For 133 years, the Split Point Lighthouse has acted as a beacon for ships sailing perilously close to the rocky Victorian coastline at Aireys Inlet.
The historic lighthouse – the setting for the popular television series Round the Twist – continues lighting the way for ships navigating their way along the coast.
The Split Point Lighthouse, which looms above the coastline and Great Ocean Road. Credit: Joe Armao
But now a dispute over the right to run tours at this popular tourism attraction is the latest flashpoint between coastal communities and a recently established government authority tasked with managing some of the Great Ocean Road’s best-loved sites.
Tourism company Eco-Logic Education has been the only tour operator at the lighthouse since tours began in 2005 and had been preparing for another 21-year licence.
But when they sought to renew their licence this year, the managers of Eco-Logic were shocked by one clause in the expression of interest documents.
In the documents, the Great Ocean Road Coast and Parks Authority also reserved the right to run its own tours – the very thing it was seeking an operator to do.
Eco-Logic co-manager Regina Gleeson at the Split Point Lighthouse. Credit: Joe Armao
Eco-Logic co-manager Regina Gleeson said it had come as a complete surprise. “It’s bizarre,” she said.
The Great Ocean Road Coast and Parks Authority was set up by the state government in December 2020 to create one manager for public sites – from parks and beaches to town foreshores – stretching from Torquay to Warrnambool. It is now in the process of taking over control of public spaces and landmarks, some of which were managed by councils and community committees of management.
Gleeson said she accepted that the authority has the right to appoint any business operator it sees fit to run tours as part of the expression of interest process.
“But when it’s the authority themselves – that’s another story,” she said.
The Split Point Lighthouse is a popular tourism destination. Credit: Joe Armao
The clause in the Split Point Lighthouse expression of interest says the coastal authority is licensed under an agreement with the Australian Maritime Safety Authority to “also conduct tours at the facility”.
While it has no plans to do so, it reserves that right in the future.
The coastal authority, which took over management of the lighthouse at Aireys Inlet in May, said there was a temporary tenure arrangement in place at the time that needed to be updated.
In a statement, the authority insisted the tours clause was a “standard measure” to ensure it could step in and continue the service if a tour operator ceased operations.
The Great Ocean Road Coast and Parks Authority is responsible for the coastline from Torquay to Warrnambool. Credit: tsvibrav
“Conducting business on Crown land reserve is a special privilege, and the authority is committed to upholding proper procedures in awarding this sub-license,” the authority said.
But Gleeson said the authority now ran the Cape Otway Lightstation and two caravan parks in the area, and she was worried she could lose her business.
She said the expression of interest process to run lighthouse tours required handing over extensive commercial information and intellectual property, which her business had developed over years, and she feared this would be relinquished if the authority rejected her bid for a contract extension.
Credit: Matt Golding
In 2021, the Anglesea Motor Yacht Club completed an extensive upgrade after raising more than $1.1 million to complete the work, immediate past commodore Wes Smith said.
“At no stage were we supported by any government loans or grants,” he said.
Smith said his volunteer-run club was assured it would receive a 21-year lease by the Great Ocean Road Coast Committee, the predecessor to the authority.
But when the authority took over, it sought to implement a one-year lease before finally agreeing to 10 years after protracted negotiations, Smith said.
“It’s been incredibly stressful,” he said.
The authority insisted the 10-year lease was appropriate and said it would review the agreement after completing a coastal adaptation plan that would consider erosion mitigation measures for Anglesea. It denied that it or the government had ever approved a 21-year lease.
The authority also raised concerns of its own about the community – stunning many residents.
In August, it released a statement calling on Great Ocean Road communities to show respect in response to “unwarranted, unruly and disrespectful behaviour”.
Great Ocean Road Coast and Parks Authority’s chief executive Jodie Sizer. Credit: Joe Armao
In the public statement, chief executive Jodie Sizer said not all of the authority’s decisions would be popular, but there was no excuse for abuse.
“It has become all too easy for individuals to hurl hurtful, harmful words, often without considering the real pain inflicted on real people,” she said. “Enough is enough.”
The authority did not provide examples of specific incidents of abuse when asked by The Sunday Age.
Sizer insisted her organisation had been doing important work and that fragmented management had been reduced at coastal reserves, ports and public land previously overseen by different agencies.
The authority is also under financial pressure. In the 2022-23 financial year, its comprehensive result was a $1.475 million loss. It did not respond to questions about whether it hoped to become profitable by taking over businesses at lighthouses.
But it did say it had received additional government funding to enhance visitor facilities, beach accessibility and coastal protection. The authority insisted that all revenue raised on its sites was invested back into the Great Ocean Road coastline and parks.
Yet, some residents along the road fear its takeover of public sites has eroded community involvement.
This year, the authority assumed management of the Princetown Recreation Reserve, which included a caravan park that had been run by a local committee of management on behalf of the Department of Environment.
Princetown business operator Matt Bowker said the reserve used to be a source of great local pride with residents pouring in countless volunteer hours before the takeover.
“All of that community goodwill is gone,” he said.
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