By Bronwyn Hastings

Ararat’s tourism drawcard Aradale has been closed to the public, with leaseholder Melbourne Polytechnic suspending tours due to safety concerns.

Friends of J Ward volunteers host historical daytime tours of the government-owned former psychiatric hospital, while Eerie Tours gives night-time, paranormal-based tours.

Eerie Tours was informed on Friday by phone and email of the immediate access suspension to Aradale, citing ‘a number of safety concerns requiring further investigation and assessment’.

Eerie Tours owner Nathaniel Buchanan said the 162-year-old heritage-listed buildings’ safety concerns were ‘serious this time’.

“Over the last four years, Melbourne Polytechnic has ignored all requests for any form of maintenance – and there have been many that have come from myself, from the maintenance man on site, and from MP Martha Haylett,” he said.

“Holes in the slate roof have appeared and gotten bigger and bigger. We’ve got water coming into the building, and it’s just been deemed completely unsafe by a Melbourne Polytechnic facilities director.

“It’s a legal obligation they maintain the building, it’s heritage listed up the wazoo and of significant state importance – the Heritage Act is not optional. There are penalties for not fixing it.

“There’s millions of dollars’ worth of damage, and over the next 10 years it’ll be tens-of-millions of dollars.”

Mr Buchanan said for almost 16 years, Eerie Tours had brought about 10,000 people – and $5-million – a year to the 8500-population rural city. The closure will result in 14 Eerie Tours staff being out of work.

Yesterday, Mr Buchanan met with Federal Member for Wannon Dan Tehan, who was hosting Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price in Ararat to meet with the region’s business owners, where the closure was discussed.

Mr Buchanan encouraged people to contact their local members of parliament and Ararat Rural City Council to voice their concerns.

He said the community response to the closure had been humbling.

“Aradale doesn’t belong to just me, it belongs to the whole town and the whole state,” he said.

Mr Buchanan said the town would be decimated by the closure.

“I’ve got emails from multiple motel owners, saying this is going to cut their weekend traffic by 75 to 80 per cent,” he said. “It’s going to smash the town, and it’ll damage the surrounding regions – Stawell, Halls Gap, even Ballarat’s going to get hit. There are people who stay in Ballarat and go to Ararat and back every weekend.

“It’s a national treasure – we entertain people from all over Australia every weekend.” 

Ararat Mayor Bob Sanders said the strain on the district’s tourism sector was ‘very real’, having ‘immediate flow-on impacts on our accommodation and hospitality businesses’.

“While safety concerns surrounding the site make this a complex issue, the resulting strain on our tourism sector is very real, and we remain fully committed to supporting our local business community,” he said. 

Greater Ararat Business Network president Kelsey Hocking said Eerie Tours had the network’s support.

“With at least 10,000 visitors a year coming to our region directly attributed to the tour of this iconic building, the economic and tourism value of this attraction is undeniable,” she said.

“The current state of dilapidation of such an iconic and historically significant building is a disgrace and represents a missed opportunity for our community, tourism sector and regional economy.

“There is an opportunity to produce something truly great through the reinvigoration of this site. 

“With the existing demand, there is a strong foundation upon which to build a broader visitor experience, creating further tourism, employment and economic opportunities for Ararat and the surrounding region.”

Ms Hocking said the GAB Network called on the State Government to commit to working with the community, tour hosts and businesses to re-open the site to the public, restore regular tours and explore other appropriate opportunities for the building and site.

Aradale was closed as an asylum in 1998, and in 2001 the State Government provided $7.4-million to establish a Melbourne Polytechnic campus.

Melbourne Polytechnic has established a winery, a four-hectare lavender farm, and extensive training facilities at the site.

A Melbourne Polytechnic spokesperson said a recent safety inspection found a number of buildings were not safe for public access.

“We are now working at pace to determine the level of work required to enable safe access,” they said.

In her letter to Melbourne Polytechnic, Member for Ripon Martha Haylett wrote the decision had blindsided the Ararat community and had already caused significant damage to local businesses, jobs and the tourism industry.

She urged Melbourne Polytechnic to immediately meet with Eerie Tours and local stakeholders, investigate options for safe interim access, provide a clear timeline for repairs and reopening, and commit to the long-term future of Aradale as a heritage and tourism asset.
“It was made without consultation, without warning, and without any clear plan for what comes next,” Ms Haylett wrote.

“The fallout has been immediate. Eerie Tours has reportedly lost 95 per cent of its revenue overnight. 

“More than 14 locals jobs are now at risk. Accommodation providers are reporting booking cancellations and losses of up to 80 per cent of their weekend trade.”

Friends of J Ward vice-president Peter Waterman said Aradale was part of their tourism offerings, showing about 2000 people through each year on weekend tours, while J Ward attracted about 12,000 people across two daily tours 364 days a year. “We’re concerned about the safety issues too – Melbourne Polytechnic is going to assess the buildings and we’re very keen to make sure that any visitors who come with us are safe, so we understand the closure and hope that once an assessment is done, we’ll be able to continue some sort of tour and tell the story of the Aradale Mental Hospital,” he said.

Mr Waterman said while the old Victorian-style buildings were impressive, there was a lot of mould, ceilings had come down, with ‘no maintenance on the buildings’ in the past 30 years.

Mr Waterman said J Ward was still open for tours every day.

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