Airlie Beach Shute Harbour Marina reopens after Cyclone Debbie destruction

It has been a long wait but Whitsunday’s biggest Cyclone Debbie recovery project is finally open for business. WATCH THE VIDEO

Whitsunday’s tourism industry received a major boost with the official opening of the rebuilt Shute Harbour Marine Terminal, which is now a world-class facility.

The redeveloped terminal, which suffered severe damage from Tropical Cyclone Debbie in 2017, boasts three finger pontoons and a range of berthing options, terminal ticketing and baggage claim area, fuel facility, restaurant, retail space, car park and recreational fishing jetty.

A new seawall has raised the level of the entire site by up to an extra metre to be more resilient against storm surges in the future.

Eligible works received joint funding from the Australian and Queensland Governments under the NDRRA, while Whitsunday Regional Council provided and sourced additional funding.

Local Traditional Owner Auntie Sue, Deputy Premier Steven Miles, and Senator Bridget McKenzie joined the council in officially opening the terminal on Wednesday.

Mayor Andrew Willcox said it felt “surreal” to look around the new facilities after witnessing first-hand Cyclone Debbie’s devastation.

“There was mass devastation,” he said.

“We had all the buildings totally flattened, there was a boat washed up in the car park, boats in the trees, there was a six-inch steel pylon just bent over like a straw.

“It’s absolutely amazing to be standing here to see what has been created.”

Mr Willcox acknowledged the rebuild had been a long time coming and had its budget increased several times from an original estimate of about $23.5m but said the result was a facility that would serve the community for many years to come.

“Insurance will only cover so much so what we wanted to do is rebuild this facility here bigger, better and stronger than ever so we had to go in to bat for funding,” he said.

“Once we started the project, we realised quite soon that the geotech or the ground under the water and the ground here was not very solid, so we needed to fit extra pylons in.

“Originally, we were only going to have one row of pylons, now we’ve got three [rows], we’ve got geotech fabric around it and then Armorock over the top of that, so that actually increased the project by an extra $30m.

“Of course, we have had some escalation in some prices because steel has obviously gone up and some of the fit-out things we just couldn’t get due to Covid, so we had another small funding gap.

“We’ve been able to get the last funding gap fully funded now – council’s had to throw a little bit of money in as well as the insurance to end up with a $63.5m project.”

Mr Miles said Shute Harbour would be a key transport and tourism facility for tens of thousands of visitors to the region and his government was “pleased the Whitsundays is ready to show the world what Queensland has to offer”.

Dawson MP George Christensen did not attend the opening but released a statement on Wednesday saying the project was a significant investment in the premier tourist region by local, state and federal governments.

“Shute Harbour is a gateway to the internationally renowned Whitsunday Islands, which is why all three levels of government worked closely together on this flagship recovery project,” Mr Christensen said.

“This vital rebuild has also driven employment and economic recovery in the Whitsundays, which has dealt with the dual impacts of the cyclone in 2017 and the current Covid-19 global pandemic.”

‘The boat ramps’ still shit’

While the dignitaries celebrated inside, outside on the fishing pontoons it was a different story, with locals unimpressed with the terminal design that looked like “a correctional centre” and a “stupid” fixed rather than floating boat ramp design.

“If you bring your boat in here, and [another boat is] there, you have to get out of your boat, tie it up, waist-deep in the water and go walking out, but at VMR and every other boat ramp they all float,” Fishing in the Whitsundays founder Adam Travers of Cannonvale said.

“It’s going be covered in water most of the day so it’s going to end up with oysters and barnacles all over it, and you’ve got to walk in and out of the water – if it floated, you’d just pull your boat up, tie it off like all the other boat ramps and walk straight up.”

Mr Willcox declined to comment on the criticisms, maintaining it was “not a local issue”.

Mr Miles confirmed there would be no changes to the design, chosen by TMR.

“The most important thing about this project was making sure it was resilient to future natural disasters and the very clear advice was that a fixed boat ramp would be better able to cope with future weather conditions and that’s why we took that advice,” Mr Miles said.

Shute Harbour’s $63.5m restoration works after making waves for the first time since Cyclone Debbie

More than fours years after Cyclone Debbie ravaged the Whitsundays, the Shute Harbour Marina Terminal is set to reopen after multimillion dollar restoration works.

For the first time since, ferries and tour operators have begun to operate once again out of the new and improved terminal with the official opening set for December 15.

The reconstruction of the harbour waged a hefty $63.5m bill with the contract awarded to Mackay-based contractors Vassallo Constructions which undertook technically complex works against harsh geotechnical conditions.

‘It is fantastic to see a facility — both of that size and of that investment in the Whitsundays to service the recovery of the tourism industry on the back of Covid-19’.

Vassallo Constructions managing director Vic Vassallo said he felt privileged to have been chosen to manage the project.

The project’s location in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park was an additional complexity and required “the strictest levels of environmental controls”.

The marina’s seawall and the entirety of the new facility — including the car park — was raised an extra metre for “greater resilience” against storm surges in the future.

Aerial view of the reconstructed Shute Harbour Marina. Picture: Vassallo Construction

“We know this region has suffered economically during the pandemic,” Mr Vassallo said.

“It’s nice to be an integral part of such an important local community asset.”

Whitsunday MP Amanda Camm said she believed the facility would enhance the Whitsunday Regional Council’s delivery of transport means, both on the water and in the air, complementing the Whitsunday Coast Airport.

Vassallo Constructions rebuilt the Shute Harbour Marina Terminal, restoring it for 63.5m after Cyclone Debbie tore it apart in March 2017. Picture: Vassallo Construction

“The project has been a long time coming and is certainly one of the most significant recovery projects to be delivered on the back of Cyclone Debbie,” Ms Camm said.

“It is fantastic to see a facility — both of that size and of that investment in the Whitsundays to service the recovery of the tourism industry on the back of Covid-19.

“We now have a much higher standard of infrastructure that will deliver a higher standard of product and experience.

“It has been a challenging project for all parties but at the end of the day we want to see the outcome and the results – that’s a win for the region.”

Ms Camm said she would continue “to apply pressure” on the state government to increase boat ramp infrastructure for recreational boaties in the region, which is adjacent to the Shute Harbour project.