Triabunna mill owner chips away at renewal

Wotif founder and provocateur Graeme Wood has launched a long-awaited performance space at a defunct mill – and not without his fair share of trouble along the way, writes Amanda Ducker.

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A SITE that once reduced old-growth forest trees into woodchips is reducing audiences to tears of joy.

November 21 was an emotional day for Spring Bay Mill, Triabunna, owner Graeme Wood, too, as he launched the waterfront venue’s newest performance space.

“The whole theme here is to regenerate not just the landscape but also the social integration of the East Coast and especially through the arts,” Wood said.

“We want to be part of the renaissance of the East Coast of Tasmania. It’s a fabulous place.”

Spring Bay Mill owner Graeme Wood and his partner Anna Cerneaz, left, and singer Ange Boxall, at the mill’s newest performance space.

The entrepreneur and philanthropist was speaking to an audience of 200 guests sprawled on the lawns to hear singer/songwriter Ben Salter perform laconic ballads in a Roman-style theatre where a massive woodchip pile once stood.

Wood also paid tribute to the site’s long history.

“I hark back to the First Nations in a way because Freestone Point was a great gathering place for those people (of the Paredarerme/Oyster Bay nation). What we want to do is bring back the nature of that gathering.”

One of the Spring Bay Mill’s other venue spaces, the Banksia Room, which is available for events. Picture: ZAK SIMMONDS

As well as Salter, the day’s guitar and vocals-rich line-up curated by musician Ange Boxall also featured Lutruwita man Dewayne Everettsmith, upcoming Launceston duo Just Flare and singer Crystal Sky.

The amphitheatre completes a trio of upcycled performance and function venues at what was once the world’s biggest woodchip mill. All sprang to life as roving band Baba Bruja led patrons from space to space.

The 43ha site was controversially acquired and permanently retired as a forestry operation by Wood in 2011, initially in partnership with businesswoman Jan Cameron until that relationship became strained.

The Spring Bay Mill’s Tin Shed, once the centre of woodchip production on the site, has been repurposed as an entertainment venue and is also available for events. Picture: ZAK SIMMONDS

Site renewal, which began with intensive landscape regeneration and is evolving with arts activations, is a passion project for Sydney-based Wood and his partner Anna Cerneaz.

“It’s been a bit of a journey going back awhile,” Wood said.

“I didn’t earn a lot of friends by buying this in the early days.

“We had a few threats of compulsory acquisition, we had a parliamentary inquiry, but we kept plugging on, and here we are.”

When the function centre, performance and accommodation spaces are not rented out for private events such as weddings and corporate meets, Wood, Cerneaz, Boxall and a host of other creatives take over with eclectic events.

Today, the mill hosts Wine and Words with First Dog on the Moon and Joseph Burton Wines.

Spring Bay Mill general manager Robert Williams shows of one of the shacks at the site people can book. Picture: ZAK SIMMONDS

On December 20, Van Diemen’s Band and the Tasmanian Youth Chorale will perform Christmas carols. A Hair of the Dog day on January 2 will combine “live music and dead pig”, as Wood describes it.

The annual summer Sunflower Festival, celebrating horticulture, growth and renewal, will be held on January 30.

Symbolising unwavering faith, the sunflower seems a fitting emblem for the entire project.

“We will not give up on this,” Wood told the Gigs in Space gathering to keen applause. “We will keep going.”

Book your tickets to summer gigs at Spring Bay Mill’s website.