Marketing dilemma
WE must ask the council, what will the marketing strategy will be when the Our Place sits in the Pioneer Settlement site?
It will be interesting to see how this tragedy will be sold to the visitor.
Big marketing challenge.
More questions that will not be answered?
How do you market a folly? How do you promote an unauthentic complex? Can you get excited about graffiti (all be it a very expensive one) on a heritage landscape.
Will you promote the art gallery separately from the Pioneer Settlement? People are not going to travel to see a confused message.
Let’s hope the council has an expert marketing team.
The tourist entrepreneurs will have to be convinced, and they are very discerning about what they sell, and the feedback will not be good.
The proposed changes will not be accepted. How can you sell to visitors when it is cannot be sold to the locals?
The most famous heritage sites in the world endure because of the authenticity, world tourism authorities have proved this.
It has been denied there is any heritage value in the Pioneer Settlement. Tell that to people who have donated family treasures, and to the professionals who were involved in the establishment of the village. Tell that to our architects and designers. Pioneer Settlement was designated to be an educational facility with first promotions to schools.
The first grants were from the education department.
It naturally followed that once the children came, the parents would follow, and this proved to be correct until the aims of the settlement were changed.
Thanks to the volunteers, it has continued to operate.
It is said that the settlement must move forward. Of course, but by enlarging on the current theme.
Originally, Pental Island was to be a living farming exhibit demonstrating the evolving of farming, using heritage farming methods, milking cows by hand, separating and making butter.
Feeding poddy calves, and pet lambs, ploughing with horses demonstrating why the stump jump plough was invented, and steam tractors, sowing wheat and stocking and hay stack building.
The importance of irrigation to better and more diverse crops. All of these involve the visitor, show the children, by involving them, in the changes and educate them in Mallee farming history. Education.
It is often said we are losing our identity as Australians. Well, Pioneer Settlement is a chance to show children where we came from and how we coped with the trials on inland farming.
Many farming methods are unique to this area.
This is a farming community, we have this chance to honour our first settlers by demonstrating their strengths in overcoming severe weather and environment challenges, by being inventive, to become the wonderful food bowl we have today.
Do not let ignorance put aside the celebration of our Mallee settlers.
Continue to develop the settlement as it was intended, by enlarging and not taking away.
Name and address supplied.
