Straddie whale watching station step closer

Straddie’s Point Lookout is a step closer to getting a controversial whale watching facility built on the cliffs overlooking the ocean.

An artist’s impression of the proposed whale watching hub at Point Lookout and a whale washes up on the beach at North Stradbroke Island in 2012, a year after humpback whale which will feature in the facility.

A controversial whale watching station overlooking the beach at North Stradbroke Island is a step closer to being built after a head contractor was appointed.

The Quandamooka Yoolooburrabee Aboriginal Corporation, which is behind the $3.6 million island venture, appointed Australian company Kane Constructions to build the 7.3m-pavilion next to the North Gorge Walk at Mulumba headland.

The Yalingbila Bibula tourism attraction, which will house a full-sized male humpback whale skeleton, is being billed as a vantage point for visitors to watch whales frolicking in the ocean.

An artist’s impression of the inside of the facility.

The 15m male whale skeleton, washed up on the island’s shores in 2011 during the native title Federal Court determination, will be suspended below a reflective ceiling and will be the only complete humpback whale skeleton on public display in the Southern Hemisphere.

The tourist attraction will also include a University of Queensland research pod where UQ’s Moreton Bay Research Station team will record the songs and sounds of passing whales using a hydrophone, an ocean tethered microphone.

There will be no charge to enter the single-storey structure, which will not be built above the existing tree line.

The facility will be part of a $25 million program of 20 projects to provide jobs for Quandamooka people and revenue for the island.

From the outside.

Kane Constructions director David Rutter said his team would start work before July.

He said the company was experienced with “technically complex projects” and would work to honour local history, culture and the environment of the facility’s significant location.

Kane worked on the Anzac Square restoration, where the sensitive works included restoring the square shrine and other memorials.

“It is set to provide a huge and positive benefit to the local community, as well as having a significant impact on local research,” he said.

A whale washed up on the beach at North Stradbroke Island in 2012.

But the project has sparked anger from long-time residents who said they believed it was a waste of money and did not want building on prime beachfront land overlooking the island’s Main Beach.

Dunwich resident Bill Giles said it would be difficult to get a return on the investment and said less than 8 per cent of tourists to the island were visiting for cultural reasons.

He said the facility would not help to fill the economic gap left on the island after sand mining ceased last year.

“It will be difficult to see the ocean and whales from this vantage point and people can already see whales in the ocean by taking the scenic walk around North Gorge,” he said.

“This structure would be better of at the former secondary school at Dunwich which QYAC has spent money on transforming it into its headquarters.

“Building this facility at Point Lookout means staff will have to be employed which is a waste of resources when there are already people employed at Dunwich who could greet visitors.

“We are still waiting to hear about the details of the Dunwich Masterplan but since Minister Kate Jones departed, Jackie Trad failed to get re-elected and Cameron Costello resigned, we have been left in the dark about the future.”

In its successful submission, Kane committed to maintaining environmental controls during the project, minimising disruption to the local community, and also committed to supporting local industry.

UQ Provost Professor Aidan Byrne said the recording of whale songs and sounds was a key part of research into whale behaviour.

Former QYAC chairman Cameron Costello with UQ professor Aiden Byrne who has endorsed the whale watching facility.

“Humpback whale songs have more complex musical patterns than those of other whales, and UQ’s Cetacean Ecology and Acoustics Laboratory is leading studies into this complexity, the evolution and purpose of humpback whale song,” Professor Byrne said.

“The research pod is not only going to support the continuation of important studies but also allow the researchers to share their work with visitors to the island.”