals for their determination and persistence in securing vital infrastructure.
Lower Creek sits on the edge of the Armidale and Kempsey council areas, right in the middle of the section of the Kempsey Armidale Road that has been closed to all but local traffic for some time. Isolated and often cut off from both sides, the small but tight-knit community of 60 to 80 people is frequently forgotten.
Mr Joyce said the settlement had been one of the most determined lobbyists of his office.
“It is a community of 60 to 80 people in a very remote corner of Australia in the hills and gorges between Armidale and Kempsey,” Mr Joyce said.
“They have done a pretty good job for themselves, however, having gained over the last eight years the greatest amount of funding for a council road in Australia.”
Close to half a billion dollars has been allocated to the massive project to rebuild the Kempsey to Armidale Road.
The road that links the community to the rest of the region and to the coast has been plagued by drought, bushfires, and floods, leaving sections crumbling with sheer drops of up to 700 metres to the valley floor. At one point, government officials even suggested buying residents out and relocating them, a proposal that was firmly rejected.
“Unsurprisingly, most locals didn’t want to leave their home, so we fought with them for funding for the road and we eventually got it. It will be quite an engineering feat, but it will get fixed,” Mr Joyce said.
“Additionally, a further $1.1 million [has been] allocated for a community hall. This was after the area was devastated by bushfires back in 2019, which almost removed the village from the map, and, tragically, one person was killed.”
The new Lower Creek Community Hall, officially opened this week by Armidale Regional Council, was built with funding from the Australian Government’s Black Summer Bushfire Recovery Grants Program. The facility will serve as both a hub for community gatherings and a critical base for emergency services during natural disasters.
Mayor Sam Coupland said the hall was a significant step in strengthening local resilience.
“Lower Creek Hall is not only a physical place where the community can gather and socialise, but an investment in infrastructure that assists disaster preparedness and recovery in our region,” said Mayor Coupland.
Mr Joyce said the difficulties faced by Lower Creek reminded him of his own childhood in a similar New England community.
“You always felt the government had completely forgotten about you, because they generally had, except when they wished to impose a new regulation on you and how you carve out an income in these tougher areas with the very limited public resources you have,” he said.
While he acknowledged ongoing challenges for the community, Mr Joyce said the combination of road upgrades and the new hall would provide a lifeline for residents who had endured repeated disasters and years of neglect.
“This is not a wealthy district; it is a resilient and tough district,” he said.
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