 However it took less than eight months from turning the first sod in mid-October 1993 to its first meeting on 8 May 1994.The total cost of the land and work was $1.2 mill.Goulburn was chosen as it was close to Canberra, the large population areas of the near south coast around Wollongong, was not too far from Sydney and a three-hour easier journey for Victorians than if it had been close to Sydney.