Do it the Slim Dusty Way

STORY COURTESY OF THE MACLEAY ARGUS TUESDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2009

The Slim Dusty Way is a step closer to fruition. A feasibility project preparing a route development report is underway as are efforts to compile local stories and histories relating to Slim Dusty's music and heritage.

The 'Slim Dusty Way' is a proposed themed tourist route providing visitors with a truly Australian experience. It will travel from Nulla Nulla and Kempsey, Slim's birthplace, via Port Macquarie through Wauchope, Walcha and on to Tamworth, Australia's Country Music capital. Community and business representatives are invited to attend an open discussion and workshop on the proposed Slim Dusty Way tourism route later this month. The workshops are being facilitated by constultants developing a feasibility study of the proposed drive and this is your opportunity to provide direct input into the process. Workshops will include a discussion on the strengths and weaknesses of the proposed route, infrastructure and experiences, opportunities and threats to the community and industry utilising the Slim Dusty brand.

The process will also be used to identify a way forward for the tourism route, the roles in implementation and identify local champions for implementation. The session will run for two hours on Tuesday, October 27 from 9.30am to 11.30am at Kempsey Council Chambers.

The 'Slim Dusty Way' will build on Slim Dustys vision to show visitors the real 'country Australia', its people, its places, its culture and Australian country music, now more popular than ever.

SDW representatives at the Steering Committee meeting held at the Riverrun Cafe, Bellbrook.

L to R: Gemma Ward (Walcha Council), Doug Hunt (Kempsey Council), Sam Muller (Constultant), Bob McWilliam (Kempsey), Ian Flood (Kempsey), Joan Douglas (Tamworth), Rebel Thomson (Tourism Tamworth), Suzie Coulston (Consultant), Kathryn Yarnold (GM Slim Dusty Foundation), Melissa Killmore (Slim Dusty Foundation).