CONSTRUCTION of Bright’s new water slide is well underway in Melbourne with eight of the 30 moulds already finished.

The project is in the capable hands of Fibreglass Victoria’s owner Gordon Tenney, the man entrusted by Bright Rotary Club with the $140,000 contract to produce the 30 sections and deliver them to Bright by late September – around the time a new timber fence will also go up around the slide site.

The 30 curved sections of the original slide form the basis for the moulds that will be used to make the new fibreglass slide.

It will then assembled on site by Mr Tenney, assisted by a team of Rotarians in October.

A native of Scotland, Mr Tenney and his wife Lyndsey have spent many summer holidays camping in the same camp sites at Porepunkah.

They arrive each year with half a dozen friends and their families – a trip that wouldn’t be complete without a day trip to Bright.

“It will be terrific to see local kids on my slide this summer,” Mr Tenney said.

“Being new and with a shinier surface I reckon it will go a wee bit quicker than the old one – for sure.

“I take pride in my work and I can assure the people of Bright that this slide will last for many, many decades to come."

Mr Tenney has a special reason to make sure the new slide is around for many years.

“My son Alfie is only 10 months and I can’t wait for the day when he’s old enough to go down it for the first time,” he said.

With the support of Alpine Shire Council, the Rotary club submitted two separate Bushfire Recovery Victoria grant applications to fund a new slide and a new fence.

For the slide, the club received a grant of $150,000, thanks to Rob Moore, who completed the application process.

The old slide was carefully removed section by section by Andrew Moir and a team of club members, then freighted to Fibreglass Victoria’s factory in Preston.

Since receiving a $32,000 grant from Bushfire Recovery Victoria, the club has begun removing the existing fence.

Club members will hold a working bee in mid-August to complete its removal.

Rotarian Patrick O’Shea, himself a fence builder, has offered his services to help construct the new fence using timber post and railings, and emu wire mesh.

With Rotarians pitching in, it's hoped to complete the fence by late September – around the time the slide's 30 sections arrive back in Bright ready to be assembled.