Northcliffe Interpretative and Cultural Centre (NICC) Project

The Northcliffe economy has been impacted upon as a result of restructuring in the timber industry. To assist in revitalising the economic and social decline of the district, the Northcliffe community has worked tirelessly to establish a major facility, the Northcliffe Business and Cultural Centre.

The organising group, the Northcliffe Interpretive and Cultural Centre Inc (NICC), hopes the Centre will inspire new people to go and live there, and encourage existing people to stay. The same group has the support of local residents, as evidenced at six public meetings and significant correspondence supporting the concept and offering contributions towards it.

Plans for occupancy of the Centre include re-location of the Telecentre (currently in a mill house 1.5kms out of town), the library and the tourist centre, as well as accommodating other tenants including CALM, commercial services including accountants, environmental consultant, health specialists and other visiting services, the environment centre, display of the George Gardner Rock Collection and an Aboriginal Artefacts collection, and visiting art, museum and film exhibitions.

SWDC has assisted the Northcliffe community's efforts by providing funding for concept and draft architecture plans. Commission staff have assisted NICC to submit an application for Collocation funding to the Department of Local Government and Regional Development. The group is also waiting the outcome of other grant applications.

SWDC staff are working closely with the South West Area Consultative Committee (SWACC) in finalising an application for Regional Assistance Program funding and are waiting the outcome of Regional Solutions funding from the (Commonwealth) Department of Transport and Regional Services. A further application for Rural Transaction Centre (RTC) funding and finalisation of a Business Plan are currently being undertaken in conjunction with the RTC Regional Coordinator and NICC.

The NICC building became the Northcliffe Information and Visitor Centre and was officially opened on 25th November 2007.

Source: South West Development Commission Web site:

Community Development Group meeting was held
9am Wednesday 28 August 2002 at the Clem Collins Centre.
For those who volunteered at the meeting on 29 July and anyone else willing to contribute some time to different Northcliffe projects and sharing ideas.

Report of public meeting
to plan the future of Northcliffe held on Monday 29th July 2002 , Northcliffe

The meeting was held in the Clem Collins Building to explore opportunities for young people, building employment in the area and developing a plan to promote Northcliffe as a great place to be.

Stories of Successful Small Towns
Click the heading for a page contibuted by Ken Moore which describes successful ventures in small towns that may provide ideas for Northcliffe's future.

The Northcliffe Trading Post has been taken over by Kevin and Roz Dwyer and Tom Fahey. The Northcliffe Supermarkert and the Northcliffe Trading Post will trade as the
Northcliffe Newsagent and General Store. The two businesses will be merged into one in the current Trading Post Building
Photo: Original Northcliffe Supermarket and Newsagency Building

Farewell, good luck and a hearty thanks to John and Yvonne Stuurstraat who are well known and respected for their friendly and helpful service at the Northcliffe Trading Post over the last ten years.
It's off to enjoy a new life in Tasmania with their teenage sons. No more seven day trading, but they will carry with them many interesting tales and memories of Northcliffe residents.

State Government releases proposed boundaries for three new national parks 3/7/02

Indicative boundaries for three new national parks in the State's South-West were announced by the State Government today as part of its ambitious Protecting Our Old Growth Forest policy.

The parks are part of 30 new national parks to be created after the Government delivered on its promise to protect all remaining old growth forests. Environment and Heritage Minister Dr Judy Edwards said the proposed parks were Greater Dordagup, east of Pemberton; Jane, north-east of Northcliffe; and , south-east of Northcliffe.

"The three proposed new parks extend over more than 24,200ha and include extensive areas of old-growth forest in-line with the Government election policy commitments," Dr Edwards said. "The inclusion of these areas in the conservation reserve network will not only honour the Government's commitment; it will give communities such as Northcliffe an opportunity to develop a range of nature-based tourism and recreation activities, secure in the knowledge that these areas will be reserved for future generations."

Dr Edwards said a community advisory committee would be set up to assist in determining the final boundaries of the proposed parks, as well as laying the foundations for proposed management plans.

"The boundaries are indicative only and have been prepared to take into account conservation values, as well as management issues such as access," she said. "Where possible, the boundaries have been aligned along existing tracks or natural features."

Details of the proposed three new parks are: Greater Dordagup - 6,410ha (including approximately 240ha of the existing Sir James Mitchell National Park) comprising: 260ha of Curtin block; 1,080ha of Dordagup block; 40ha of Murtin block; 1,200ha of Nairn block; 2,230ha of Poole block; 1,510ha of Sutton block; and 90ha of Westcliffe block.

The proposed park contains more than 4,500ha of old-growth forest and is dominated by jarrah and marri and tall open karri forest, with an understorey of banksia, persoonia, bossia and acacias. The area is habitat for quokkas, chuditch, brushtail and western ringtail possums, brush wallabies and phascogales.

Jane - 6,860ha (including 4,850ha of old-growth) comprising: 6,740ha in Jane block; 70ha of State forest in Poole block - that is a patch of old-growth forest next to Jane block; and 50ha of State forest in Muirillup block - that is a patch of old-growth forest also next to Jane block.

Dr Edwards said the Government's policy had referred to the proposed Jane National Park extending over 7,420ha. However, this figure had included 850ha of the forest block that already was incorporated into the adjoining Shannon National Park (53,500ha). The proposed Jane National Park is dominated by jarrah and marri and tall open karri forest and the understorey of banksia, casuarina, acacia and water-bush provides suitable habitat for a range of native animals including quokkas, possums, wallabies, phascogales and woylies.

Boorara-Gardner - 10,980ha (including 4,320ha of old-growth) comprising: 5,000ha of Gardner block (the rest of the block outside Shannon National Park); 1,810ha of Boorara block; 270ha of Babbington block; 2,940ha of Northcliffe block; 170ha of Muirillup block; and 790ha not in a forest block.

Dr Edwards said the Muirillup Conservation Park, which had been proposed in the 1994 Forest Management Plan, had been incorporated within the boundaries of the proposed new park. The proposed park encompasses extensive areas of old-growth karri forest, as well as sedgelands and heaths, with islands of jarrah, marri and karri with habitat for native species such as quokkas and brush wallabies. Maps of the indicative boundaries are available on the Department of Conservation and Land Management's website, NatureBase, http://www.naturebase.net

Minister's office: 9220 5050