One of Townsville’s tourism icons is returned to dust
The old IMAX dome theatre in Townsville has been levelled to make way for new era of tourism development.
Townsville
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THE excitement is building for what will be a reinvention of Townsville’s key tourism assets.
The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority is in the midst of finalising the design for an $80m makeover of the Reef HQ aquarium in Flinders St.
As part of the project, work on the demolition of the old IMAX dome theatre, marine park offices and cultural centre next to the aquarium has just been finished.
Across the road, plans have been approved for a separate office and retail development on vacant land for the Hive project where the marine park authority will be an anchor tenant.
Also, fronting Ross Creek, Townsville City Council has just called tenders for the design and construction of a new boardwalk extending from the carpark opposite the Mad Cow Tavern in Flinders St to the Museum of Tropical Queensland.
This will further link the city to the museum and aquarium and to the seafront on The Strand.
To say Reef HQ director Kirstin Dobbs is excited is probably the understatement of the year.
She said the aquarium had been an icon of Townsville for 34 years and that the opportunity to have it redeveloped was fantastic.
“We are going to be able to refresh all our exhibits, improve the technology, get our messages about the Great Barrier Reef out there louder and prouder than we have been able to and it’s going to help revitalise part of the CBD of Townsville. What’s not to be excited about,” Ms Dobbs said.
She said the authority had been part of the Townsville community for nearly 50 years and more than 200 staff, as well as their families, were based in the city.
“To be given this opportunity to continue the icon that the Reef HQ aquarium is, it’s fantastic for the local community, for the people who like to visit the facility and it’s also a drawcard to bring people to Townsville.”
The federal government has announced investment of $80.1m for the refurbishment of the aquarium.
The demolition of the former IMAX dome theatre, arcade, offices and cultural centre has been carried out by Shamrock Civil Engineering with contractor Abyss Demolition.
Hundreds of people commented on its demolition on Reef HQ’s Facebook site and Abyss Demolition has posted an interesting time lapse video of its demolition on YouTube.
Ms Dobbs said some of the memorabilia from the theatre had been given to the port authority for preservation.
As to what will become of the site, now a large open area between the museum and the aquarium, remains to be decided.
It is owned by the port authority and could be used for cafes and other activities.
Ms Dobbs said the port was working with the authority, museum and Townsville City Council on how it would be integrated into the Waterfront Priority Development Precinct.
Meanwhile, the design of the aquarium is still being finalised at this time.
Since the aquarium was closed earlier this year, some of the fish and marine life have been rehomed or relocated.
However, many of the animals continue to be cared for and their life support systems maintained.
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Originally published as One of Townsville’s tourism icons is returned to dust
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