Dwellingup, the Shire of Murray’s trails town, is the focus of strategic tourism product development, set to harness the adventure town’s untapped potential and transform the locality into a tourist town of national and future internarial, significance.
A $4.5 million investment is redeveloping the Dwellingup History and Visitor Information Centre into a Trails Centre, a meeting place for all trail users, comprising upgraded toilet facilities including hot showers, gift and bike shop, café, laundry, lockers, an operator and tours hub and RV vehicle dump point.
The Trails Centre Concept Building Plans have been finalised and the architectural plans are being developed, to allow the Shire to tender for the buildings construction in October.
The Trails Centre component enhances other project components including a skate park and pump track, an adventure playground, entertainment stage and additional barbeque and picnic facilities.
Project efforts will also better incorporate Dwellingup’s rail trails into the town’s trail offering, through the Hotham Valley Tourist Railway Rail Relocation project component.
Hotham Valley Tourist Railway have relocated an 80ft turntable from a Pinjarra depot, to a prominent location in the project precinct.
The turntable will establish a unique advantage for the town, allowing users to view the trains, as they pass by and turn on the turntable.
The Shire of Murray also propose a realignment of the Munda Biddi Trail and Bibbulmun Track to meet at the Trails Centre.
Plans for the skate park have been finalised with the tender process for the construction of the skate park complete and submissions under review.
Pump track plans are being finalised to enable the tender process early in the New Year and the Precinct Masterplan is being developed to final design.
The Shire anticipates that works on the Hotham Valley Tourist Railway Rail Relocation component will conclude in the next few months, with overall project completion anticipated for the second half of 2019.
In conjunction with the project, the Shire of Murray has collaborated with the Shire of Collie and the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions to submit a Regional Growth Fund grant application to support the Dwellingup-Collie Tourism and Trails Initiative.
If successful, a $9.2 million investment will develop trails infrastructure in Dwellingup.
This initiative is anticipated to create 80 full-time jobs, and bring over $9 million of new economic activity to the town and $15 million to the Peel region.
The Dwellingup National Trails Centre project is proudly supported by the Australian Government’s Building Better Regions Fund, the State Government through the Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries – Sport and Recreation, Lotterywest, TourismWA, Alcoa, Shire of Murray, Hotham Valley Tourist Railway and Dwellingup Community Association.
For further information visit murray.wa.gov.au.
This article was first published in the Peel Magazine, Spring/Summer 2018 – vol 4.2 – to read and download the full magazine, click here.