The Atherton Tablelands in Far North Queensland is renowned for its natural wonders, from ancient rainforests to stunning waterfalls.
But the degradation of the region’s main town Atherton, particularly its central business district, has become an issue for locals.
Main Street in Atherton was once considered pretty enough to put on a post card but locals say it’s become unpresentable in recent years.. (Supplied: Centre for the Government of Queensland)
“Walk down the main street and there’s graffiti on the walls, the garbage bins were dirty, there are cigarette butts [everywhere],”
resident Cathy Duck said.
Locals felt the main street had lost the welcoming country charm for which the town was once famous.
The CBD was “untidy” and “uninviting”, said Ms Duck, who has lived there for more than 30 years.
“That’s no blame on the council … it’s very difficult to constantly maintain things.”
Atherton Enhancement Group committee member Cathy Duck wants locals to be proud of their town. (ABC Far North: Brendan Mounter)
Ms Duck was one of a handful of locals who, instead of walking past the problem, formed the Atherton Enhancement Group (AEG) with the goal of beautifying the town.
“Everybody can have a whinge but [we decided to] put our effort into what can we do to make it better, what can we do to improve it and what can we do to be proud of Atherton again,” Ms Duck said.
“The attitude was, ‘Let’s do something.’“
Sunday morning working bees have so far rallied more than 60 volunteers over two sessions focusing on removing graffiti, litter patrols and garden bed maintenance.
The Atherton Enhancement Group’s first working bee in April had 38 volunteers attend. (Supplied: Atherton Enhancement Group)
The monthly working bees will be ongoing in a bid to restore Atherton to its former glory, when it was named Queensland’s tidiest town back in 2004.
“It would give people a sense of pride and a sense of worth, if we’re able to do that again, it would be really important for our small country town,” Ms Duck said.
Untidy is unprofitable
Ben Stratton, a third-generation business owner, said an untidy CBD was not just a bad look, it was bad for business.
Atherton business owners hope cleaning up Main Street will encourage more Tablelands residents to shop locally. (Supplied: Atherton Enhancement Group)
“The difficulty in retail is how to get people walking in the door and they’re not walking in your door if they’re not walking your main street,” he said.
“It costs a lot more than people think.“
Mr Stratton said many Tablelands residents travelled to Cairns rather than shopping locally and he hoped a cleaner CBD would reverse that trend.
He also believed the town could better capitalise on the region’s tourist traffic, particularly the grey nomad and drive tourism markets.
“We want to encourage people to stay an extra day on the Atherton Tablelands rather than move on to somewhere else because it doesn’t look clean or tidy, or safe for that matter,” Mr Stratton said.
Atherton cafe owner Toni Casson says the volunteer clean-up crew has already made the town more noticieably presentable to visitors. (ABC Far North: Brendan Mounter)
Main Street café owner Toni Casson said she was already hearing positive feedback from customers since the AEG got to work.
“If you had have asked about a month ago, we were not getting the lovely comments that we get now,”
she said.
“When people from out of town come in and they’re happy to sit outside and look at what’s been done, it is worth its weight in gold to every business on the main street.”
Atherton Enhancement Group volunteers replanting planter boxes along Main Street in Atherton. (ABC Far North: Brendan Mounter)
Can-do community response
The AEG was formed following a public meeting last December that Tablelands Regional councillor Con Spanos called due to community sentiment that council was not doing enough to maintain the town.
More than 80 locals attended to voice their concerns and ideas on how to effect change.
Con Spanos says the Atherton Enhancement Group’s efforts show how much people care about the Tablelands town. (ABC Far North: Brendan Mounter)
Cr Spanos, whose division includes the Atherton CBD, has commended the group’s grassroots, solution-focused approach.
“There was a lot of [negative] social media out there and I just appreciate that they’ve come together now as a group … the ones that have been negative have generally jumped on board,” he said.
The AEG has been a whole-of-community approach.
The Atherton Enhancement Group’s mission is to beautify the Tableland’s town, starting with the main street and central business district. (ABC Far North: Brendan Mounter)
While the volunteers have rolled up their sleeves to do the dirty work, local businesses have donated cleaning supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE).
The Atherton Lions Club has also auspiced the group, meaning it’s covered under the local service club’s insurance.
“It’s a great, positive reflection of how people feel about their town,”
Cr Spanos said.
