Tourism icon plans revealed
A NEW viewing platform will showcase the majestic wonder of the Agnes Falls and gorge.
The $400,000 proposal was unveiled to South Gippsland Shire Council last Wednesday.
The new cantilever platform will protrude five metres into the gorge, offering visitors a 180 degree view of the magnificent attraction north of Toora and Welshpool.
Visitors now have a limited view of the falls and gorge.
Parks Victoria has engaged renowned designers Thompson Berrill Landscape Design to complete the project. That company has been responsible for spectacular projects in the Otways and Grampians.
Council will seek $300,000 from Regional Development Victoria and contribute $100,000.
“This will lift Agnes Falls as a destination,” landscape designer Glenn Berrill said.
“We are creating a produce that will celebrate the largest falls in Victoria.”
The platform will include a section of mesh floor that will enable visitors to look straight to the gorge below, giving a “thrill experience”, Mr Berrill said.
The platform will be constructed west of the existing platform and extend from the current track.
“We have splayed the barriers out slightly to increase the sense of drama,” Mr Berrill said.
A new toilet block and picnic shelters are now being built at the falls site.
Phil Stone, council’s director of development services, said enhancing the falls site comes under council’s Corner Inlet Tourism Development Project and up to $100,000 had been set aside to contribute towards the project.
Council will submit a project proposal to RDV and if successful, council will then be invited to apply for a grant.
The project could increase tourism returns from the Corner Inlet area by $10,000 a year.
The Friends of Agnes Falls reported 40 vehicles parked at the falls during one hour on Easter Saturday.
The friends group has recently published a second run of a promotional fliers to be distributed to tourism outlets. The print run was made possible by a $200 grant from the Bendigo Bank, Toora and Foster.
Grand vision: excited about the new platform proposal at Agnes Falls are, from left, Ken Fraser of South Gippsland Shire Council, Peter Lee and Kathy Whelan of Friends of Agnes Falls, Gerard Delaney of Parks Victoria, Glenn Berrill of Thompson Berrill Landscape Design, and council’s Danielle Todaro and Phil Stone.
The stunning Agnes Falls.
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