IT has a population of zero but landholders in the Boolba district are hoping the Australian public will get behind their quest to win the MLA sponsored Beef Brigade competition.
The Boolba Tennis Club, located 50km west of St George, has been named as one of nine national finalists, putting them in the running to receive a $10,000 upgrade to their clubhouse.
Queensland is well represented in finals with five other national finalists hailing from Queensland.
These include the Windorah Post Office, the East Creek Community Centre in Toowoomba, the Laidley Skate Park, the Chermside Bowls Club and Ipswich Grammar School. Entries can be viewed on the You're Better On Beef Youtube channel.
Each entrant had to answer two questions: Why are you and your community better on beef and what community project would you nominate the beef brigade to work on in your town?
The best nine entries were filmed and the public is now being urged to go to the Beef Brigade website to view the videos and vote for their favorite project.
In addition to the grand prize of $10,000, three runner-ups will receive $5000 each.
Sue Hurford, Belgaum, St George, made the application on behalf of the Boolba Tennis Club which hosts fortnightly meets for local landholders.
She said the facilities at Boolba had been managed by the Boolba branch of the Country Women’s Association (CWA) which was sadly disbanded recently due to a lack of members.
“The management of Boolba has now been handed over to the Tennis Club and we can see that our expenses are going to be our biggest issue going forward,” Ms Hurford said.
“We are really hoping we win so that we can put the money towards a solar electricity system as electricity is one of our biggest costs.”
Ms Hurford said the facilities at Boolba were used by a large number of people and were very much part of the fabric of the local community.
“If the Shire Council or AgForce want to run a meeting out here, that’s where they do it,” she said.
“The Tennis Club meets once a fortnight and we also have lessons for the kids but we also use the facility to hold lots of social occasions like international food nights and Christmas events.
“It’s certainly a sad occasion in terms of history but all the CWA members are also Tennis Club members and their main concern is that the facility continues to operate for the community.
“If we are lucky enough to win this competition and get solar power then the facility will be there for a long time to come.”
Ms Hurford said some club members were concerned that, given their small population, Boolba might struggle to attract the votes needed to win the Beef Brigade competition.
“It’s going to be hard competing against some centres with larger populations so we are really hoping everyone will get behind us and vote,” she said.
Voting opened on September 1 via www.beefbrigade.com.au
