The Cobar Iron Ringer committee has suffered a small setback in their efforts to build an Iron Ringer monument.
Iron Ringer committee chair John Collins said the committee was unsuccessful in their application to obtain grant funding from the NSW Government’s 2022/23 Arts & Cultural Funding Program to help with the building costs.
The Cobar Iron Ringer committee was formed in 2021 with the aim of preserving the Iron Ringer identity.
The Iron Ringer term was coined in the late 1950s by Clarrie Pretty as “a badge of honour” given to people born in Cobar.
The committee came up with a plan to build an Iron Ringer monument to celebrate Iron Ringers and a site for the monument (adjacent to the Cobar Miners Memorial Park) was chosen last year.
Local artist Peter Rogers drew up a concept plan, the land was sorted, a quote for construction was procured from local business, KML Industries, and Cobar Shire Council agreed to co-fund the build.
Mr Collins said they were disappointed to have missed out on grant funding.
“It would have been nice to get a bit of a helping hand,” John said.
He said the committee is however still keen to forge forward and will meet next week to discuss fundraising ideas.
