Town Shoulders Arms Over Loss Of Army Fort
The Age
Tuesday October 6, 1998
Queenscliff residents still hope to keep the army in town, despite a decision to turn the local historic fort into a museum and motel.
The Defence Minister, Mr Ian McLachlan, last week attempted to end speculation over the picturesque red brick fort's future, announcing his endorsement of a Defence Department plan to relocate the fort and its advanced officer training operation to a new joint services facility in Canberra.
Queenscliff residents are outraged by the decision, which will mean the loss of 10per cent of the local population as well as a major stream of year-round income.
The Queenscliff mayor, Councillor John Bugg, yesterday said the Government had recently spent $8million upgrading Fort Queenscliff and the facility had the capacity to train army, navy and air force members.
The new facility, proposed for Canberra, would cost $80million and would draw the 200 permanent staff and group of 90 training officers away from regional Australia.
Fort Queenscliff contributed about $19million towards the local economy, and the town's banks, schools, and shops would suffer if the year-round occupation of Army personnel was removed, Cr Bugg said.
``Fort Queenscliff is the single largest employer in this region. If it goes, we will lose 10per cent of our community and that won't be compensated by a museum which attracts visitors between Christmas and Easter," Cr Bugg said.
The Defence Department announced Fort Queenscliff would be closed as part of a major cutback in military assets last year, but Mr McLachlan's staff wrote to Queenscliff Council in January, saying Fort Queenscliff was being considered as a potential site for the new joint services facility.
Last week's statement by Mr McLachlan appears to have sealed the fate of the Fort, which the outgoing Defence Minister said would be ``gifted to the State of Victoria under the terms of the Federation Fund to be used as an accommodation facility and museum."
However, a Defence Department spokeswoman yesterday said Mr McLachlan had merely endorsed the Defence Department's stance on the matter and a final decision on Fort Queenscliff would be up to the new Defence Minister.
The fort, constructed in 1882, already attracts busloads of tourists on guided tours. It is expected to be vacated by late 2001 if the Defence Department's position is endorsed.
In the meantime, Cr Bugg and the loyal citizens of Queenscliff would be trying to make their voices heard, hoping for a sympathetic new Minister and an 11th-hour reprieve.
© 1998 The Age
