Getting out on the water will be made easier and more accessible for communities across Victoria, with 35 Recreational Boating Grants awarded to local ramp and waterway managers – improving the boating experience for all.
Minister for Outdoor Recreation, Sonya Kilkenny, and Member for Bellarine, Alison Marchant, today announced a $2.75 million investment in 35 projects that will improve facilities and undertake dredging to facilitate greater access during lower tides and water levels.
These grants have been awarded through the Andrews Labor Government Recreational Boating Structural Maintenance and Dredging and Access Grants programs and funded by the reinvestment of boaters’ recreational licence and registration fees.
Minister Kilkenny today visited Indented Head and Portarlington’s Steeles Rock boat ramp on the Bellarine Peninsula to see first-hand how this pair of grants will boost boating for locals and visitors.
At Indented Head, a Structural Maintenance Grant of $55,690 will upgrade the jetty with a new non-slip deck to improve boat access upon launching and retrieval. New walers will also be installed to increase impact protection to boats and the jetty and ageing capping on the timber structure will be replaced.
Further along the Peninsula, a Dredging and Access Grant worth $50,000 will be used by Bellarine Bayside to dredge several ramps including Steele’s Rocks at Portarlington, providing better access at a greater range of tides.
A further $18,375 will be used to upgrade jetty ladders at Steeles Rock and improve the ramp surface at nearby Point Richards to ensure they provide safe surfaces for boaters accessing their craft.
These grants have been awarded to 35 projects right across the state, from wheel stops at the Nelson boat ramp in the far south-west to improvements to the rock wall at Mallacoota’s Bastion Point, upgrades to a pontoon jetty on the Wimmera River at Dimboola and an upgrade to Turner Island boat ramp at Lake Eildon.