Two 18-hole international-standard golf courses planned near Robe in South Australia’s South East

THE developer of a $14 million golf resort on a picturesque stretch of South Australia’s coast believes it could become one of the world’s greatest courses and lure tourists from across the globe.

The resort is modelled on the internationally-acclaimed Barnbougle Dunes course in Tasmania’s remote North East.

THE developer of a $14 million golf resort on a picturesque stretch of South Australia’s coast believes it could become one of the world’s greatest courses and lure tourists from across the globe.

The proposed Nora Creina Golf Resort, 15km southeast of Robe, would feature two 18-hole links-style golf courses shaped out on a privately owned 2km-long stretch of sand dunes.

The project, granted Major Project status by the State Government and undergoing a rigorous assessment process, will also feature accommodation, a restaurant, clubhouse, abalone farm, vineyard and Wagyu beef farm.

The course is modelled on the internationally acclaimed Barnbougle Dunes course in Tasmania’s remote North East, which has been judged among the best in the world.

The Nora Creina course has the backing of the Robe Council which believes if the development goes ahead it will boost tourism in the region and prove a fillip for the South East economy which has been hit with the closures of timber mills.

But a neighbouring landowner and indigenous representatives fear the development will destroy habitat for wildlife and erase important Aboriginal burial sites.

The course would be located on land owned by brothers and abalone farmers Damian and Justin Scanlon, who bought the 242ha site 10 years ago.

The course, which still requires formal approval, will occupy about a quarter of the property next to Little Dip Conservation Park.

Justin Scanlon, 55, said the goal is to create a “world-class” course for the state that would attract people from overseas and put the South East on the map.

“It has to be one of the greatest courses of the world, that’s why we want to do it,” he said.

“It will be a public course, the courses in Adelaide like Kooyonga, Royal Adelaide and Glenelg, they are all private and cost a fortune (to be a member), we’re saying let’s open it up to the public, have a brilliant course site that’s on the ocean, that’s windy.

“We’re not going to build just an average golf course, this has got to be world-class, this has to be somewhere where people from the (United) States, someone from Japan or China says it’s one of the courses I have to go and play.

“I would hope in this (economic) climate and being the regional areas have suffered especially the South East ... this is just what they need.”

Mr Scanlon said project is unfunded because the resort has not been approved.

But he anticipated that the first course could be ready for play a year from when the project is given the go-ahead.

The final decision on the plan rests with Governor Hieu Van Le, who must sign off on a recommendation from the Government.

Depending on demand, a second course could be opened, with the potential to generate more than 100 permanent jobs.

The development needs the support of the federal Environment Department because it involves clearing native vegetation which is home to a number of threatened and endangered animals and plants.

Mr Scanlon said water for the course would be accessed through existing water licences and underground supplies.

He said the aim would also be to revegetate the site by removing exotic weeds, and invasive species which he says have overtaken the dune system and replanting native species.

Robe Mayor Peter Riseley said the council views Nora Criena Golf Resort as an “integral major project” to improving the “wellbeing” of the South East.

“We are due for a good news story, there’s been so much doom and gloom with the forestry closures, but this could be a major contributor to Robe and the region,” he said.

“They are talking about 120 jobs, that’s a very major number of jobs for a regional area, particularly at a time when SA has got the highest unemployment in the nation.”

He hoped the course would attract people over the border from Victoria.

In a submission to the federal Environment Department, Dr Irene Watson, chairperson of the Kungari Aboriginal Heritage Association, said the area was of immense Aboriginal heritage significance with extensive midden and burial sites throughout the dune region.

“The proposed development will have a long-term impact upon the area and will literally bury and remove forever any trace of Aboriginal heritage from the proposed development lands,” she wrote.

“The region currently retains a continuous coastal ecological corridor that is of immense cultural, historical and heritage value to indigenous peoples and including all Australians.”

A neighbouring landowner, who declined to be named, said the project would put a lot of pressure on an “already fragile environment” and threatened species of fauna and flora that inhabit the area, such as the Spider Orchid.

“The areas and lakes surrounding the Little Dip Conservation Park are important environmentally to this region as the area supports corridors to the Little Dip Conservation Park, lakes systems and coastal strip,” she said.

Originally published as Two 18-hole international-standard golf courses planned near Robe in South Australia’s South East