Balingup Community Web

Balingup Progress Association

Contacts:

President:   Jodie Hornum
Secretary:   Wendy Trow

There are over 40 community groups in Balingup with a wide range of interests. The biggest group however, is Balingup Progress Association (BPA).

Meetings

Balingup Progress Association meetings are held on the 1st Wednesday of the month at the Balingup Community Centre on Brockman St (opposite the Tavern).  Meetings start at 6:00pm
All members of the Balingup and Mullalyup Communities are welcome.
Annual membership is only $1. To keep up to date, see the BPA Minutes here

History

The Balingup Progress Association (BPA) was established in 1979 to fight the issue of planting pines on former farming land.  The Association enjoyed a major victory when they negotiated with CALM to have land vested in the Balingup Community for the development of the Golden Valley Tree Park.

The Association has now evolved into a community group of interested residents, meeting monthly to discuss any proposals affecting the town. It is a dynamic community forum enabling residents to participate in the direction and planning of the Balingup community.

For more information about BPA, and the history of some of the many community groups in town, see All About Balingup (pdf). This document tells you how they came about and what they have achieved since inception and makes for an interesting read!

For a an overview of the Heritage Museum and historic timeline of the town, see here

Role

BPA is a non-political organisation that is primarily responsible for:

• Administering the incorporated body – reporting to State & Federal government and ensuring that insurances are in place.
• Auspicing funding applications (for both BPA and sub-committees)
• Coordinating small events such as the Australia Day Breakfast, Anzac Day Service and Volunteers Day.
• Updating the Balingup Strategic Plan.
• Managing the Community Centre and Workspace.

A copy of BPA Constitution can be found here

2004 Volunteers

2022 Volunteers

Community Centre and Workspace

Community Centre

Workspace

Balingup Community Centre and Workspace stand on Brockman St (opposite the Tavern). The Community Centre can be used for free by Balingup community groups and can be hired (for a small fee) by others.

The buildings are owned and insured by BPA however the land is leased from Shire.
To make a booking for the Community Centre, contact Helen on 97641291.

Membership.

BPA has a membership base of around 220 people consisting of a core group of residents and members affiliated through umbrella groups. Any Balingup or Mullayup resident is eligible to join.

BPA & Umbrella Groups

BPA is an Incorporated Body that, because of our unique ‘Agricultural Show’ insurance, now has anything between 15 and 20 sub-committees operating under our ‘umbrella’ at any one time. See a current list of groups that operate under the BPA umbrella. and details of the relationship between BPA and umbrella groups is here.

All umbrella groups are required to provide reports to BPA at the Annual General meeting.

Insurance

Balingup Progress Association enjoys a comprehensive ‘Agricultural Show’ insurance package that is able to provide public liability, volunteer and Associations insurance for all sub-committees that operate under the BPA umbrella – including major events like the Small Farm Field Day and Medieval Carnivale.

Trust Fund

Our two major community events have enjoyed huge financial success over the years and BPA has returned many of these profits to the community via a Trust Fund. The Trust Fund has provided seed funding to the Community Forest Garden, Telling Tales, Heritage Museum and many other community groups. For more information, contact BPA.

Other Balingup Community Organisations

Balingup is a thriving community and there are many other community organizations. For a full list, click here.

Updating this Website

All information for this website has been compiled by members of the Balingup community. Further contributions are welcome in order to make this resource serve our community better. Information enabling the community group listings to be updated and remain current is especially requested.

Please Email your suggestions.