PM Anthony Albanese opens Yarrila Place, Coffs Harbour | Photos
Concerns of ugly protests were allayed as a massive, appreciative and gobsmacked crowd turned out for a community walk-through of Coffs Harbour’s new cultural and civic space, opened this morning by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
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Prime Minister Anthony Albanese held centre stage, but it was the bricks, glass and steel behind him that had a crowd of 1500 hankering to inspect.
Yarrila Place - Coffs Harbour’s edgy new cultural and civic space - was officially opened by the PM to much fanfare this morning.
The punters were a visual symphony cramming Gordon St, while much mention was made of the green-coloured building which all had come to see.
The soft colouring had pockets of keyboard warriors seeing red, but there were no apologies when Matthew Blair, BVN principal architect of the $82 million project, took the mic.
He noted he had come dressed as Yarrila Place - clad in green shirt and bone slacks.
“Everybody loves the colour,” he joked.
“(It’s the) colour of the ocean as the sun shines through it at sunset.”
Yarrila Place houses an incredible, interactive library spread across three of its five storeys, plus a museum and art gallery.
City of Coffs Harbour services will also be in situ, occupying the upper three floors.
Mr Albanese said he was “somewhat surprised” at the size of the crowd, noting he was no stranger to Coffs, having regularly visited his aunty and uncle who had a home at Arrawarra Headland, and being in town for a Cold Chisel gig back in the ’70s.
He praised the city’s “vision and courage” to press ahead with a building which its detractors claimed was an overreach for Coffs Harbour.
“This will reinforce Coffs as a cultural centre,” Mr Albanese said.
“Yarrila is an addition to the Australian story.”
Toward the end of the PM’s speech one man up the back hollered: “Go home, you mug”.
Even in a crowd of hundreds of beaming faces, there’s always one.
Mayor Paul Amos said the project had taken more than five years to deliver, and he paid tribute to his predecessor Denise Knight and her council for getting the concrete barrels rolling.
“Yes, it has polarised our community,” Mr Amos said in reference to those who opposed the building, even setting light to rates notices in demonstrations of protest.
But he stressed Yarrila - an Indigenous word for illumination or enlightenment - was there for all to enjoy.
City general manager Natalia Cowley - who MCed the ceremony - went further, labelling Yarrila as a “generational asset”.
Ms Cowley rounded on ill-informed talk on social media that the price-tag of the build had blown out.
“It’s on budget, it’s never been off budget and let’s get that straight,” she said.
“That’s how we roll.”
You could have almost queued the Chamillionaire hit single: They see me rollin’, they hatin’.
Ms Cowley said the cultural centre would be “a place where you will never be lonely ... and a digital playground for kids”.
That was certainly evident as the community milled through the cavernous premises - older folks enjoying the art gallery and wall-to-wall youngsters glued to the screens in the library.
Business Services director Steve Bayliss said residents could count on a superior experience in accessing city services.
“We look forward to welcoming the community in the brand-new customer service area in this impressive new building. Having all the city services under the one roof will make it infinitely easier for our customers to access the information or speak to the people they need,” Mr Bayliss said.
Planning & Communities acting director Ian Fitzgibbon was similarly upbeat about the new cultural facilities.
“The new Harry Bailey Memorial Library will be a place of wonder and discovery for our community, filled with unexpected treasures like board games, STEAM kits, and more,” Mr Fitzgibbon said.
“What excites me about Yarrila Arts and Museum (YAM) is our fresh approach to storytelling. Our permanent museum exhibition spans pre-European settlement to modern-day Coffs life, featuring everything from Gumbaynggirr culture to local history, including bananas, tourism, and nostalgia.”
Rob McKee, CEO of the builders Lipman, said the complex and bespoke project had been “enormously challenging”.
“It screams of creativity,” Mr McKee said.
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