By Deanne Jeffers
THE community is still reeling from Greater Shepparton City Council’s decision to exit its Expression of Interest (EoI) from the Right of Refusal to purchase the former Dhurringile Prison site, citing costs as their main concern.
Despite the council-commissioned Urban Enterprises report indicating that the benefits outweigh the risks, councillors voted in a four-way split vote to abandon the opportunity.
Independent tourism body, Destination Goulburn Valley, were in the gallery for the debate and left after the vote expressing disappointment.
“We would have hoped that Council would have wanted to maintain a position at the negotiating table with the Victorian State Government as to the future of the site, particularly at this early stage in the State Government sale process,” said DGV Chair, Eugenie Stragolinos.
“There was no financial commitment required from Council at this time, just a commitment to do some further work as recommended by their own report.
“The report clearly stated that ‘further work is required to assess the feasibility of uses’, so it was surprising that management’s recommendations were to cease all further work – a recommendation in complete contrast to the independent consultant’s work. Why waste ratepayers’ money in commissioning a report that you then ignore?”
When the prison closed in August 2024, 160 jobs and $25M in economic value was lost, impacting Tatura and Murchison the most. All government entities, including the local council, were invited by the State Government to enter an EoI, placing an indicative value on the 640-acre site of $2.5M, which is later assessed by the valuer general.
As part of the First Right of Refusal, the government also placed a “community purposes restriction” on the sale, which meant the condition of the sale must deliver community benefit but not make a commercial profit, effectively operating as a non-profit.
“An opportunity to leverage an estate such as Dhurringile doesn’t come along every day – being steeped in historical significance for our region, this estate would provide an incredible opportunity for promoting the Goulburn Vallet as a destination,” said Ms Stragolinos.
“The Urban Enterprises report recommended the best fit uses for the site are equine and visitor accommodation – which aligned with community sentiment for the repurposing of the site.
“Equine supports the region’s vision to be a regional sporting powerhouse,” she said. “In addition, there are gaps in visitor accommodation in Greater Shepparton currently, so the Dhurringile site helps solve this strategic challenge.
“Repurposing the mansion, to be a tourist attraction, which celebrates the historical uses of this site would be welcomed, not to mention events and other tourism products that could be held at the site.”
The timing of the decision has also been questioned. Council Management first engaged Urban Enterprises mid-February to assess whether Council should purchase the site. The final report was received by Council in late March and made publicly available on April 17, ahead of the April 22 Council meeting after the Easter long weekend.
This was raised during the Council meeting by Cr Schubert, who said a quick decision on the historic site was misguided.
“Why the rush?” asked Cr Schubert. “When I map out that it has been less than four months from deciding to investigate the option, to turning it down, I cannot see any procedural justice and my constituents cannot see it either.
“A big reason for me being elected was to produce equitable outcomes for the people who do not live in Shepparton. Some local residents have stated to me that they believe we only listen to ourselves, and if Dhurringile was in Shepparton, that the Council would have voted to express interest and/or purchase Dhurringile,” he said.
“If Dhurringile is lost, that part of our history is actually gone.”
