September 8th, 2025Park still under threat
Hepburn Shire Council will continue to investigate whether the bequested Rea-Lands Park in Raglan Street, Daylesford can be sold as surplus property.
This is despite her son Stefan Rea, a former Daylesford Police Officer for 10 years, telling The Local (in the last edition) that his mother asked for it be “bequeathed to the mayor, councillors and citizens of the Shire of Daylesford for the use and benefit of the citizens of Daylesford and for it to be named Rea-Lands Park”.
The possible sale of the land arose when Cr Lesley Hewitt moved a motion at the July Council meeting for an investigation into whether the land could be sold.
Cr Hewitt said at the time it was clear Mrs Rea thought community was at the heart of everything she did. “And then the question is, what’s community benefit?”
When The Local contacted Cr Hewitt last week to ask if the motion could be halted because of opposition from the family and many in the community, she said: “The details about Betty Rea’s bequest including any information about her intention in making the bequest will be included in the officer’s report on the property.”
Patrick Jones, who heads the Daylesford Community Gardeners, said after the council first tried, and failed, to sell the land in 2011, he facilitated the planting of a community orchard at the park land in the same year.
“From 2012 we had a lease with council with the arrangement they got to advertise their support and partnership with community gardeners (as promotion of them being a ‘sustainability-focused’ council) in exchange for them waiving the costs for water use and lease, and regular mowing.
“After we established this and other community gardens in Daylesford, council flyers then presented in their brochures an impression that the community gardens were the work of the council working with the community.
“The actual story is that we did all the work and had to persuade council to back us through a series of actions, including having Costa (Gardening Australia) come and open the library garden that council at the time was trying to evict us from.
“We had this arrangement for several years until new council officers, without any prior understanding of the exchange, made the demand we paid for those items.
“I sent a letter to council saying, because council uses ‘community gardens’ on their literature and flyers, we would like to keep the agreement as an exchange. I never heard back from council. Since 2012 there has been continual community tending of Rea-Lands Park. Many people, locals and tourists alike, use this garden. Picnics, berry picking, working bees, birthday parties and other celebrations, and pruning and gardening workshops have taken place at Rea-Lands Park. The avocado trees are starting to mature and many existing trees were planted by Daylesford’s ancestors and they are significant trees.” Words: Donna Kelly
Image: Betty Rea’s son Stefan Rea plants jostaberry under the watchful eye of Daylesford Community Gardener Anita McKone, at a planting day last month.
Image: Debora Semple
