I have lived by choice in Narrandera all my life. My connections to community are strong as my grandfather was born here in 1881 and I was a town councillor for a total of 18 years and taught at the Narrandera High School for 22 years.

My feeling of pride in Narrandera is strong as I see householders and businesses improving their properties, surrounds and gardens.

Narrandera Shire Council also budgets for shire improvements to infrastructure and amenities including ovals, roadside verges, parks, playgrounds and sporting fields.

Whilst acknowledging that the old National Bank is privately owned, it is also one of many designated Heritage Listed buildings.

These Heritage listed buildings add to the character atmosphere and historic appearance of the town.

But in the main street there is currently an assault on the visual senses with a most anattractive blue and black tarp covering most of the old National Bank building. It has created a feeling of a backward hick town with limited community pride. The tarp has been there for a substantial amount of time and I have had many people comment to me about how ugly it is.

Recently, one of my friends had a visitor from overseas and wanted to show him the many attractions and amenities of Narrandera. She was totally embarrassed when her visitor enquired why such a beautiful building was covered with a blue tarp. No rational answer could be supplied by my friend and she and her guest moved on unimpressed.

Many in the community are asking the same question about the tarp. We can only make conjectures about the reasons. Some have heard it’s there to allow for drying out of the verandah – but rainfall has been so limited, that this area of the Riverina is currently in drought.

Because the building is in the well-lit main street, perhaps the blue tarp is there to block out street or car lights. If this is the case, perhaps the owner could install blinds inside her windows facing any light sources. This would solve lighting/sleeping problems, and keep the front of the Heritage building fully visible and impressive. The Rotary Club has gone to a great deal of time and effort to place pedestals with information and photos explaining the origin and usage of various sites and buildings. It must be frustrating for them to see their efforts of civic pride undermined by incongruent additions to these buildings.

In conclusion I, and many others, urge the owner of the old National Bank to show a positive sense of community and pride in Narrandera by removing the incongruous blue tarp and completing tasks to mitigate any problems that the tarp was supposed to solve. The challenge for the owner is to become a part of our proud community and not apart from the community.

We are all awaiting the day the now flapping tarp disappears and the main street is presented in all of its historic glory.

Narelle Payne