| Cuttlefish Interpretive Centre Community Consultation |
|
IntroductionThe proposed development of a major interpretive centre in Whyalla is an exciting project which has the potential to produce significant tourism, educational, community development and other benefits to the region. Whyalla is renowned for being the ‘Cuttlefish Capital of the World’, due to the annual migration of thousands of Giant Australian Cuttlefish to the Whyalla coastline for spawning during May to August. In view of the importance of the cuttlefish to the Whyalla region, the development of a significant interpretive facility has been proposed to showcase and provide education about cuttlefish and their breeding characteristics.
The first steps in a process are being taken to determine the viability of this - to generate key design principles, analyse options to determine where the best location for the facility would be, and what value it can bring to Whyalla. The information here gives an overview of current thinking and possibilities - with the aim of getting your input through the questionnaire forms.
Stakeholder Consultation and Workshop
The process of stakeholder consultation began late last year. In addition to talking to a number of different community and business representatives and groups a workshop was held on 15 December in Whyalla. The aim of the workshop was to start to understand the variety of issues around sitting the Interpretive Centre. Through this, a number of other considerations were explored, such as: • How can an interpretive centre maximise benefits to the local community, local tourism, commerce and industry? • How can an interpretive centre improve the general perception and profile of the Whyalla region? • Can an interpretive centre act strategically as a catalyst for other future development? • How can an interpretive centre relate to and enhance existing tourism services and infrastructure?
The stakeholders were split into four groups. Below is a summary of the different groups feedback. Detailed summary of site analysis conducted at the workshop can be found in another document.
Group 1 • Felt that the new facility should be ‘separate’ from existing attractions such as the foreshore, but link back to them, and have links from them. eg ‘Arid Lands Botanical Gardens’ and it’s link back to ‘Wadlata’. • It should be considered a destination in its own right as opposed to being part of Whyalla township. • Group 1 felt that the foreshore should not be the focus for the main elements of the new facility and that it should be on Lowly Peninsula. • Potential to upgrade some roads and create a coastal drive eg “cuttlefish coast circuit”. • Opportunity to link in to existing tourist routes, but way finding signage required - Lincoln gap tanks, Lowly turnoff sign, False Bay turnoff, Fitzgerald Bay turnoff. • Links to existing facilities to be made - not necessarily just in Whyalla. eg Wadlata, Arid Lands Centre, Whyalla Visitor Centre, Maritime Museum, Mt Laura Homestead Museum reception, Whyalla Public Library, Surf life saving centre, Whyalla Yacht Club.
Group 2 • The facility needs to ‘interpret’ the upper spencer gulf ecosystem rather than exclusively the cuttlefish, and describe the importance of the area to locals as well as to broader ecosystems. • Educational/environmental, enjoyment/recreational, scientific, industry linked and supported. • Whyalla needs to attract and retain people - there are many positive aspects to the town, and the centre can act as an opportunity to showcase these to a wider audience. • The facility needs to be linked and supported by industry. • The Interpretive Centre could help change current perceptions of Whyalla of being only about industry. • The Interpretive Centre will attract people to Whyalla, and get them to return again. • The Interpretive Centre must be tied to a wider strategic plan on tourism. • Potential to link various tourism locations to this centre eg Point Lowly, Mount Laura homestead, beach foreshore, Hummock Hill, Westlands, Whyalla conservation park etc. • Centre needs to include facilities for education, enjoyment, recreation, scientific research. • Suggested alternative site - south of Yeltana Nursing home - opportunity to develop mangrove boardwalk and Samphire community. • Suggested alternative concept - a specially built jetty with the facility at the end - combine with tour operators for marine adventures - incorporate solar/electric tram/bus to bring people to it. • Noted that consultation should occur with appropriate local custodians and with other Aboriginal residents who are part of the community. • Sea views should be a key aspect of the location. • Facility could provide some kind of night time activities - encouraging tourists to stay overnight and bring more business to Whyalla. • Potential to boost local employment within the tourism industry and youth training.
Group 3 • Strong links need to be made with a strategic tourism plan for Whyalla. • Signage on top of tanks at Port Augusta Road - catch people before they head inland. • Signage required at future Lucky Bay ferry terminal to catch tourists and direct them up the coast to Whyalla - perhaps video promotion could be used on board. • Opportunity to create a holistic view of the area - shouldn’t be perceived as being about ‘nature vs industry’, but about both working together, and the importance of this to the local and broader communities.
Group 4 • Interpretive facility should be focussed on the unique attributes of the upper spencer gulf, including marine diversity, high salinity, uniqueness - cuttlefish, snapper, sharks, sponges, seaweed etc. • Something unique, world class attraction, unusual attraction eg- undersea hotel, glass bottom boats, 10 man submarine, hand feeding of fish, artificial reef structure up against viewing glass plates in an underwater hotel. • Potential to integrate night time activities into facility - encouraging tourists to stay overnight and bring more business to Whyalla.
The Interpretive Component - Upper Spencer Gulf
The name ‘Cuttlefish Interpretive Centre’ is seen as a working title only. Another approach may be to consider the Interpretive Centre to be more broadly about the unique marine environment of the Upper Spencer Gulf. The cuttlefish would become a real feature of this, perhaps the ‘icon’, but not the only focus. It is widely acknowledged this area is an incredibly unique marine habitat - being one of only a handful of inverse estuaries in the world. There could be more depth and educational value in focussing on this more broad perspective. It could instead be something like: A Connected Visitor Experience - a network of satellite facilities
It is suggested that the interpretive centre has it’s various functions strategically located in a number of different places - rather than being all contained in one facility, on one site. There would still be a ‘main facility’, but this would be supported and linked to any number of smaller ‘satellite’ facilities. This opens up a number of possibilities: • The opportunity to maximise tourist ‘catchment’. If located carefully they will help to guide and bring people along for the journey and lead them to other parts of the interpretive experience including the main facility. • The opportunity to find the most appropriate sites for particular functions. • The opportunity to link the new messages coming from this centre to existing tourism infrastructure. The opportunity to generate an overall ‘experience’ of the Whyalla region and the Upper Spencer Gulf. • The opportunity to overlap and integrate with other services and needs - eg reefwatch marine monitoring, conference facilities for local industry and business etc.
Some examples of what these ‘satellite’ facilities could be: • A point in the marina where tour boats arrive and depart to go to the cuttlefish breeding zone and gulf waters • Facilities such as change areas and showers for divers and snorkelers located along Cuttlefish Drive on Lowly Peninsula. • The existing Visitor Information Centre - an important tourist catchment point - could start the interpretive experience and guide visitors to other key important locations. • Small laboratory space for Universities and other research bodies located on Lowly Peninsula near the Cuttlefish exclusion zone Main Facility - Location
Given the above strategy for creating a connected visitor experience through satellite facilities, the location of the main interpretive facility needs to be explored. Through rigorous site analysis, discussions and workshops with stakeholders, the best general locations for the main facility are seen to be either on the Lowly Peninsula or the Whyalla foreshore. Each has its own sets of advantages and disadvantages, and each generates a very different way of approaching the design. These two concept options are explored on display panels numbered 3 and 4. The specific locations within each of these areas is not totally fixed - they are being used to test a design approach, and will evolve through the process.
|
