Key Milestone to Secure Safe Drinking Water for Tabulam

JEFF GIBBS

Finding family far from home

Title: Chai Time at Cinnamon Gardens

Author: Shankari Chandran

Price: $21.25

Distributor: Booktopia By Samantha Elley

When I grow up to be a fully-fedged author, I want to be like Shankari Chandran.

I have to admit when I picked this book, I did so for the title. Who doesn’t love a good chai?

And the thought of having it in whatever Cinnamon Gardens were, sounded delightful. Turns out Cinnamon Gardens is a nursing home where residents have their own colourful histories, secrets, triumphs and disasters. Chandran introduces the reader to each of the characters in her lyrical, elegant and descriptive style showing how they have arrived there and what motivates their actions.

Many of the residents

The remote village of Tabulam in the Northern Rivers is on the brink of a transformative milestone, with plans underway for its frstever drinking water supply network. A $400,000 investment from Kyogle Council and the Australian Government’s National Water Grid Fund will kickstart early planning for the much-anticipated project.

The co-funded initiative will launch the preliminary business case for a three-stage construction project designed to provide a safe, clean, and reliable water supply to the village’s 500 residents, over a quarter of whom are Aboriginal.

Laying the Groundwork are from a non-white Australian background, adding a unique favour of experience, culture, practices and norms. Within their differences and as they overcome the obstacles they endure, they fnd trust, family, competitiveness, loyalty and not a few lighthearted moments.

As some of these relationships take a turn for the worst and a strong under-current of racism rears its ugly head, the residents of Cinnamon Gardens will have to learn to fght new battles. Will they be able to survive and what devastating consequences lie ahead?

Shankari Chandran was born in London to Tamil refugees from Sri Lanka. She grew up in Canberra and studied law at the University of NSW, later working as a human rights lawyer in London. Chai Time at Cinnamon Gardens was published in 2022 and won the 2023 Miles Franklin Award.

You can order your copy of Finding family far from home from www.booktopia.com.au effective solutions.

The early planning work will deliver detailed analysis and designs for the project, including:

• Stage 1: Hydrogeological investigations, bore construction, and land acquisition for a water treatment plant and reservoir.

• Stage 2: Utilization of Hall Bore as a raw water source, construction of a new reservoir, and connecting the supply network to village homes.

• Stage 3: Expansion of the water supply source to include Clarence River groundwater and upgrading the treatment plant to accommodate future population growth.

The new funding builds on a 2021 scoping study, funded by the NSW Government, which explored various infrastructure options to identify the most

A Lifeline for Tabulam Currently, Tabulam residents rely entirely on rainwater tanks for drinking and household use, leaving the community vulnerable to water scarcity during droughts. This lack of critical infrastructure has hindered economic growth and driven population decline, with the village losing about 20% of its residents since 2011.

The water supply project, alongside plans for a new town sewerage system, aims to reverse these trends by providing essential services and paving the way for longterm community growth and prosperity.

Voices of Support

NSW DCCEEW

Executive Director of Infrastructure Development, Lisa Hingerty, emphasized the signifcance of the project:

“Every person in NSW deserves clean and reliable drinking water, whether you’re from Sydney or live in one of our most remote communities. This project is a game changer for the hundreds of people who call Tabulam home. Locals have been crying out for this essential infrastructure for decades, and this funding is a signifcant step toward making that a reality.”

Kyogle Council Mayor Danielle Mulholland hailed the project as a landmark achievement:

“This is a landmark project for our community, over 70 years in the making. These early planning works are a big tick for Tabulam, setting the village on the path to its frst secure water supply network. The benefts will be enormous, from improving health and wellbeing to supporting economic growth and development.”

Looking Ahead

The preliminary business case is expected to be completed by mid to late 2025, moving the project closer to construction. Once realized, the water supply network will provide a secure, treated drinking water source to Tabulam residents, meeting the village’s needs for decades to come.

For more information, visit the project website.