Point Nepean quarantine station available for leasehold tourism operators

As part of its plan to develop Point Nepean National Park, the Victorian government is seeking expressions of interest from leasehold operators of it heritage listed quarantine station.

The government is hoping to turn the 17-hectare site, on the western tip of the Mornington Peninsula, into a vibrant tourist destination.

The site is the second oldest intact quarantine station in Australia, established in 1852.

It was designed to defend the Colony of Victoria against disease and foreign attack.

A 2006 archaeological report said that by 1860, the Melbourne station was the largest and best appointed quarantine ground in Australia.

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It was first built to accommodate the rush of immigrants following the discovery of gold in Victoria in 1851.

The site was developed following the tragic arrival of Ticonderga, a ship that sailed from Birkenhead England but was overrun with yellow fever during its 80-day journey.

According to reports at the time, 100 people of the 795 passengers onboard died and there was not enough room to house all the survivors within the station and many died in tents surrounding it. Others, lured by gold escaped the confines.

Fears of small pox and other diseases meant subsequent arrivals to Victoria were impounded in the station until medical professionals deemed them fit to be released.

It was last used as a quarantine camp in 1954 when 113 army members onboard the Strathaird, were quarantined with smallpox.

It was officially closed in 1978.

In 1952 a military training camp and army cadet school was established with the accommodation built remaining today. It

In 2005 it was reported there were plants to convert Point Nepean into a marine educational school.

The state government has suggested options including accommodation, restaurants, education uses.

The older buildings will likely be protected while those dating from the 1960s will likely be demolished. Parts of the site are falling into disrepair.

A government report recently recommended sensible and sensitive developments in national parks to unlock Victorian tourism.

It is nearby to a memorial to Prime Minister Harold Holt, who went missing in 1967.

A $13.8 million program to upgrade roads, car parks and infrastructure at Point Nepean is nearing completion.

The government is going through a tender process to select a tenant.

The lease is being marketed by Jones Lang LaSalle agents Matthew George and Peter Harper.

Images courtesy of the State Library of Victoria and the Point Nepean Community Trust.