Berrigan Shire Council has received $300,000 in grant funding to assist with repairs at the aerodrome.
Delivered under the Australian Government’s Regional Airports Program, it will support runway resurfacing and line-marking renewal.
Work will not begin until after the Tocumwal Airshow, which was scheduled to be held next month and has now been postponed to April 10 next year.
And Berrigan Shire CEO Karina Ewer said it is only the beginning of council’s plans for the strip.
‘‘We’re seeking funding for a new lighting system, which is a very large undertaking,’’ she said.
‘‘Once it is touched it requires full upgrade to CASA (Civil Aviation and Safety Authority) standards which will require us to completely dig up the current system of lighting and fully replace it (wiring and all).
‘‘It is a major infrastructure project.’’
Eddie Madden, who has been operating out of the Tocumwal Aerodrome since 1976, said the airstrip attracts pilots from all over the country.
It also attracts international pilots, including from Denmark, Japan, China, Norway and the USA.
‘‘Not that you’d know it; pilots are a pretty unassuming bunch,’’ he said.
When Mr Madden first started using Tocumwal Aerodrome in 1976, he said it appeared vacant.
Over the last decade the facility has been improved to include new hangarage, a kangaroo fence Mr Madden said was ‘‘spectacularly effective’’ and an historical museum.
And he said while all investment in the facility is welcome, there needs to be a more intensive funding if the facility is going to stand the test of time.
He described the current funding model as ‘‘a decade of band-aid fixes’’ which, though effective in the short term, does little to ‘‘future-proof’’ the facility.
‘‘They (the federal government) could easily spend two or thee million on future-proofing,’’ he said.
Mr Madden welcomed a commitment from Berrigan Shire to continue investing in the aerodrome, and congratulated the council and community on creating the facility we see today.
‘‘The Tocumwal Aerodrome is a relic of the second World War, and was later gifted to the Berrigan Shire Council in a decrepit state,’’ he said.
‘‘When I first got here it looked vacant, now everything is pristine.’’
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