Retreat on Sydney Harbor earns sustainable award

Adaptive reuse of the old Quarantine Station at North Head Manly has ensured public access to and awareness of the buildings behind the stories of those who came to Australia through the site (from nineteenth century migrants to the orphans of Operation Babylift from Saigon in 1975) and those who have worked to protect them. The Quarantine Station has integrated environmental management and sustainable management practices into operation of a successful hotel.

For twelve consecutive years, the Skal International “Sustainable Development in Tourism” Awards have been presented during the Opening Ceremony of its annual World Congress. Skal recently closed its 74th World Congress aboard the Carnival Glory, the first time this yearly event took place on a cruise ship. This year, Q Station Retreat in Australia won an award in the category of Urban Accommodation.

This award will increase international awareness of this iconic Sydney site and allow the hopes and dreams of those who passed through it to be remembered. Quarantine Station has also recently been named as a finalist in the New South Wales Governmental Green Globe Awards for operation of the site on the principles of conservation, heritage protection and sustainability wherever possible having regard to the heritage nature of the buildings in which we operate. The Quarantine Station, trading as QStation, has come to be known as the “Jewel in the Crown” of Sydney Harbour National Park and has already won many awards and media commendation for our serene setting, stylish reuse of this historic place and our pristine natural environment. Over the last five years we have consistently won awards for best MICE and Upscale boutique hotel properties at the Hotel Management Australia Awards, and have received grants from the state and federal governments to support our conservation programs.

Quarantine Station recognizes the valuable legacy of this harbor-side site and are committed to the conservation and interpretation of the Q Station as a place of national and international significance in the history of health and migration. To date Mawland has committed $17M to development of the site, with $8 million to the conservation of the site, creation of a public museum and curation of the historical collections. Quarantine Station cares for over 15,000 historical items, the most significant of which are on public display. Indeed, the site is sustainable by the very nature of its complete adaptive reuse of the buildings and operational structures of the old quarantine station.

Quarantine Station is listed on the Australian National Heritage Register alongside fellow harbor icons: Sydney Opera House and the Sydney Harbour Bridge. It is a stunningly beautiful and lovingly restored retreat, home to the story of migration to Australia and custodian of historical artefacts of national significance. Within its 30 hectare estate lie 65 buildings and nearly 200 years of memories from post European arrivals.

Mawland is very proud of our record on this site. We have established a viable commercial operation which is managed by Accor and have received many awards and kudos for our operations on site. Within the limitations of operating on a widely spread area, which involves balancing daily logistics of transport of guests, food and beverage, staff and supplies , arrivals of guests by water and road, compliance with strict State consent conditions and operation within historic premises which were not purpose built for operation of a hospitality business we have achieved public, governmental and media approval for sustainability and investment in the natural and cultural heritage of the site.

Within our code of having minimal impact on the natural environment we are welcoming about 3000 visitors per week to the site. We are a showcase for environmental management and cultural preservation. Later in 2013 we expect to host some of the celebrations for Sydney’s International Naval Review of the Fleet.

Our approach to adaptive reuse has been applauded and as a result we have been invited to prepare a paper for the influential Tourism and Transport Forum on the Adaptive reuse approach to redevelopment of government assets and our Directors Max Player and Suzanne Stanton have been invited to join the Sydney Harbour National Landscape Steering Committee.

Extensive publicity and marketing of the site, highlighting sustainability, conservation, adaptive reuse and the cultural and the fascinating history of the site has led to QStation being seen as one of the emerging icons of Sydney tourism.

For more information, go to www.quarantinestation.com.au

Skal is a member of the International Coalition of Tourism Partners (ICTP) .