‘Do it ourselves’: Chamber president calls for community self-reliance, flags developer interest in CBD

Nambour Chamber of Commerce president Mark Bray told members at the Coffee Catch Up on Thursday (Sept 4) the fastest way to lift the town was to get hands-on, not wait on others.

Referencing the immediate impact that Sunday’s (August 31) Big Spring Clean had on the Nambour CBD Mr Bray urged the community to become pro-active in supporting similar community-led, constructive events.

“I think as a community we’ve got to do some of these things ourselves to get them going,” he said. “We can wait and ask other people to do them or suggest that other people do them, but I think we need to go out there and do it ourselves – it’ll get done straight away. It’s not a big deal. We can devote a few hours. So I'd urge people where they get the opportunity to actually get out there and, if the town's doing something constructive, go and support it. It’s easy to sit down and make commentary about issues in town, but … we need to support these initiatives.”

Town steeped in history

Hosting the event at the Nambour Museum prompted a broader reflection. “The history in this building is absolutely amazing,” Mr Bray said.

He said the history of the Sunshine Coast began in hinterland towns like Nambour. “I just think it’s fantastic that we hold all of these records at Nambour Museum. Because this is where the Sunshine Coast originated. This is where the history was, this is where the Sunshine Coast started. The beachsides were sort of outposts of what was going on in Nambour and the hinterland.”

Investor confidence

Mr Bray, a former commercial lawyer, shared some inside information about recent strong investor interest in Nambour CBD sites which he saw as a sign of confidence in the town.

“Some investors are looking at putting business into Nambour and it’s exciting to see that these people obviously have as much confidence in the town as we do,” he said. “There's been a bit of information recently that some investors may have signed a contract to buy a parcel of land in the centre of town. I'm not sure if that's unconditional, but what I'm excited about is that some investors from out of Nambour, who are well-regarded, are looking at putting business into Nambour. It's exciting for me to see that some of these people obviously have as much confidence in the future as we do. I thought it was great that developers are looking at the town.”

Looking ahead, Mr Bray flagged an expanded Coffee Catch Up on 2 October at Nambour Cinema, with council CEO John Baker speaking. “If you can get to a coffee catch up, this is one to come to,” he said.

Chamber President, Mark Bray “I'd urge people where they get the opportunity to actually get out there and, if the town's doing something constructive, go and support it.”