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Inland golf for Shipwreck Coast?
Henry Peters
land, in winter, it’s covered in water for a start
so to turn that into an 18-hole golf course
that you can use all year round, there’d have
to be an awful lot of work done.”
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@hsspeters
P
Corangamite Shire councillor Peter Harkin
forecasts any changes under the master plan
could be several decades away from being
implemented.
eterborough Golf Club in coastal
western Victoria could be extended
from nine holes to 18 if local councils
completing a draft master plan for the
Shipwreck Coast choose to move on
discussions around building another nine
holes inland.
“The master plan is all very long-term,”
Harkin says. “I don’t reckon I’ll live to see a
lot of it myself. It’s just a proposal. A lot of
the things on the master plan are put on as
extras.”
The Corangamite Shire and Moyne Shire
Councils are preparing a master plan in
conjunction with Parks Victoria, which
will include a range of proposals aimed at
bolstering Peterborough’s appeal as a Great
Ocean Road tourist stop.
Harkin agrees with Hesketh and Irvine that
drainage at the proposed location would be
a major issue for any new set of holes.
“I wonder how they’ll ever get it out there in
a wetland. I would say it’s a long way off.”
“Part of that submission had factored
in an extension to the Peterborough Golf
Club, which is on the north side of the
Peterborough township,” says local Ron
Irvine who, along with his sisters, owns the
property being considered.
Irvine – president of the Peterborough
Residents Group – understands an idea had
been floated to add nine new holes to the
town’s current course, close to a kilometre
away on land he owns along with his family.
The concept – while only in a preliminary
phase – was unanimously rejected by
all seven members of the Peterborough
Residents Group at a meeting in late May.
Irvine says any golf development on his
family’s land is highly unlikely.
“It’s not been within the planning of
the residents and it’s not been within the
Irvine says too much focus on boosting
tourist visitation numbers along the
Shipwreck Coast will damage Peterborough’s
appeal as a quiet town.
planning of the golf club. If (councils) wanted
to plan a new golf course for the area, they
should designate an area for an 18-hole
course that’s separate to the Peterborough
course. People like it just the way it is. It’s
really, from my point of view, impractical,”
Irvine says.
Although, Irvine admits that, for the right
price, he would consider selling his land,
which is bordered to the east and north by
Curdies Inlet and to the west by Halladale
Road. “If they want to pay a lot of money for
it, they can have it,” he says.
“There possibly is enough room for a small
nine holes there but it is subject to flooding
and that would be a major drawback.”
Peterborough Golf Club secretary Bob
Hesketh has revealed that communication
between the club and council on the issue
has been limited but he would entertain the
idea of an inland nine to complement its
coastal links offering.
“If something was put to us, we’d certainly
look at it,” Hesketh says. “Obviously there are
a number of financial considerations. The
“We don’t want it to be another town that
is based solely on tourism. It’s always been a
bit of a sleepy hollow and that’s the way that
people like it.”
Peterborough’s golf course is best known
for its stunning coastal views and Irvine
suggests there are other sites west of
Peterborough where a layout with no
association to the town’s golf club could be
built.
“There are several areas along towards the
Bay of Islands that would be excellent for a
future golf course.” •
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July 2014 | www.insidegolf.com.au