The History of Bligh Park Community Centre

It was 1987 and the Bligh Park Estate was a new development approved by the Hawkesbury City Council.  The council realized a need for a centre to be built for the community’s residents to use. The Bligh Park Community Centre began with the building of the Bligh Park Neighbourhood Centre, 4 Sirius Road, Bligh Park.

The Centre was run by a Management Committee which consisted of local interested residents. In July 1990 the Committee received funds to hire a Community Development Worker through the Western Sydney Area Scheme and Bligh Park Community Service Inc (BPCSI) was born. The role of the worker was to provide low cost services to the community as well as act as a referral for other community organizations. Fortunately this role was seen as vital by the Department of Community Services (DoCS) and in 1992 they funded the Community Development Worker through the Community Services Grants Program. DoCS continues to be the major funding body of BPCSI to this day.

In 1994 it became obvious that it was time to expand. Bligh Park was booming with it’s population almost doubling. Due to the lack of facilities at the northern end of the estate it was agreed that a new centre should be built to cater for this growing area. In September that year we saw the creation of the Tiningi Community and Youth Project. The service was also given extra money by DoCS to develop new projects including the Youth Project and the Before and After School Care Project and the Vacation Care Project. The residents of Bligh Park and South Windsor now had an all round service catering to a wide range of needs.

BPCSI today boosts eight full and part time workers with a number of casuals and volunteers on the books.  The service has grown from it’s humble beginnings of a few volunteers to an organized and functioning not for profit organization, thanks to the many dedicated staff and volunteers throughout the years.

The organisation is now responsible for the care, control and maintenance of Bligh Park Neighbourhood Centre, Tiningi Community Centre and Tiningi Youth Centre. The organization is also responsible for the three major projects dedicated to providing an affordable and much needed service to the local residents of Bligh Park and South Windsor, these include:

All the above-mentioned projects and responsibilities are the duty of the Bligh Park Community Service Management Committee, which is elected at the Annual General Meeting each year.  The Management Committee volunteer, as little or as much time as necessary and are represented by local residents who have an interest in the welfare of the organization.
To help the decision making process each project has a Project Advisory Liaison (PAL) Committee. Each PAL consists of volunteers, management committee members and representatives from relevant organization with a vested interest in that particular area of BPCSI. The PAL acts as a sounding board for the staff and their expressed ideas and contributions before issues are taken to a management meeting.

If you wish to discuss anything in particular please use our contact form to submit your thoughts or contact us on 4572 5898