Orange’s tent town for fruit pickers is to be expanded to provide accommodation for up to 400 triathletes competing in the city in March.
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Backpackers have slept in 45 tents at the fenced-off site at the Colour City Caravan Park for about six weeks.
With the picking season ending the tents will be pulled down from Wednesday.
But 100 will be put up on the site in March to provide accommodation for competitors, officials, families and fans coming to Orange for the Triathlon NSW Club Championships.
Bathurst businessman Pete Crewes, who runs Tent Town that supplied the tents for the site known as The Foxhole, said it had been such a success he and the Orange City Council were looking to use the facility for other events.
The first will be the triathlon on March 18, which is the same weekend as the Rotary District Conference in Orange, stretching accommodation availability in town to the limit.
Mr Crewes said the tent town had “tidied up” the number of noisy incidents involving backpackers that led to local residents complaining during the previous year’s picking season.
“The amount of complaints has been absolutely reduced, which is good for the town and good for the region.”
He said having people stay in town was good for the local economy.
“If they are going to stay in the town they are going to spend money.”
Mr Crewes, who also supplied tents for spectators at the Bathurst 1000 car race, said the tents would fit up to four people each.
He said campers would be charged $280 per tent for the weekend and would be able to use the adjacent cooking facilities and amenities.
The backpackers were charged from $15.50 a night but Mr Crewes said that was a trial price subsidised by council to get the tent town started.
Mr Crewes said he would again pay local scouts to erect and pull down the tents, giving them a valuable fund-raising exercise.
The triathlon championships will be held at the new course at Gosling Creek reservoir and are expected to attract 2000 competitors and volunteer officials from 50 clubs across NSW.
The races will consist of a 1km swim, a 30km bike ride and an 8km run.
Triathlon NSW CEO Phil Dally had previously praised the course.
David Fitzsimons
I am a senior journalist at the Central Western Daily concentrating on council, government and real estate issues. Before moving to Orange I filled senior roles at the Daily Telegraph, Daily Telegraph-Mirror and the Daily Mirror in Sydney. They included being an editor, news editor, chief of staff and reporter.
I am a senior journalist at the Central Western Daily concentrating on council, government and real estate issues. Before moving to Orange I filled senior roles at the Daily Telegraph, Daily Telegraph-Mirror and the Daily Mirror in Sydney. They included being an editor, news editor, chief of staff and reporter.
