Jamie Durie joins revitalise Townsville campaign
Date published: 28 February 2017
International horticulturalist and landscape designer Jamie Durie is lending his weight to Townsville’s campaign to refresh the city’s image.
Mr Durie is in Townsville as part of the work the Townsville City Council is doing through Pure Projects to reposition the city as an investment and lifestyle capital for northern Australia.
He’s been busy over the past two days meeting community groups, hearing from locals and inspecting key areas of the city from the ground and in the air.
“Townsville is a location people are talking about as a city on the go,” Mr Durie said.
“Experience tells you that nothing is more important than local knowledge so I’ve been listening keenly to what people are saying about their city.
“I’ll be working closely with the local community and the council’s environmental staff and contributing to the plan in any way I can.
“I’ve seen some terrific gardens and open spaces and can understand why people love The Strand so much. This project is looking at providing a broader vision for beautifying and reactivating key locations in Townsville and I feel privileged to be involved.
“Obviously water is a big issue with the current drought and designing low water use landscapes in a dry tropics area like this is really the key to long term success.
“I’ve designed landscapes in placed like Arizona, Mexico and Dubai, and nothing comes much drier than that.
“In a city like Townsville there are endless opportunities to create well designed, low water use areas that activate places and show the wider community what can be achieved.”
Townsville’s Deputy Mayor Cr Les Walker said Mr Durie’s visit was a boost for the city.
“Having Jamie involved is great for the city. He’s enthusiastic about Townsville and that’s great for the project and also for talking up the city where ever he goes,” Cr Walker said.
“It shows that Townsville is on the radar for a lot of influential people and it’s great to have Jamie on board to work with locals to promote the city and water efficient landscaping.”
The council announced the engagement of Pure Projects earlier this month to work with local stakeholders and groups on a masterplan to refocus and revitalise the city.
