Iona College’s Provence Centre is nearing completion. Photo: Supplied.
FROM IONA COLLEGE
Iona’s new Provence Centre is nearing completion. The new centre had a staged opening on 27 June for the Queensland Rugby League Confraternity Carnival Mass and Opening Ceremony hosting over 2000 guests from schools across Queensland. On 5 August Iona will host Australian of the Year Grace Tame and will follow with the Provence Centre’s official blessing and opening on 26 August.
Iona is very pleased that through Tomkins Commercial and Industrial Builders, 20% of the entire construction went to Iona affiliated families and 35% of the construction was secured locally within 10km of Lindum and the Bayside.
All of this project has been funded from within the College community and has been completed without any federal or state government funding. However, the College fully anticipates that many local schools and community groups will feel at home here as well.
Approximately 400 workers have contributed to the construction and this has benefitted our local community greatly during the pandemic.
Two significant works of art are being created for the Provence Centre. The first is an Indigenous work of art by Iona Old Boys Ambrose Killian and Matt Serrurier, which will focus on aspiration and positive relationships, and the second is a mosaic combining St Eugene, Aix-en-Provence, Iona and Moreton Bay, by Byron Bay artist, Scott Harrower Design. Both works will tell beautiful stories that will add to the richness of our community’s new gathering space intertwining the past, present and future.
With a seating capacity of 2500, it is our hope that the Provence Centre is a place where the Iona and Bayside communities will gather for celebrations, commemorations, performances and sporting events as we continue to honour all who have contributed to the foundations on which Iona is built.
