Westonia Primary School Camp Facility

Westonia Primary school was officially closed in 2014 in it's 100th year of first opening. 100 year Cellebrations were held in March 2014 where past Students, Teachers, Principals, Staff, Bus Drivers, P&C members and Community were invited back to the school grounds. Past and present patrons of the school enjoyed reminiscing over memorabilia, listening to insightful speakers, cutting of the cake and much more. The Cellebrations were held from midday into the evening and Westonia saw well over 400 visitors to cellebrate and farewell the end of an era.

Shared Value Project – Camp School

This Shared Value Project is a proposed partnership with the Shire of Westonia, Westonia Progress Association and Westonia Community Resource Centre to establish ‘Camp Westonia’. ‘Camp Westonia’ will be a multi purpose camp facility comprising approximately 40 bedrooms, kitchen and dining rooms, and recreation facilities, proposed to be established at the Old Primary School Site in the town of Westonia.

  • Camp Westonia will be utilised for a variety of uses including:
  • Hosting school and school holiday camps
  • Accommodation for tour groups
  • Hosting “At Risk” community camps
  • Accommodation for tourists (in particular, ‘grey nomad’ travellers)
  • Accommodation for sporting and recreation clubs and groups
  • Accommodation for events

Additionally, it is anticipated that recycled waste water from Camp Westonia will be used to water the Eremophila Retinosa translocation site number 2.

Project Objectives

The Camp Westonia Shared Value Project will assist the Shire of Westonia to be resilient, to thrive and to be sustainable in the long term.

This Project will assist to develop the capability of people in the local community to deal with transition and adaptation, and enhance levels of social capital. It is future focussed, because the benefits of Camp Westonia will flow for years to come. It is flexible and adaptable – the campsite can be used to service a number of different users – tourists, school groups, event attendees, Evolution staff – and can be used to offer a variety of accommodation services.

The main economic drivers in Westonia are mining and agriculture. The lack of infrastructure in the area is one of the main limitations on economic diversification. Camp Westonia will provide sorely needed infrastructure that will facilitate expansion of tourism in Westonia, which is identified in the Wheatbelt Development Commissions’ Central East Sub-Regional Economic Strategy (2015) as a key economic opportunity for the sub-region, as well as enhancing community amenity and liveability.

This Project is community driven. Westonia’s community leaders have been looking at ways to future proof the locality so that the booms are maximised and the impacts of the busts are eliminated or minimised.

The Project will deliver the following Outcomes:

  • Benefits to the local community through diversification of the local economy and increased levels of social capital, and enhanced amenity and liveability
  • Enhancement of local adaptive capacity through increased local employment, upskilling of local workforce and expanded local infrastructure
  • The adaptive reuse of a key piece of land in Westonia (Old Primary School Site) will provide vitality and diversity in the town
  • The adaptability of Camp Westonia will provide a long-term benefit to the local economy because its focus can change with economic and social factors.