Hopes for a rejuvenated Old Sydney Town have taken an upward turn after members from the community group Bring Back Old Sydney Town (BBOST) met with the site’s owners on August 22 to discuss future plans.
Spokesperson Jake Cassar said government agencies had been meeting with the owners to discuss moving forward with the revitalisation and reopening of the Somersby site, which was a popular tourist attraction for more than 25 years before it closed in 2003.
“We want to ensure that the community is consulted every step of the way, and that certainly includes Traditional Custodians from the Guringai and Darkinoong people,” Cassar said.
He said the meeting with the site’s owners took place next to the large dam inside Old Sydney Town.
“It was amazing to spend some time in this iconic place and see all of the colonial-style buildings, most of which are still in decent condition,” he said.
The group had previously met with the owners in March 2022, raising strong concerns that only about a third of the original site would be retained in the proposal at that time.
But Cassar said the owners were now proposing to restore 70-80 per cent of the original buildings and re-establish another tall ship in the dam.
“In the original plans, it was only a small portion of the site that was to be retained, and only 10 per cent of the buildings, so we’ll take that as a significant win for our community,” he said.
“We’ve been pushing for this for well over a decade now,” Cassar said.
“We are motivated not only by the thousands of local jobs it will create, boosting our local economy, but also by maintaining our cultural identity as a nation.
“I had many childhood memories come flooding back as we walked down the main street and past the courthouse to meet with the owners.
“I really hope that others can experience that with their children and grandchildren in the very near future.”
Long-time campaigner and group member Sara Powter said she felt residents’ ideas, wants, and needs were finally being genuinely listened to.
But she agreed that the community needs to see the detailed plans before fully supporting the proposal.
“We stressed that keeping the era; any new building must look the part,” she said.
“For any non-themed developments, we suggested moving them a little further away and out of eyesight from the inside of the Old Sydney Town venue.
“I was impressed that the main buildings were still structurally sound (well, the basic bases).
“The shingle and timber roofs have fallen in, but, as many were built in the 70s with a 12-year life, they have done well.
“As to the future of the venue, we now have great hope.
“Yes it will be different, but we’re hoping that it will be bigger and better.
“I was delighted to see that the grounds had been maintained.”
The group urged the community to join its Facebook page Bring Back Old Sydney Town for future updates.
Cassar said Minister for the Central Coast and Member for Wyong David Harris had informed him the site was going through the normal consultation process required under Gateway.
The purpose of the Gateway Determination is to ensure early in the process that there is sufficient strategic and site-specific merit for the planning proposal to progress.
Nothing will go on display until there is agreement to move to the next stage.
Public consultation is a requirement under the rezoning process and will occur when a formal proposal is submitted.
Terry Collins
Not being born in Australia myself, I really enjoyed visiting old Sydney Town many times bringing each of my children here. It is sad to see it closed and I’m hopeful it will reopen in the future
My family and I had a 12 month pass and loved going to old Sydney town. Most every weekend, There is nothing on the central coast For kids , , QLD. Has. Movie world, Etc. We have nothing in NSW , , we need. Something. On the coast, To have a family day out , , Can’t wait for old Sydney town to open again ,
Would be great to see Old Sydney Town open once again. Great memories of the place.
I do hope that this does eventuate, it’ll bring so much back to the Central Coast. Our kids went there quite often, even the school they attended to had excursions there. MAKE THIS HAPPEN!!!!☺️
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this is very exciting and hopefully will happen.
I worked at OST for several years, eventually in the role of Entertainment Co-ordinator. The development of the site would provide opportunities for education, entertainment and employment for local people. It has the potential to become a tourist attraction, and a resource for schools, of a high standard. The cost of development and operation would inevitably be high, but the local community would benefit in many ways.
Hooray!! I used to go there regularly back in the 80s, ,can’t wait to take the grandkids, I always wanted a job there doing the street theatre
Things not mentioned in this article –
This is in the hinterland of the Central Coast.
This is a 120 hectare site.
The Old Sydney Town component is 20 ha. of the 49.2 ha. Tourism part.
The residential part is 38.4 ha.
The Commercial part is 4.5 ha.
The Conservation/open space is 27.6 ha (What that represents is anybody’s guess.)
So this development proposal is about half the size of Kariong Township.
It is not far under half the size of the Somersby Industrial Estate. (Business Park)
It is 300 metres from one of the most significant Aboriginal Sacred sites on the Central Coast – the Moonee Moonee Aboriginal Place.
It is 1 kilometre from the fantastic Central Coast Mega Cave.
It is 2 kilometres from my home in Somersby and I have seen no effort at all to consult the Somersby community.
It borders Brisbane Water National Park. It is capable of being home for all the same species that Mr. Cassar expresses concern for in Kariong. I know this because I have the same and similar species on my property and it’s basically the same Hawkesbury Sandstone country.
I don’t think people realise the implications of such a massive development proposal for the natural environment, the Somersby plateau, agriculture in general etc. There are so many issues here that this should not just be accepted without serious thought about where this might lead.
The community needs to think wider than a pet project that would have no guarantee of success and continuance, armed with the knowledge that it was a loss making venture throughout it’s past history.
I would love to re visit and re live our child hood