TO THE INQUIRY INTO VICTORIA’S TOURISM INDUSTRY BY THE VICTORIAN
COMPETITION AND EFFICIENCY COMMISSION
by Graeme Menère FAICD
9 November 2010
I wish to take this opportunity to commend the initiative of the Victorian Government and the
Competition and Efficiency Commission in this endeavour.
Introduction
I am a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and a member of the Victorian
divisions, Albury/ Wodonga regional Committee.
I have a degree in business marketing and Management and specialise in Tourism product
development and marketing, and have maintained offices in Christchurch and London.
I have recently developing an umbrella company of independent market ready tour and
adventure operators, combining resources to extend the members marketing reach, develop
there services and ensure sustainable, continuous services, both nationally and
internationally and in this capacity seek to raise the following issues that have and still are
obstacles to the effecting Tourism Excellence to customer experiences in the Shire of
Towong in the state of Victoria in the far north east of the state and also promoted as the
“Man from Snowy River Country”, where the man himself, “Jack Riley” operated the now
historical “Tom Groggin” Cattle station, with his body laid to rest in the village of Corryong.
The Visitor Experience Proposition
More than any other destination, the legendary Man from Snowy River Country will be an
engaging and personal, Magic experience. With travellers looking for more than just
scenery or pampered relaxation, and seek a unique and authentic experiences.
Victoria’s Murray River High Country will consistently deliver memorable experiences that
will,
Touch your senses,
Take you off the beaten track,
Meet the Local high country folk and experience the Aussie culture and be able to
actively learn about their heritage,
Learn about Different Landscapes and wildlife,
This legendary Man from snowy river country offers the key experience that differentiates us
from any other destination in Australia.
Visitors can expect to experience:- Australiana
- Aboriginal History, Heritage and art.
- Nature
- Legends
- Food and wine
- Journeys
Our journeys are more than just getting from one place to another: they’re about discovering
the diversity, the wonders, the vibrant towns, the people and their unique way of life.
The Experience Seeker can enjoy the vast mountain range, the sky, the stars, the pubs; the
cattle stations and meet the people that make this uniquely Australian landscape what it is.
Encounter and learn about distinctive flora and fauna found nowhere else in the world.
Visiting quaint villages, and dine in stunning restaurants and cafes or simply eat al fresco
sampling local food and wine produce.
The major obstacles that have contributed and will continue to severely retard the
development of the regions tourism, are:
1. The general failure of successive state Tourism Departments to recognise the existence
and unique geographical position the region is placed to meet the visitor travel interests.
2. The failure of successive Government Departments responsible for the preservation of
the early settler and pioneer heritage building and sites.
3. The failure of successive Government Departments (The DSE and Parks Victoria)
responsible for the maintenance of the Historic State Boundary Highway 156.
4. The failure of successive Government Departments (The DSE) responsible for the
preservation, maintenance and public access to historic state rail and trail asset known as
Wodonga –Tallangatta –Cudgewa branch line.
5. The failure of successive Government Departments to maintain a quality physical
infrastructure by not sealing the Nariel – Benambra –Limestone Roads, linked to the
Barry Way as an important access route through three of Victoria’s National park naturebased attractions.
By Comparison” The NSW Kosciuszko Alpine way when sealed, substantially increased it
visitations through the Alps, making access to streams, tracks, and nature more accessible
to the public and tour operators.
Note: The Nariel – Benambra –Limestone Roads, Barry Way link would achieve a greater
visitation to Victoria as the Victorian High Country Regions around Bright Omeo, Mt Buffalo
tourist regions would link up to offer a continuos touring experience and would bring visitors
from NSW and off their ocean beaches.
2.Heritage Building and Sites
There are several outstanding propositions put forward by the Shire of Towong of significant
interest as tourist attractions that require renovation and maintenance and visitor access.
3.Victoria’s Boundary High Way, 156.
Harrington’s and Limestone Tracks
Twice over looked by the “Powers to be” in Victoria’s Colonial and successive Governments since.
The “Indi” or limestone river is the source of the Murray near to Cape Howe and the eastern
coast. It is characterised by the same rocks (ie trap rock, granite, schist @ quartz)at an
elevation at which snow covers the country during many months of the year. The whole
country abounds with spings and mountain torrents and I have no doubt that, in the most
elevated portion of our primary formations, (The Snowy Mountains or Muniong Range) the
principal mineral riches of Australia will eventually be discovered. It will probably be there
that gold and other minerals will be found in such abundance as may well deserve the most
careful management.
Report of Sir Thomas L. Mitchell (1851)
compiled from information passed on to him by Government Surveyor T. Townsend.
At this time the mountains where the Murray water shed rises, were considered terra
incognita.
For Australia’s Most prominent River, it is remarkable that – even until recent times – the lay
of the streams that gather at its source were so very poorly understood.* (See Whitelaw’s
map, pages 40-41 in publication Barr’s Creek. “A Mystery of the Upper Murray” by John
Murphy 1989).
* Even today there are many who argue that the map-makers got it wrong and that the true
source of Australia’s greatest river is Limestone creek and not the little stream which flows
down from forest hill. It is obvious, when viewing modern geological survey maps of the
area, that limestone creek is the natural continuation of a geological fault that holds the
course of the river in more or less a straight line as far down as Tom Groggin Creek.
In 1845, the port Philip district was to be separated off to form the colony of “Victoria”,
Deputy Surveyor General, Major Thomas Mitchell, instructed Government Surveyor
Thomas Townsend, to locate the “nearest source of the Murray to Cape Howe”, and not
necessarily the true hydrographical source of the Murray, from which point the dividing line
between the colonies would be drawn.
Despite the rush to find gold in the Murray high country proved a dismal failure, it did have
some beneficial effects in that it drew attention to a part of the colony which had, for so
long, been overlooked by “the powers to be” in the Victoria’s Colonial Government.
For much this part of the great dividing range, the Upper Murray , or Indi river flows
alongside a chain of mountains known as the Elliot or Indi range. These mountains lie on the
extreme north –east boundary of Victoria and, during the closing of the 19th century, they
were still largely remote and inaccessible. Along the eastern flank of this range on the
Victorian side, many spurs are thrown off into the valley of the Indi and, between these
spurs, gather the headwaters of numerous mountain torrents. The most important of these,
between Towong and Tom Groggin, are Biggara Creek, Bunroy Creek, Barlows Creek,
Surveyors Creek, Hermit Creek, Sony Creek and ,just before the station huts at Tom
Groggin are reached, Omeo Creek.
In 1893-94, the Colony was still in the grip of a Depression and the Government was
desperately seeking solutions and one such scheme was to put the unemployed to work on
useful public projects.
In mid-1894, funds were made available through treasury, to the Victorian mines
department, to put in a network of tracks of which the track up the Indi was just one. It was to
be constructed in two sections, the first to link Corryong with Tom Groggin and the second
section to follow up the Indi from Groggin to the mouth of Limestone Creek and then on to
the head of Limestone creek, to connect with the Omeo-Jindabyne track. (This latter track
had long been used by the stockmen taking cattle across the Alps from Omeo Plains to the
Monaro and vice versa.
The purpose of the track, according to the submission for the Victorian Mines Department
1895 Annual report (Published in 1896), was threefold.
Firstly – to form a highway along the boundary of the colony in an area where it was hitherto
non-existent.
Secondly – to open up steep mountainous country believed to be of auriferous character and enable
the mining population of the Upper Murray Valley to extend their operations towards the river’s
sources, and
Thirdly – to aid the development of the area known as the “Buckwong” district.
The first section of track, from Towong to Tom Groggin station, was estimated at 38 miles, 30 miles
(48km) of which had to be cut “from scratch” through virgin bush. Most of the initial section closely
adhered to the course of the river. The project began in May 1895 and was officially known as Track
156 – The Towong to Tom Groggin Track but became known as Harrington’s track after Mr John
Charles Harrington, the overseer largely responsible for seeing the job through.
The second leg from Tom Groggin to the head of the Limestone Creek, only 12 miles(19km), was
called the Limestone Track. The high cost incurred in cutting this latter section (Twice the cost per
mile) gives some appreciation of the rugged terrain through which the track was driven. To maintain
an easy grade both sections required the excavation of extensive side cuttings, many miles of which
had to be hewn out of the steeply inclined, solid rock face, immediately above the river.
To venture along these tracks is to enter into a forest wonderland. All along its course, the rider, or
hiker, is afforded fantastic views of both the mountains and rivers; in fact the tracks pass through
some of the most spectacular country that this portion of Victoria, on the western slopes of the
Snowy Mountains, has to offer. It winds over high gaps, negotiates its way around precipitous
bluffs, passes through tall timber and skirts above spectacular river gorges.
This journey, through dry and typically hard and tough Australian bush, is alternately punctuated by
the adventurer being led down into cool fern gullies, the home of crystal streams whose banks are
carpeted with hazel, blanket wood, musk, maiden hair and ancient tree fern. Some of the later
“citizens” of the lush under story have obtained tremendous heights.
Being greeted by Kangaroo, Wallaby, Emus and Lyrebird was an unexpected delight to this
adventurous traveller, and is truly a trek through the “forest primeval”.
These remote trails can be made accessible to the national and inbound tourist and provide
opportunities for *certified guides to promote their services to this market with the aid of state
policy that currently overlooks proper maintenance of the state highway track 156 by Parks Victoria,
with many parts over grown and with timber and land slips blocking the track.
*guided experiences that would be opened up to the tourist are but not limited to; White water
rafting (currently vaunted as the best white water rapids in Australia.) Horse treks, mountain and
trail cycle tours, walking treks, fly fishing for trout, bird watching, eco tours and gold fossicking along
this significant historic track, rich in Indigenous, gold miner and early stockman heritage huts.
4.The Branch Line
VIC Rail High Country heritage
A story of Economic Development and Neglect
This report is concerned with just one of the many of the Victorian branch lines built in the
late 1800s. The Wodonga, Tallangatta, Cudgewa, a historic Branch Line rich in heritage.
The Murray Valley highway follows the route of the Wodonga to Cudgewa railway line which
closed in the early 1980s.
The railway line was progressively opened between 1889 and 1921.
In 1919 the line was used to carry materials for the construction of the Hume Dam.
In the early 1950s, like the Town its self, the railway was relocated around Tallangatta to
avoid the rising water of Lake Hume whose volume was to be increased.
In the early 1960s Cudgewa became the railhead of materials for the Snowy Mountains
Scheme.
The last passenger service from Wodonga to Tallangatta ran on September 30th, 1961.
On April 21st, 1978, the last regular goods train ran, with closure of the line in 1981, except
for a short section to Bandiana which closed on September 1st, 2009, as part of the
Wodonga Rail Bypass project.
The line has been partly converted into the High Country rail trail to just past Tallangatta.
In its heyday, this railway line boasted stations at Cudgewa, Wabba, Beetomba, Shelly,
Darbyshire, Bullioh, Tallangatta, Tatonga, Bolga, Huon, Ebden, Bonegilla and Bandiana.
After the Second World War, the majority of the Immigrants were transported to Bonegilla
and then many on to the heart of the Snowy Mountains to work on the Snowy hydro-electric
scheme.
Tallangatta is the only town to survive since the closure of the line owing in part to its
proximity to Albury-Wodonga. The town of Cudgewa, at the rail head, once was a thriving
town but since has given way to the more developed town of Corryong, thanks to the Snowy
hydro Scheme.
From Tallangatta the railway line wends onwards and upwards, passing the old Tallangatta
site and the Omeo highway turn-off, then passing through the farming communities of
Bullioh, Koetong, (famous for its historic pub and historic railway trestle bridges, built circa
1915)and the plantation township of Shelley whose railway station was once the highest in
Victoria.
Theis remote rail trail from either Tallangatta or at leased initially from Koetong to Cudgewa
and then joined with the unfinished rail trail to Corryong, can be made accessible to the
national and inbound tourist and provide opportunities for *certified guides to promote their
services to this market with the aid of state policy that currently overlooks proper protection
and maintenance of trail by the DCS and Towong Shire, with parts over grown, fences
opened up by the farming community to allow stock crossings and fences built to block the
trail to prevent stock wandering along the trail, such preventative measures could have
better served their needs by the instillation of stock grids at places where the rail trail fences
have been opened.
*guided experiences that would be opened up to the tourist are Horse treks, cycle tours,
walking treks, bird watching, and eco tours along this significant historic rail trail, which pass
through some of the most spectacular country that this remote portion of Victoria. It winds
over high gaps, negotiates its way around precipitous bluffs, passes through tall forests into
cool fern gullies, and skirts above spectacular river gorges over historic trestle bridges and
passes through what could be described as Victoria’s most pristine farming country and the
opportunity to see Kangaroo, Wallaby, Emus, Lyrebird and in the streams, the Platypus can
be an unexpected delight.
5.The Elusive Fifth Tourist Loop, Nariel-Benambra-Limestone-Barry Way
TO BRING THE AUSTRALIAN ALPS EXPERIENCE TOGETHER
Victoria has been Missing an Opportunity to Bring Inbound, Sydney and NSW based tourists
into the Victorian, Venturing through Three National Parks Unique experience not repeated
in any other part of Australia, through policies of indifference and neglect, inhibiting the
efforts to bring visitors through the Towong Shire from up north and the inbound traveller and
linking the Alpine Shire tourist cluster with the Snowy Mountain tourist Cluster.
The Goals of the National Landscapes Inc.
The National Landscapes program is a partnership between Tourism Australia and Parks
Australia, developed to identify and promote up to 20 of Australia’s best natural and cultural
landscapes. The program aims to populate Brand Australia with world-class visitor
experiences that draw on the landscape’s nature and culture to appeal to the Experience
Seeker. The Australian Alps is one of these National Landscapes.
Tourism Australia has undertaken extensive research to identify the ideal visitor segment for
Australia – the Global Experience Seeker. They can be found across all ages, income levels
and origins but share a common attitude to travel, personal development and everyday life.
Experience Seekers to the Australian Alps want;
Authentic personal experiences,
Social interaction – making friends and developing personal relationships, especially
opportunities to meet with the locals,
Experiences that are different to their normal day-to-day life,
Understanding and learning about different lifestyles and cultures, preferring to participate
rather than simply observe,
Challenge themselves – physically, emotionally and/or mentally,
Genuine destinations that are not necessarily part of the tourist route,
Exposure to unique and personally compelling experiences,
Across the Australian Alps, a range of development opportunities will support the
destination to develop its competitive edge for the Experience Seeker.
BRINGING THE AUSTRALIAN ALPS EXPERIENCE TOGETHER
The Australian Alps experience has the opportunity for great richness and depth, as
demonstrated by current regional and local marketing. The development of the Australian
Alps Brand and a strategy to take it to market, combined with the cluster-based tourism
framework outlined in this Master Plan, provides the opportunity for regional differentiation
that feeds into a dynamic Alps Brand while providing layering for the visitor experience.
The sheer physical scale of the Australian Alps makes it difficult for visitors to understand
how to engage with it. The Tourism Master Plan provides a framework that brings focus to
concentrations of experiences and the journeys that connect them, at the levels of:
destination clusters, with service hubs; touring journeys, with major gateways and
experience loops.
Destination Clusters
Clusters offer a concentration of products, attractions and support services within a focussed
geographical area. Some areas – or clusters – within the Australian Alps have sufficient
concentration of brand-related products to attract the Experience Seeker, while providing a
range of services to meet their needs.
The four existing clusters and one emerging cluster, offer differentiation and development
priorities. While some clusters offer similar activities and experiences, their tone and style
varies depending on landscape settings and facilities.
Service Hubs
Service hubs are the well developed, all-season visitor services and amenities locations
within the clusters. Hubs, with transport links, staffed visitor centres, a range of
accommodation choices, guided tour services, and banking and retail services, provide an
infrastructure base from which the Experience Seeker can engage with experiences.
A range of other service centres play an important role within each cluster, supporting
journeys and experience loops and in some cases providing a base for overnight stays.
National Landscapes Priority Action
Kosciuszko Cluster includes the Victorian high country town of Corryong on the Murray
River in the Shire of Towong. (See page 27 Australian Alps National Landscapes Tourism
Master plan)
Touring Journeys
Touring journeys offer an experience in their own right while playing a primary role in linking
clusters, attractions, experiences and activities to the major gateways. The Australian Alps
has a multitude of touring routes and drives and the challenge is to present and promote the
best touring routes more effectively rather than develop new ones.
The principal Australian Alps journeys connecting the international gateways of Sydney and
Melbourne are jointly marketed under the Sydney-Melbourne Touring banner and include:
Sydney – Melbourne Heritage Drive;
Sydney – Melbourne Coastal Drive; and
the Great Alpine Road.
The main journeys for the Experience Seeker within the Australian Alps are the Great Alpine
Road and the Kosciuszko Alpine Way. The potential for integrating these two journeys into
one drive experience by developing the Nariel Benambra road linking the Barry way (or
Snowy river road) via the historic link along the Limestone Track from Benambra to Suggan
Buggan, should be further investigated.
Major Gateways and Experience Loops
The major gateways are Melbourne, Sydney and Canberra, with their key international
airports for Experience Seekers to start or end their travel within the Australian Alps, or to
take short Experience Loops to get a sense of what is on offer further into the Australian
Alps.
The Nariel Benambra Barry way loop can also be linked with the Omeo highway and other
experience loops providing a connection between the gateway of Melbourne and the Buller
and Bogong clusters; and provides a connection to the Great Alpine Road, Snowy Valleys
Way and Bogong High Plains Discovery Drive.
Action Plan
The Action Plan is a working tool for Tourism Master Plan implementation.
The implementation process may vary over time in response to new opportunities to secure
funding, the level of support and commitment from stakeholders, and relevant policy
changes at all levels of government.
GOAL 2. GET IT RIGHT ON THE GROUND – ongoing priority
ACTION 2.2
Monitor and manage the implementation of the Tourism Master Plan
• Development of clusters and journeys opportunities
• Experience loop product bundling with a target of 5 product bundling experience
loops market-ready by 2014.
Action by; Australian Alps National Landscape Inc.
Ongoing Action
GOAL 3. BUILD STRONG EXPERIENCES – short, medium and ongoing priority
STRATEGY 4:
Strengthen Clusters, Journeys and Experience Loops
ACTION 4.4
Prioritise and develop the journeys
• Focus on developing, bundling and marketing the experiential product associated with the
two major journeys (Great Alpine Road, Kosciuszko Alpine Way) and supplementary
journeys (Bogong High Plains Discovery Drive, Snowy Valleys Drive)
• Integrate the hierarchy of journeys into Australian Alps marketing collateral.
• Conduct market assessment and determine industry support for establishing a single,
major journey through the Australian Alps that links clusters, the Kosciuskzo Alpine Way and
connects with the Great Alpine Road.
Action by; Australian Alps National Landscape Inc., State/Territory and regional
tourism organisations, land managers, Touring Route Committees, local government.
Medium term Action in Year 3 –Year 5
ACTION 4.5
Foster development of experience loops
• Identify potential experience loops based on existing market-ready or emerging products
and ease/length of travel from gateways and clusters
• Facilitate partnership arrangements for delivery of experience loops, including promotional
activities.
Action by; State, regional and local tourism organisations, local government, alpine resorts,
tourism operators.
Medium term Action in Year 3 –Year 5