Fairbridge

Redeveloping an entire town is a daunting prospect but for a group of surveying students, helping with the upgrade of Fairbridge Village, it is a vital training experience.

Central TAFE surveying graduates recently made the trip down to Fairbridge in order to help with water management efforts in the village, an exercise that will have a real and lasting impact on the popular tourist village. Their visits over a week were the result of the partnership between TAFE and Fairbridge, which saw the students using their new found and developing skills in a live setting and Fairbridge trainees getting on board as well to learn surveying techniques.

The training and field traverse was lead by Central TAFE’s Mark Saggers who volunteered to train the Fairbridge team in using a level, filling out a booking sheet and gathering the data required to re-design a drain to divert water away from existing infrastructure.

The drain can now be modified to prevent Fairbridge’s workshop from rusting further and to increase efficiency of the flow of water toward main drains and eventually the South Dandalup River.

The heritage listed Fairbridge Village attracts hundreds of thousands of overnight visitors and day trips each year, and with about 50 buildings, requires ongoing renovation and upgrading. The village is also used as a ground for specialist skills training and programs for young people.