Working for St Bathans

St Bathans' Blue Lake. Photo from ODT files.

Protecting the special nature and ambience of St Bathans is the aim of the settlement's community association.

Established in 2005 by initial chairman Earl Harrex and then-secretary Graye Shattky, the association was formed to address a growing awareness of the need to protect the village's character.

It has also helped community members provide a constructive, representative voice in dealing with other organisations, including the Central Otago District Council and the New Zealand Historic Places Trust.

Secretary Euan Johnstone, whose wife, Ann, now chairs the association, said the nomination was a surprise.

"It is good to have some recognition of what we are doing."

Mr Shattky said buildings, amenities and cherished areas such as the town hall, public toilets, village domain and the Blue Lake provided the focus for association members.

"We were accepting of future change, but felt there needed to be some control of what happened in the village. We wanted to ensure the special nature and ambience of St Bathans was protected."

He said while Doc was responsible for many of the village's public facilities and recreation areas, it agreed to work with the community association so such amenities could be properly managed.

Doc and the association signed a joint management agreement this year which formalised their relationship and prioritised projects for the village.

Mr Shattky said the town hall was top of the list, which also included the restoration of some old public changing rooms and toilets, plus the preservation of the Blue Lake and an area of Doc-administered land behind St Bathans.

"The town hall was in a bad state of repair and Doc was spending a lot of money on it. We wanted it to be a centre of our community so Doc agreed we could jointly manage it with them.

"Doc remained responsible for it but, from a community point of view, we looked after who used it and took bookings within agreed guidelines," Mr Shattky said.

The association had an existing arrangement with Doc for a caretaker to look after toilets in the town hall and manage rubbish and the ablution blocks at the domain camping ground during peak holiday times.

Mr Shattky said the overall management agreement was in essence an extension of such dealings.

Doc's Central Otago conservancy staff nominated the association for an award, which Mr Shattky said was a positive reflection of the relationship between the association and the department.