Arthurs Seat chairlift to soar again as the Eagle

THE Arthurs Seat chairlift is soaring like an Eagle again after a $20 million project revived the Victorian legend.

IN a year when many of the world’s heroes have passed away, a Victorian legend has been brought back to life.

Arthurs Seat chairlift reopens this month, rebranded as Arthurs Seat Eagle.

The $20 million project is set to reinvigorate Dromana as a tourist destination. The new operators have replaced the ski-style lifts with 24 Swiss-made gondolas that each hold eight passengers on the 15-minute, 950 metre journey up or down Arthurs Seat.

“We looked at a rebranding and there really is no better way to communicate the scope of this gondola journey than to give it a name like Eagle that its riders can truly connect with,” Arthurs Seat Eagle CEO Hans Brugman said.

“The Eagle name invokes flight, safety and strength. And this local area has plenty of wedge-tailed eagles too.”

Tourism in the area has suffered since a disastrous incident in 2003 when 19 people were injured after Arthurs Seat chairlift collapsed.

A stanchion pylon supporting the lift slid free from the base and dramatically landed on a passing car. The occupants of the car were not injured. Some of those on the chairlift sustained minor spinal injuries.

“Safety is our most important thing. We’ve spent time with CFA developing evacuation plans. We’ve had a mock rescue day that went really well,” Brugman said.

After the 2003 incident, the owner spent $500,000 on extensive repairs, the chairlift reopened a year later, but in March 2004 a second incident occurred when a chair came loose and a 77-year-old woman suffered two broken legs.

The chairlift resumed operations in October 2004 but less than two years later a mechanical failure stranded 12 tourists on the chairlift and resulted in further media attention. Enough was enough.

The operator closed the chairlift with a view to move the operation to Mt Lofty on Adelaide’s fringe, however this project did not reach fruition. Despite the frightening incidents, Arthurs Seat chairlift was sorely missed.

Originally built in 1960 by Dr Vladimir Hayek, the 950 metre long chairlift route added to the already established attractions of a dance hall, camera obscura, telescopes, swimming pool, fish-pond, hexagonal kiosk and wishing well.

Peninsula Specialist College students are the first to ride the Arthurs Seat Eagle. Picture: David Caird

In 2002, a year before the first major incident, 100,000 people used the chairlift, according to the Mornington Peninsula Tourism Council

In 2009, Parks Victoria CEO Mark Stone called for “new modern infrastructure”. The development disputed and subsequently assessed at a VCAT hearing. VCAT allowed the application despite local concern put forward by Save Our Seat.

Now, seven years on, Arthurs Seat Eagle will officially open on December 3. It will operate every day of the year except for Christmas. The celebrations will begin December 3 at 10:30am at the Summit Station, 795 Arthurs Seat Rd, Arthurs Seat with a ribbon-cutting by Queen Elizabeth ll himself (Gerry Connolly).

The public are invited to attend the official opening and then to enjoy entertainment over the weekend.

The opening will also include a ceremony by the traditional indigenous owners of the area and the Minister for Tourism John Eren will be in attendance, along with Dylan Alcott, Paralympian of the Year, and other VIPs.

The new operators say the Eagle name invokes flight, safety and strength. Picture: David Caird

“The gondolas are called safari cabins, we have windows we pull in and out of them. We can open them for fresh air like today, so there’s a breeze coming through and in inclement weather we’ll close the windows,” Brugman explained.

“The Eagle is how our guests will feel as they glide smoothly over the state park, getting a bird’s eye view of the bay and the peninsula, right across to the city and further afield.

“We’ve focused on the lift being all inclusive. My partner’s mother had polio and she remembers when she was a kid that because of her mother’s condition, she wasn’t allowed to ride on it with her children.

“Now mums and dads with prams can ride the gondola. It’s open to everyone. Today we had kids from Mornington Peninsula Speciality College ride the Eagle and to see their excited faces and the anticipation was fantastic,” Brugman beamed.

$11 to $24. Kids under 4 are free.

aseagle.com.au