The Cobar Iron Ringer committee met again last week to further discuss their plans for an Iron Ringer monument which aims to be a celebration of the Iron Ringer identity.
The committee has been looking into the history of the Iron Ringer, a privileged title, which can only be given to people who were born in Cobar.
The idea came about in the 1950s, with Co-bar-born Clarrie Pretty declaring that due to the transient nature of the population, to be a true local, an Iron Ringer, you needed to be born in Cobar.
Iron Ringer committee chair John Collins and a committee member (and a Cobar Iron Ringer) Demi Smith met with Cobar Shire Council general manager Peter Vlatko last week to update him on the committee’s plans for a monument.
“Peter was very receptive to what we dis-cussed and has ‘locked in’ the proposed site [adjacent to the Cobar Miners Memorial park] as it could fit in with further proposed devel-opments,” Mr Collins reported from the meet-ing.
Mr Vlatko advised council already has plans in place to clear the scrub on the eastern side of the Miner’s Memorial and develop it as a parking area.
They are also planning to construct a foot-path from the memorial park down to the Lewis Street/Barrier Highway intersection and an Iron Ring could easily be incorporated into that development.
As part of those plans along the path, there will also be a pedestrian crossing so people can cross the highway safely.
“We left the meeting feeling very positive,” Mr Collins said.
