$19m KI art museum plans live on despite major setback, as $65m desal plan is expected to led to bonanza of major tourism projects
Plans for a $19m art museum on KI are still alive, despite hitting a major setback. Meanwhile, a new $65m desal plant is expected to pave the way for more major tourism ventures on the island.
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A $19m art museum could bring thousands more visitors to Kangaroo Island each year and address a lack of wintertime drawcards, the group pushing the project says.
Despite a knock-back from the local council, the Art Museum of Kangaroo Island Establishment Association says it won’t give up on the project.
This week, chairwoman Kathie Stove lodged an application with the Federal Government for a $10m Black Summer Bushfire Grant, to get the project off the ground.
It followed Kangaroo Island Council voting not to provide a letter of support as part of the funding bid, amid concerns about its proposed location and the group’s business case.
“We’re quite determined to get the museum because we believe it will be a transformational project for the Kangaroo Island community,” Ms Stove said.
The site would host major exhibitions and the works of local artists, and provide people an opportunity to see high-quality art without travelling to Adelaide.
“The project would be compelling at any time, but with the profound ravages of both the 2019-20 bushfires and Covid-19, Kangaroo Island needs beacons of hope for a future beyond simply the struggle for recovery,” the association’s business case says.
It says the project would bring work for 80 people during construction, taking two years, and direct and indirect jobs for 70-120 workers once it’s operational.
The group has already raised almost $200,000 in donations, grants and crowd-funding for the project, which would draw about 10,000 new visitors to the island.
Ms Stove said the organisation had identified Captain Morgan Park – on crown land under the council’s control – as the ideal place to build the museum.
It was attracted to the site by its stellar views over the Bay of Shoals and the site’s feeling of being away from town, while still close enough for easy access from Kingscote.
However, Ms Stove acknowledged the group may need to buy another piece of land.
It also plans to apply for $5m funding from the state government, with the remainder of the money coming from donations and loans.
Ms Stove, a writer, said she and the other committee members, all local artists, decided to pursue the project after their work featured in an exhibition that travelled to 14 regional galleries, but not Kangaroo Island, as there was “nowhere to put it”.
Kangaroo Island Mayor Michael Pengilly said the group’s proposal was tied to Captain Morgan Park, which the community wanted kept “in its present state”.
He said it was adjacent Reeves Point, which held significance as the site of the first settlers’ arrival. “The significance of the site cannot be understated,” Mr Pengilly said.
He also questioned the business case’s claim that the project had the support of 80 per cent of the community.
SA Tourism Industry Council of SA chief executive Shaun de Bruyn said his organisation supported the “incredible” proposal,
“It will tell the story of Kangaroo Island and it will enhance opportunities for visitors from all over the world that go there and have not just an experience that’s all about nature but about art and culture at the same time,” he said.
“It’s going to be a significant project in the future success of Kangaroo Island.”
Pierre Gregor, chair of the island’s tourism alliance, said the group’s board supported the proposal in principle.
“We also saw it as a very ambitious undertaking not without its significant challenges,” he said.
“There are a lot of issues like a block of land, and the heavy reliance on grants.”
DESAL PLANT PAVES THE WAY FOR TOURIST BOOM
A new $65m desalination plant is expected to open the way for major new tourism developments and rising property values in Kangaroo Island’s east.
Plan SA has publicly released SA Water’s plans for the new 2ML/day desalination plant at Kangaroo Head, which would treat seawater and pump it to areas including American River, Island Beach, and Baudin Beach.
The project, providing a new source of drinking water for the region, would “create opportunities for 500 jobs and add over $200m of economic value” to Kangaroo Island over 15 years, SA Water’s plans show.
The project would also shore up water for firefighting.
It will also have major implications for the viability of large tourism developments, drawing thousands of tourists to the region, including to the $21m “The Cliffs” golf development at Pennington Bay, near Pelican Lagoon.
The Cliffs Kangaroo Island chief executive Sam Atkins said the desalination plant was “absolutely critical” to his project,which would help draw more visitors following the double-hit of bushfires and the pandemic.
“We’d hopefully get through the restaurant, clubhouse and practice facilities, north of 20,000 visitors (per year),” he said.
Mr Atkins hopes work on the project, held up by ongoing travel restrictions, can start before Christmas.
“I think it will be an amazing centrepiece for tourism – not just for golf but for events,” he said.
“We’re talking to SAJC and Events SA about what else can be done. There’s opportunities for concerts and around polo.”
The 18-hole championship golf resort will feature a restaurant, clubhouse and down the track, accommodation.
The project received major development status in 2014, and approval in 2016, but has changed ownership since then.
Mayor Michael Pengilly said along with spurring new development, the desalination plant would lift local property values.
“It’s the biggest change for the island since the Middle River (Reservoir) scheme went in, in the early 1960s, which provided water to Kingscote and Penneshaw,” he said.
“It’s a huge boost for the island.”
CCD Hotel and Resorts’ American River Resort would also be boosted by the plant.
The resort plans, featuring 134 rooms over four or five storeys, are under consideration at the State Planning Commission.
The resort is a scaled-back version of the $22m plan approved in 2017, which never got off the ground.
That iteration featured 323 rooms spread across buildings up to seven storeys high.
michelle.etheridge@news.com.au
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