THE final death knell has sounded for the Mooloolaba Beachfront Caravan
Park on Queensland's Sunshine Coast.
Protesters, many of them multi-generational visitors, have lost the last round in their long-running fight to save
the iconic 34-site park with million dollar views over the South Pacific
Ocean.
Members of
Queensland Heritage Council have unanimously decided not to add it to the
Heritage List which would have protected the half-century-old park, which
enjoys almost 100 percent year-round occupancy and is the highest income
generator of Mooloolaba's two caravan parks.
Bulldozers will move in next year to demolish the council-owned holiday
destination to make way for parkland and a public walkway.
Heritage Council chairman Professor Peter Coaldrake said members
unanimously decided it did not satisfy any of the criteria for state
heritage significance.
They concluded it was only a "remnant of a much larger camping area" and
not important in demonstrating the evolution or pattern of Queensland's
history.
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Site
24 with a view over the ocean |
In its deliberation, the council said the location was landscaped as a
caravan park in 1972-3.
It demonstrated the pattern of establishing camping grounds ‒ and later
caravan parks ‒ on the Sunshine Coast, an historically important region
for developing seaside tourism in Queensland.
The location was an example of the once common local practice of camping
along the Esplanade between Maroochydore and Mooloolaba, it said.
"However, as it is not early, distinctive or of regional importance, and
is only a remnant of a much larger camping area, it is not important in
demonstrating the evolution or pattern of Queensland’s history."
It did not demonstrate "rare,
uncommon or endangered aspects" of Queensland’s cultural heritage, the
council said, pointing out that caravan parks along the beach "are not
rare, uncommon or endangered in Queensland".
While the property demonstrated some of the principal characteristics of a
beachfront caravan park ‒ including its accessible location, formal
layout, electricity points, concrete slabs and amenities block ‒ it was
not rare or exceptional and was not important in demonstrating this class
of cultural place.
The council said it was in an area of appreciable natural beauty.
"However, the park's layout and fabric do not display any significant
aesthetic qualities and do not contribute substantially to its beachside
setting," it said.
"The Mooloolaba Esplanade Beach Holiday Park is not important for its
aesthetic significance."
Like other seaside caravan parks on the Sunshine Coast, it offered a
"valued customary experience" to holidaymakers who had camped on the site
over a long period.
"Although the place may have significance for those who have stayed there,
this attachment does constitute sufficient demonstration of wider
community attachment for state-level heritage significance," the council
concluded.
