Tourism experts say it’s time for a better sea view of our city
Cruise ships passengers disembarking at Station Pier are greeted with a derelict welcome sign and uninspired building, reminiscent of “a third world country”, and tourism experts say it’s time the sea view changed.
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No, it’s not a typo.
‘Ome to Melbour’ is the message that first greets the thousands of cruise ship passengers who travel into Melbourne each day through the Station Pier.
It’s supposed to say ‘Welcome to Melbourne’ — but the tin roof of the ageing Station Pier has become so derelict that several letters are now missing.
And for the boat loads of international tourists — many who haven’t visited Melbourne before — this is their first impression of our city.
Tourism bodies, maritime groups and even cruise ship companies say an urgent face lift is desperately needed for the site if it is to even attempt to compete with Sydney’s world class passenger terminal.
The Overseas Passenger Terminal, situated in the world famous Sydney Harbour, is flanked by the Sydney Opera House on one side and the Harbour Bridge and Rocks precinct on the other.
Just metres away is the Circular Quay precinct, but those opting to stay inside the modern building can choose to dine at Quay, one of the nation’s most celebrated restaurants.
In stark contrast, when passengers step off the ship and into Station Pier, guests are greeted with an uninspired building with tired carpets and little activity.
“I’d look out from my ship balcony and see a beautiful view of the beach and the city. And then I’d walk off the ship and say ‘oh I think I’m in a third world country’,” says Martin Dixon, who is a board member of the Melbourne Maritime Heritage Network.
“We want the building to be given a new lease of life and become a much more friendly place for both tourists and Melburnians.”
The Melbourne Maritime Heritage Network last year penned a report into the future of Station Pier, which talked about an “apparent disregard” for the site, which they determined compares “poorly with other national and international cruise terminals”.
In an interview with the Sunday Herald Sun, Mr Dixon called on the state government to get creative and overhaul the building.
“It’s dated and even though it's a heritage building it is totally under used and needs to be updated inside so that it can provide a really exciting and welcoming visitor experience,” he said.
“One of the things we need to recognise is that often when the cruise ships are only in town for eight hours or so, many of the passengers don’t bother to do a shore excursion, so it’s really important that we have something that will entice them off the ship and into the immediate precinct.”
Currently, there are very little offerings around the pier’s vicinity, other than a restaurant and a fish and chip shop.
Mr Dixon said there is huge potential for the site, if only the relevant authorities were willing to make it a priority.
“We’ve spoken to Ports Victoria, Ministers, the local council, residents association and probably the biggest frustration is that none of the groups are talking to each other,” he said.
“The Tourism Minister says it’s the Ports Minister’s issue and the Ports Minister says it’s a tourism issue. It’s an issue for both of them but they’ve got to talk to each other and make it happen.”
In 2022-23, the cruise industry contributed $5.6bn to the Australian economy. New South Wales was the major beneficiary of that, pocketing $2.7bn, while Queensland attracted $1.7bn.
Victoria, however, managed to reel in just $379m.
Victorian Tourism Industry Council chief executive Felicia Mariani said this is largely because the state doesn’t have a vision to engage with the sector.
“We have to recognise that the expectations of the cruise sector have changed in the past 10 years and the arrivals experience at our Station Pier is not meeting those contemporary expectations,” she said.
“Observations by the industry body are that the ports in Victoria appear to lean towards more industry and not the leisure usage of the cruise sector.”
Ms Mariani said the state government desperately needed to develop a ten-year vision to manage ports and the cruise industry.
That strategy, she said, would need to take into account three key areas – the arrivals experience at Station Pier, but also a plan to get local produce, including food and wine, on-board, as well as creating stronger relationships with tourist attractions to provide shore excursions.
Teresa Lloyd, chief strategy officer of Carnival Australia, the nation’s largest cruise ship operator, said Station Pier is in a “fantastic location”, the visitor experience needs to be improved.
“The current guest experience for the tens of thousands of cruise visitors arriving in Melbourne is not reflective of the vibrant, exciting city that awaits them,” she said.
“We look forward to working with the Victorian government on delivering a fit for purpose Station Pier without impacting the viability of Melbourne as a port of call.”
According to Mr Dixon, small upgrades to the site should be immediately prioritised.
“Even a coat of paint would do the trick,” he said.
“Once you take your eye of the horizon, you see that shabby (Ome to Melbour) sign. That’s low hanging fruit (to fix) but like any institution, the front door creates a lasting impression,” he said.
But the opposition’s ports and freights spokeswoman, Roma Britnell, said the government had allowed the site to “fall apart from neglect”.
“Not only is Station Pier a significant piece of Victoria’s maritime and immigrant history, it’s the gateway to Melbourne by sea, which currently looks like Victoria couldn’t care less about it,” she said.
“Station Pier is in a derelict state from lack of government investment, interest or vision.”
A government spokesman said Ports Victoria is in the process of developing a Victorian Cruise Shipping Strategy.
“We’ll continue to work with Ports Victoria and the City of Port Phillip to investigate possible future uses for Station Pier,” he said.
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