❓ The Minister for Heritage outlines the government's investment in revitalising the heritage-listed Luisini Winery within Yellagonga Regional Park, aiming to create a world-class community facility and tourism destination. The project involves conservation, development, and reimagining of the facilities, with hospitality and tourism opportunities.
AnsweredQoN 427Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
YELLAGONGA REGIONAL PARK — LUISINI WINERY
427. Mr M.J. FOLKARD to the Minister for Heritage:
I refer to the Cook Labor government's
commitment to improve and protect Yellagonga Regional Park. Can the minister outline to the house this government's
investment in the revitalisation of the heritage-listed Luisini Winery within Yellagonga Regional Park to create a world-class community facility and
tourism destination, and advise what this reactivation will mean for Perth's
northern suburbs?
427. Mr M.J. FOLKARD to the Minister for Heritage:
I refer to the Cook Labor government's
commitment to improve and protect Yellagonga Regional Park. Can the minister outline to the house this government's
investment in the revitalisation of the heritage-listed Luisini Winery within Yellagonga Regional Park to create a world-class community facility and
tourism destination, and advise what this reactivation will mean for Perth's
northern suburbs?
AnswerView source ↗
I can, and I am very happy to do so.
I am mindful of the time, so I will not take up too much time, but it is a very important question. On Sunday morning, I was
there with the Premier and a barrow load of local members, as I call
them, because there were so many of them. The members for Burns Beach, Joondalup,
Kingsley, Landsdale and Wanneroo were there. As I say, it was a barrow load of
people. Luisini Winery in the northern suburbs is a very important place. The
Yellagonga lake and the surrounding areas are significant places for Aboriginal
people, and the area is also very important historically for the Italian
community. Mr Luisini established a winery there back in the early 1920s. From
the 1920s through to 1980, a functioning winery operated. Many people,
including me, would drop by to get their bottle of wine or whatever they would
like. The buildings are substantial. I congratulate the National Trust of
Australia for its custodianship of the structures that make up Luisini Winery;
it has preserved them very well and spent money to ensure that they are robust
in nature. Now, of course, comes the next phase of making sure that that
magnificent heritage asset becomes something that is very special for the
northern suburbs.
Be Our Guest Holdings has secured
the opportunity to conserve, develop and reimagine these facilities. We will
see hospitality and tourism opportunities developed there, using the integrity
of the buildings. The buildings vary in nature and include sheds that hold
still intact wine vats and other places in which the manufacturing and bottling
of wine took place. They will be transformed. People will be able to go there
for meals and to enjoy the ambience of the lake and its surrounds. The Cook
government, through an election commitment by the member for Kingsley, will
invest some money in the boardwalk system to provide good connections to
Luisini Winery. There will also be a nature play facility. As the Premier said
on Sunday, that wonderful natural asset is the Kings Park of the north, and
through the work of Nigel Oakey and his company, something very special will be
developed there. We expect lots of people will visit this site in the coming
years. They will hear the stories of that place, both Aboriginal and Italian,
as well as today's stories. That is one thing that Nigel does so well. He
did that brilliantly in Northam with the Farmers Home Hotel, which was the old
Shamrock Hotel—I lived in Northam, as the member knows—and in
the member for Roe's electorate with the Premier Mill development in
Katanning, which saw that building renewed and reactivated. This is the way
forward for heritage. If we can bring these things back to being living,
breathing buildings that deliver great tourism, hospitality and accommodation
outcomes, those buildings will be preserved and the surrounds conserved, and
people will be able to reimagine and enjoy their history. I thank the members who advocated strongly for this project and I also
thank the National Trust. I again congratulate the Cook government for
this investment and its understanding of how important this is to the narrative
of tourism in the future.
The SPEAKER : That concludes
question time.
I am mindful of the time, so I will not take up too much time, but it is a very important question. On Sunday morning, I was
there with the Premier and a barrow load of local members, as I call
them, because there were so many of them. The members for Burns Beach, Joondalup,
Kingsley, Landsdale and Wanneroo were there. As I say, it was a barrow load of
people. Luisini Winery in the northern suburbs is a very important place. The
Yellagonga lake and the surrounding areas are significant places for Aboriginal
people, and the area is also very important historically for the Italian
community. Mr Luisini established a winery there back in the early 1920s. From
the 1920s through to 1980, a functioning winery operated. Many people,
including me, would drop by to get their bottle of wine or whatever they would
like. The buildings are substantial. I congratulate the National Trust of
Australia for its custodianship of the structures that make up Luisini Winery;
it has preserved them very well and spent money to ensure that they are robust
in nature. Now, of course, comes the next phase of making sure that that
magnificent heritage asset becomes something that is very special for the
northern suburbs.
Be Our Guest Holdings has secured
the opportunity to conserve, develop and reimagine these facilities. We will
see hospitality and tourism opportunities developed there, using the integrity
of the buildings. The buildings vary in nature and include sheds that hold
still intact wine vats and other places in which the manufacturing and bottling
of wine took place. They will be transformed. People will be able to go there
for meals and to enjoy the ambience of the lake and its surrounds. The Cook
government, through an election commitment by the member for Kingsley, will
invest some money in the boardwalk system to provide good connections to
Luisini Winery. There will also be a nature play facility. As the Premier said
on Sunday, that wonderful natural asset is the Kings Park of the north, and
through the work of Nigel Oakey and his company, something very special will be
developed there. We expect lots of people will visit this site in the coming
years. They will hear the stories of that place, both Aboriginal and Italian,
as well as today's stories. That is one thing that Nigel does so well. He
did that brilliantly in Northam with the Farmers Home Hotel, which was the old
Shamrock Hotel—I lived in Northam, as the member knows—and in
the member for Roe's electorate with the Premier Mill development in
Katanning, which saw that building renewed and reactivated. This is the way
forward for heritage. If we can bring these things back to being living,
breathing buildings that deliver great tourism, hospitality and accommodation
outcomes, those buildings will be preserved and the surrounds conserved, and
people will be able to reimagine and enjoy their history. I thank the members who advocated strongly for this project and I also
thank the National Trust. I again congratulate the Cook government for
this investment and its understanding of how important this is to the narrative
of tourism in the future.
The SPEAKER : That concludes
question time.
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