G’Day Group to acquire Wilpena Pound Resort in Flinders Ranges
A regional accommodation provider is planning a multimillion-dollar revamp of the iconic Wilpena Pound Resort after years of financial losses and underinvestment. See what’s planned.
The country’s largest regional accommodation provider is closing in on an agreement to acquire the Wilpena Pound Resort, with plans for a multimillion-dollar redevelopment of the iconic Flinders Ranges site after years of financial losses.
G’Day Group is partnering with the traditional owners of the Flinders Ranges – the Adnyamathanha people – and the state government, which owns the land on which the resort operates.
As part of a partnering agreement with the Adnyamathanha Traditional Lands Association (ATLA), G’Day Group is promising to invest an initial $5m in infrastructure upgrades, followed by a larger redevelopment including additional accommodation, water parks and “family-friendly” facilities commonly found at other G’Day Group holiday parks across the country.
ATLA, which manages the native title rights, grants and other business interests of the Adnyamathanha people, is expected to ratify the agreement, which is going through final government approvals.
Under a 42-year sub-lease from ATLA, G’Day Group will pay annual rent to the state government and ATLA, which previously owned a small stake in the resort as part of a troubled joint venture with Indigenous Business Australia.
There are also several commitments around Indigenous engagement and employment in the region.
G’Day Group chief executive Grant Wilckens said his company was committed to transforming the resort after years of underinvestment.
“Wilpena Pound is obviously an iconic South Australian property and it’s needed some investment - it’s needed a new lease of life,” he said.
“We’ve been talking to the Adnyamathanha community out there for a couple of years ... we’ve been talking about how we can really transform Wilpena into what it used to be, which is a world class tourism asset that everybody in South Australia can be truly proud of.
“We’ve listened to the community and they want connection to country, they want cultural heritage, they want improved employment and other opportunities for themselves.
“So as a result of that consultation and engagement with the community, and with the state government, we’ve finally reached an agreement so we’re really pleased.”
Mr Wilckens said the initial $5m investment would go towards upgrading the resort’s 60-odd hotel rooms, glamping tents and campground, with “much bigger plans” to follow.
“If you think about what our holiday parks offer, you’ve got self-contained accommodation, self-contained cabins, things like that,” he said.
“We want to look at a model where the resort exists and it’s available for people who want to stay in a resort, but there’s also self-contained options and things you can do in a family-friendly cabin.
“That’s our future plan to really invest in the property so that it’s an iconic asset - resort pools and things like that as well.
“I think the Flinders has probably been under-done for a while, other than Rawnsley Park and a few others.”
Wilpena Pound Resort caps off a string of acquisitions in recent weeks for G’Day Group, which owns and operates 88 holiday parks across its Discovery Parks brand, with an additional 220 sites operated by licensees across its G’Day Parks network. That network includes the Rawnsley Park Station accommodation in the Flinders Ranges.
In May G’Day Group picked up Taunton Farm Holiday Park in Western Australia’s Margaret River wine region and the Moama Waters Holiday Park near Echuca on the banks of the Murray River.
Mr Wilckens said the company - backed by 95 per cent shareholder Australian Retirement Trust - remained on the hunt for more acquisitions, while also spending around $100m annually on redevelopments of existing sites.
And while major flooding and weather events plunged G’Day Group into a $30.2m loss in 2022-23, Mr Wilckens said the company had recovered strongly and would likely report a healthy profit in the 12 months to June.
Meanwhile, special administrators were appointed to take control of ATLA in 2020 after a range of governance, record keeping and financial issues were identified by the Office of the Registrar of Indigenous Corporations.
Special administrator Peter McQuoid said G’Day Group’s acquisition of Wilpena Pound Resort followed years of financial losses and underinvestment at the facility, and the investment was strongly welcomed by the local community.
“I think the feeling can be summed up by the reaction at the ATLA AGM, where it was put to a vote as to whether the members wanted to proceed with the sale and it was almost unanimous - it was actually a day of celebration to be honest with you, people were incredibly pleased with the outcome,” he said.
“All reports are that the resort has suffered from a lack of investment in its infrastructure over the last 12 years.
“G’Day Group are clearly very experienced in running these types of facilities right across Australia. They’ve got a wealth of experience, but more importantly to me, and I think the Adnyamathanha, people is that G’Day Group have shown a really keen interest in working with the Adnyamathanha people because the site is incredibly culturally significant to the Adnyamathanha people.”
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