a personal note from the directors
When Max Player and I created a vision for Q Station, the first thing that struck us about this place was the spiritual energy in the landscape. This spiritual energy comes from the views, the rock formations, the plants, the animals and the people who have experienced something special on it for themselves.
This landscape has for a very long time, been the land of Aboriginal people. This is Garrigal land, and as they so reverently say, it always has been, and it always will be. This landscape contains some of the best remnants of Aboriginal occupation in Sydney. This landscape offered a great opportunity for reconciliation with white settlers; an opportunity that was started then lost. Our Project now offers an opportunity to further pursue reconciliation.
In this landscape a Quarantine Station was created to protect the Sydney population from the spread of infectious disease. The landscape exudes further spiritual energy from people just like you and, being racially segregated, disempowered, and wondering if, or waiting, to die. In this landscape people awaited the opportunity to start new lives in a new country, bringing new perspectives, skills and commitment to establish a nation. This project offers an opportunity to harness fresh perspectives, skills and commitment, to create new ways for people to learn from our history, and create a brighter future.
In this landscape are plants and animals specially adapted to live in the Sydney coastal environment. Some have lost ground to commercial and residential development, and today their populations are barely large enough to sustain themselves. Some of these species have become almost iconic to local residents who have adopted natural values with new vigour. Our Project now offers the opportunity to not only conserve what is left but improve their long term chances of prosperity.
We ask one special thing from everyone choosing to be involved with the Quarantine Station... Find the time to feel the spiritual energy of this place, and once you have engaged with this energy, be inspired from it enough to create opportunities here.
Our company, Mawland Quarantine Station Pty Limited, has been given the responsibility to conserve and operate the former Quarantine Station, on behalf of the Australian people. This responsibility was hard earned. It took Mawland and the State government nine years of painstaking work to make this project happen. This work involved extensive consultation, environmental assessment, changes to the project, financial assessment and documentation of a lease. Behind all of this work was a clear and unfaltering vision, the spending of substantial human and financial resources, and enormous personal commitment and sacrifice. We commit to continuing this effort to create a sustainable tourism operation that inspires others to make our own special contribution.
Simon McArthur, General Manager
Mawland Quarantine Station Pty Ltd
Max Player, Director
Mawland Quarantine Station Pty Ltd
objectives to create public benefit
Once completed, we believe the Q Station will be a best practice case study for the adaptive re-use of a culturally significant site.
The Q Station is being created and operated to achieve public objectives that differentiate it from many tourism businesses:
- the conservation and presentation of the former Quarantine Station through a major short term investment in conservation work to arrest current deterioration, then ongoing conservation work to maintain the site in good condition;
- Increase public access to the Quarantine Station by making access free, providing water access and improve facilities and services for people who have mobility challenges or do not speak English;
- Expand the range of interpretation and educational services and design them to nationally accepted best practice standards;
- Return a proportion of the operation's profit for re-investment into conservation and visitor services work on local heritage sites within Sydney Harbour National Park; and
- Introduce one of Australia's leading environmental monitoring and decision making systems, to continually check on the condition of natural heritage, cultural heritage and the quality of the visitor experience.
our vision
Our vision for Q Station is made up of five parts:
- Create powerful experiences that connect the past to the present, for people to explore the future
- Provide a haven for people to rejuvenate
- Achieve conservation through use
- Nurture a creative and innovative culture
- Share the Q Station adaptive reuse experience with others
More information about our vision has been written into our Interpretation Plan, which can be reviewed here.
We anticipate that this vision will leave visitors still thinking about the Quarantine Station the next day in the shower, and still talking about it the next week over dinner.
our mission
Our customers are discerning enough to have become bored with traditional ways to experience heritage sites, and are prepared to pay for experiences that break stereotypes.
We choose places and create experiences that reinvigorate people cognitively, emotionally and spiritually.
We are in the special interest tourism business.
Our tourism competitors may be able to reinvigorate some or most of their customers. But we will seek to reinvigorate all our customers, then transform as many as we can.
This transformation will become the basis of our customer's desire to return and encourage others to share the experience.