Port Hinchinbrook sewage treatment plant opening signals hope for restoration of estate
For most Australian councils, the construction of a sewage treatment plant would be no big deal, but in the Far North this case holds hopes for the resurrection of a once-luxury resort and residential estate.
Cairns
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A once-thriving coastal marina and community ravaged by natural and economic disaster is being brought back to life, with the opening of a critical piece of infrastructure this week.
And now, the ball is now in the state government’s court to help return the once high-end private Port Hinchinbrook residential estate to its former glory days.
On Wednesday, the Cassowary Coast Regional Council officially opened a new $19m sewage treatment plant for the properties inside the Port Hinchinbrook Estate, after the original system fell into disrepair and began leaking toxic waste out to the Great Barrier Reef.
The ceremony attracted local councillors, Federal Assistant Minister for Regional Development Senator Anthony Chisholm, Mulgrave MP Terry James on behalf of the Deputy Premier, and Hinchinbrook MP Nick Dametto, for what most would assume is a basic service and facility in the operations of a local government.
But the plant’s opening marked a significant milestone in a larger battle that’s spanned decades – the normalisation and restoration of Port Hinchinbrook.
Approved in 1995, the Port Hinchinbrook Marina, resort, and housing estate was built by famous developer Keith Williams at Oyster Point, on the doorstep of Cardwell.
The maintenance and upkeep of the development’s public amenities was managed and funded internally between landholders and the company – Williams Corporation.
However, the estate, like most of the Cassowary Coast, was ravaged by Cyclone Yasi in 2011 with the damage contributing towards the demise of Mr Williams’ company.
A glimmer of hope was provided in 2016 when The Passage Holdings purchased the resort and marina from the liquidator FTI Consulting for $3m, but the newcomer also entered administration, plummeting the value of individual private lots in the process.
The downfall of the estate was estimated to contribute towards the closure of about a dozen businesses at Cardwell as well as a reduction in the town’s population – such is the value and hope locals hold in the development for their own economic prosperity.
Since the winding up of Passage Holdings, maintenance of roads, the sewage treatment plant and the dredging of One Mile Creek to support a functioning marina all came to halt.
For locals, the investment of $19m for a new treatment plant for an estate in financial strife is more than just a solution for the leaking of waste from the old facility, it represented hope governments were willing to invest in bringing the Cardwell asset back to life.
While CCRC through its normalisation process had taken responsibility for the estate’s sewage treatment plant, roads and water assets, and has overseen an emergency, temporary dredge of One Mile Creek, Mayor Teresa Millwood said she “somewhat” felt the pressure of bringing Port Hinchinbrook back to life.
That would include a major dredge of the creek estimated to cost about $20m, as well as the possible public acquisition of key infrastructure including the resort and restaurant, the marina, and key vacant land, some of which had originally been earmarked for commercial businesses and a caravan park which never eventuated.
“As the mayor I’d like to see the resort up and happening again, there were provisions there for a caravan park and maybe someone will reinvigorate the marina.”
It’s understood the acquisition of key Port Hinchinbrook assets would be less than $5m but Ms Millwood ruled out a council-owned marina.
Mr Dametto in March 2024 received a submission from the CCRC and the Cardwell Chamber of Commerce calling on him to help seek commitments from “all levels of government to work together” towards an all-tide solution for One Mile Creek and to “proactively seek new and innovative investment attraction models” for the development.
Prior to the October State election, then-Premier Steven Miles joined Mr Dametto at Port Hinchinbrook to announce the top up of funds to complete the STP, and stated he was directing Economic Development Queensland to commence negotiations to acquire necessary land.
Mr Miles’ plan was that EDQ would also arrange for the dredging of One Mile Creek and restore the site to a point it could then be listed on the market for a prospective developer.
“The sewage treatment plant was definitely a trigger for the normalisation process of Port Hinchinbrook, but at the end of the day, if we’ve got a State Government that’s focusing on ecotourism, we’ve got a state and federal government that wants to show off the Great Barrier Reef, we need marine access to places like Port Hinchinbrook,” Mr Dametto said.
“We’ve got interested parties that would love to purchase Port Hinchinbrook and redevelop it back to its former glory, but it needs a number of boxes ticked before it can be even considered, which include a one time dredge and a clean up of the marina basin.
“You must be reminded that there is still concrete blocks and god knows what else left on the bottom of that marina basin after Cyclone Yasi, we’ve also got to have a governance model set up so we can ensure that there is a way to pay for maintenance and dredging moving forward, that includes the marina putting in their contribution, to state and local government, but also ratepayers that have a direct benefit from Port Hinchinbrook.”
The original governance model set up by Mr Williams absolved governments of funding maintenance, putting that burden on the operator of the development.
PARADISE LOST IN COUPLE’S TRIP DOWN MEMORY LANE
Cairns couple Trudy and David Knight are among the thousands of North Queenslanders who would spend a weekend at Port Hinchinbrook for their local escape.
On a quiet Wednesday, the Trinity Beach residents decided they would go on a trip down memory lane as they walked their dogs Bindi and Bundy around the now derelict restaurant and marina boardwalk.
“It used to be absolutely gorgeous, a lovely place,” Ms Knight said.
“The old bakery, it’s closed now, but that’s why we’d come to Cardwell and stay here,” she said, noting the number of businesses the town had lost since downfall of the estate.
“I remember we actually checked in after Cyclone Yasi, and there was seaweed still in the drawers of the main office. But since then it’s sad what’s happened.
“We would come down at least three times a year and for us – we definitely would be return and stay here if they got it all cleaned up.”
Originally published as Port Hinchinbrook sewage treatment plant opening signals hope for restoration of estate
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