Tullamarine surf park: first waves expected in April
The first surf park in the southern hemisphere is nearly complete — and it’s right here in Tullamarine.
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The first surf park in the southern hemisphere is nearly complete — and it’s right here in Tullamarine.
Construction of the enormous artificial wave pool, on a 7ha site at Airport Drive, is expected to be completed as soon as April, with surfers hitting the first waves in spring.
During an exclusive tour of the site on Tuesday, the Leader explored the 2ha surfing lagoon in its final stages of construction.
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Roughly the same size as an AFL oval, the lagoon’s unique design will allow multiple surfing zones, enabling expert surfers to ride breaking waves as tall as 2m, while also providing smaller waves for beginners.
At the apex of the lagoon are 46 wave-generating pistons, designed to undulate back and forth to create up to 1000 consistently high quality waves per hour.
Underwater LED lights will be dotted along a reef running down the centre of the lagoon, illuminating surfers at night and transforming the park into an iridescent, cosmic-like wave pool.
URBNSURF founder Andrew Ross said the surf park would serve as an ideal entry point for beginners because it eliminated the inherent dangers of surfing in the ocean, such as rip currents and sharks.
“Surfing in a man-made surfing environment is much more efficient and easier for people to learn to surf,” he told the Leader at the construction site.
“What would take months to learn in the ocean, we could provide in a few surf lessons.”
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A passionate surfer of more than 30 years, Mr Ross said his vision to create surf parks stemmed from a desire to help more people “fall in love” with the sport.
“Surfing is deeply ingrained in Australia’s cultural heritage, and this facility will allow any Australian or visitor to Australia to be able to learn,” he said, adding he hoped it would attract Hume’s large migrant population.
“Once they’ve reached a certain competence level, they’ll be able to test their skills down the coast,” he said.
The multipurpose complex, expected to cost $18.5 million, will also feature a surf retail store, heated pools, function areas, an equipment hire and demonstration centre, a surf school and a licensed cafe and restaurant serving modern Australian dishes.
The Tullamarine surf park is the first of three from URBNSURF earmarked for construction in Australia.
The company has signed lease agreements to build parks in Perth and Sydney.
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