THE Birpai Land Council’s outdoor kitchen and community garden, in Aston Street in Port Macquarie, was officially opened by Federal Lyne MP Dr David Gillespie last Friday.
The event was attended by members of the community and hundreds of school children.
One of the highlights was a three-way barbecue cook off between Dr Gillespie and Aboriginal elder and chairman of the Birpai Land Council Uncle Bill O’Brien and Cr Justin Levido. The competition was tight, but Dr Gillespie’s lamb won the day.
“My lamb kebabs served on a bed of rocket and dressed with balsamic glaze and yoghurt were well received along with Uncle Bill and Justin’s beautiful barramundi dishes,” Dr Gillespie said.
Dr Gillespie was also given the honour of putting the rooster in the new chook house built by the Hastings Men’s Shed.
A Close the Gap event was also organised in conjunction with the opening by Port Macquarie-Hastings Council and the Birpai Land Council.
Close the Gap is a national campaign aimed at achieving health equality between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and non-Aboriginal Australians.
Council Healthy Communities co-ordinator Maya Spannari said Friday’s Close the Gap event was aimed primarily at local high school and primary school students as well as members of the Aboriginal community. A number of organisations promoted their services on the day as well as offering craft and physical activities.
The outdoor kitchen and community garden were funded through council’s Move Eat Live Well program, which has been funded by the Australian Government, and delivered in partnership with the Land Council, the Birpai Men’s Group and the Hastings Men’s Shed. The community garden project has also been supported by Remondis (through the donation of soil) and Port Macquarie Community Gardens Incorporated.
The outdoor kitchen will be used as part of the Move Eat Live Well program to run cooking classes and demonstrations while the community garden will provide healthy produce for the use in the cooking classes.
