Where we came from….
The Rhyll Community was faced with a disturbingly large and inappropriate development on the site of the old Swan Bay Caravan Park.
Community meetings we held to discuss a framework for our objections, which resulted in massive gatherings was the impetus in forming the fighting group, Rhyll RAID Inc.
Our meetings were held in the Rhyll Hall and would often see almost 200 community members in attendance. In one instance, residents were standing outside next to the open windows in order to hear what was being discussed.
At this meeting, John Swarbrick, who was the President of the Rhyll Progress Association, spoke to the meeting suggesting that Rhyll RAID Inc. should become a sub committee of the Progress Association.
Brian Arnold, (who until 2 years prior owned the General Store ) proposed that a new group be formed in Rhyll and that RAID could be a sub committee of this new group.
It was voted and agreed upon that this was a preferable way to proceed. John Swarbrick then suggested that this new group be called the Rhyll Community Association (RCA) and that the Rhyll RAID Inc. group continue fighting the development under the umbrella of the RCA.
Everyone at the meeting agreed to become members of the new Rhyll Community Assoc. and paid a $2 membership. The RCA went on to raise over $20,000 to fight the development (twice) through VCAT and subsequently won both times.
The Rhyll Community Association was born then became a Not For Profit Incorporated body.
Who we are now…
We are a very dedicated group of individuals who just love Rhyll and it’s history. After winning the battle with the developers, we realised that there would be more fights on the horizon.
This notion instigated a movement to have a character study of Rhyll completed. Something that we could call upon when (and if) developers ever decided to move into Rhyll again.
Our Community Association is extremely active and very aware of what is ‘going on’ in Rhyll. We have developed a ‘direct’ line to the Bass Coast Shire Council after several altercations and have made it abundantly clear that the RCA wants to be informed before any major (or not so major) works are undertaken in Rhyll.
One such altercation was the Bass Coast Shire decision to create a walking/riding path extension of the path from Cowes heading through our roads and across drive-ways.
The Rhyll Community, once again, rose up and declared our objection with a huge Community meeting of over 100 residents. All ready to ‘man the cannons’ if BCSC didn’t see the sense in following our desired path along our beautiful cliff top path.
Our latest (and on-going) beef with BCSC is with the disabled ramp which they built attached to our Historic Rhyll Hall in 2024, without community consultation. This ramp has reduced our car park and is completely out of character.
The Rhyll Community wanted the disabled access to be more sensitive to the historic nature of the hall and could easily have been achieved by situating the disabled car parks (yes more than one) on Lock Road, with a very simple and level path with direct access to the hall entrance. This story isn’t over yet!
What we are doing next ….
The RCA raises money by holding 3 Rhyll Community Twilight Markets every year. These have become so popular we have waiting lists for vendors for every market.
We also run the ‘Welcome to Phillip Island’ for the Cruise Ships (for Bass Coast Shire Council) that call into Phillip Island. We arrange the bands to play, set up the fencing, hire tables and chairs, and marquees and then pack everything away once the Ship sets sail.
The money that we raise goes entirely to our Rhyll community.
We have managed to have a beautiful carving done on the foreshore from a tree that had to be razed. We have installed doggie bag dispensers and supply the bags for the community use.
We are in the early stages of installing amazing exercise equipment in our Rhyll Park for the benefit of our residents.
We are in talks with BCSC with regard to creating a Community Garden.
And all of this is thanks to the many, many Rhyll volunteers who willingly give up their time and happily help with our events.