- Published on
Newly released documents offer some surprising insights into the condition of the old Wonthaggi Tech.
By Catherine Watson
ALMOST seven years since the Wonthaggi Secondary College vacated the McBride Avenue campus, there is no sign of the vibrant arts and community precinct many of us had been hoping for.
The State Government and Bass Coast Shire Council continue to bicker over ownership and management of the site, which is still owned and managed by the Education Department.
A sticking point has always been the state of the buildings, with several around a century old. They have undoubted value – if not for their architectural merit then in the social and cultural heritage associated with them.
But what condition are they in? There are two different versions: one that the buildings are in reasonable condition and can be repurposed for community assets, including perhaps a library and art gallery; another that the best thing you can do is demolish the lot and start again with a clean site.
In 2023 the council commissioned feasibility reports, including a report into the state of the buildings and the costs of demolition and renovation. They promised the reports would be released to the community but they never were – at least until now.
Documents obtained by the Bass Coast Post under Freedom of Information act show that several of the main buildings are in surprisingly good condition – or were when the reports were written, now several years ago.
The buildings
A – Administration and teaching, 3 level building
B – Single-storey teaching and workshop building
C – Single-storey Teaching Building
D – Single-storey Teaching Building
E – Single-storey Workshop Building
F – Part single-storey and Part 2-level Teaching Building
G – Relocatable Single-storey Teaching Building
The main brick building with the art deco façade, fronting McBride Avenue, is in poorer condition than some of the others but the reports indicate it is not beyond repair.
The swag of reports released under FOI by the council indicate that while there has been no sign of outward progress on the site, there has been a great deal of work done behind the scenes.
For all the work (feasibility reports, structural report, cost estimates, etc), it’s hard to tell whether we’re any closer to a settlement.
We know what we want on the site – regional art gallery, library, community spaces, courtyards, studios, perhaps affordable housing – but we appear no closer to a solution on how to pay for it given that both the council and State Government are under financial pressure.
Last year the council took part in a Municipal Association of Victoria (MAV) exercise to identify housing options and costs for the eastern third of the site.
A feasibility study ultimately concluded a project to construct two four-storey apartment buildings and 16 townhouses was not commercially viable, given construction costs and the state of the Wonthaggi housing market.
Meanwhile the work goes on. Last year the council budgeted $350,000 for a multi-year project and this year secured $632,000 funding from the Federal Government to support planning for the site.
Barbara Moje, a member of the Wonthaggi Old Tech Creative Hub (WOTCH) and a member of the community reference group, is, like many locals, frustrated at the lack of progress and concerned that the buildings continue to deteriorate while we wait.
As an architect, she’s keen to see some of the old school buildings retained.
“Wonthaggi never benefitted from the mining boom with ‘inheriting’ any grand buildings or great philanthropic action, so I believe all its innercity heritage is in danger, as most buildings are modest. Yet, the school buildings provide a strong link to the place’s history. Returned servicemen built the first bit of the school facing Watt Street, and most Wonthaggi families world have had a family member go to that school at some stage.”
She’s also fond of the 1960s brick addition facing McBride Avenue. “Architecturally it ‘comments’ on the prevalent blood and bandage (red brick and white stucco) style of the surrounding older buildings.
“According to an article in the Sentinel in the 60s it was called ‘The Farce’ at the time of completion as the extra space it offered was already too small for the school’s growing student population.
TIMELINE
January 2020 – Pre-feasibility study
Proposes arts and culture hub, regional library, galleries, community facilities, commercial tenancies and council offices.
March 2020 – Building condition
Macutex finds water damage and structural cracking in Block A. Other buildings in generally fair condition.
October 2022 - Community precinct
SMC Strategies and council's major projects team propose a community precinct, including ibrary, arts and cultural centre and galleries, amphitheatre, community spaces, gardens and green spaces.
2022 – The costs
Quantity survey estimates redevelopment costs ranging from $32 million (renovating four main buildings and demolishing the others) to $142 million (a larger civic neighbourhood incorporating housing).
April 2022 – Structural condition
An inspection finds two of the four main buildings are in good condition, one is ‘average to good’, while the fourth (Block A) has serious structural concerns, including corrosion in reinforced concrete columns.
April 2023 – The costs
Macutex estimates:
- Demolition: $1.5 million.
- Basic conservation (waterproofing) for future devel0pment: $1.76 million.
- Making buildings suitable for occupation and replacing services: $8 million.
July 2023 – Feasibility studies
Council says detailed pre-feasibility studies are examining the site's condition, heritage, safety, costs and risks. It promises to share the results with the community and seek public input. Despite requests, the studies are not released.
September 2025 – Housing
A design study by Six Degrees proposes 60 apartments and 16 townhouses on the eastern third of the site, with a focus on key workers and affordable and social housing.
October 2025 – Costs
Cost estimates for the housing proposal range from $48.5 million to $53.7 million. A subsequent feasibility analysis finds the development is not commercially viable.
“There is a lot in there and it would be a shame to obliterate these links to the very many Wonthaggian people with a connection to the school in one way or the other.
“Many names of the students’ names on the many photos kept at the historical society are still familiar around the place. That’s another marker of the significant connection the old school has to the town.”
Join Wonthaggi Old Tech Community Hub members in a picnic in the park - Wishart Reserve, opposite the school - on November 15, 2-5pm.
It seems strange Council would suppress the reports they commissioned. The only things covered up in their "redacted" releases on the (congratulations Bass Coast Post) FOI released reports was how much the options were estimated to cost.
WHY?
It seems shameful to spend hundreds of thousands on reports and sit on them for upwards of six years. The dollar amounts do not reflect any privacy concerns.
It is also mildly ironic that the chief recommendation SMC Strategies 2022 (77 page) report, on page 9, pretty much advocate for what WOTCH has been asking for.
Meanwhile, one of our main concerns is maintaining some heritage value to the site. Barbara Moje, our advisory architect, has many good observations.
Not considered in any of the reports is the embodied carbon in the existing buildings. It would be interesting to see some due diligence on these calculations (i.e. how much embodied carbon could be saved by retaining a substantial part of the buildings) as they should.
There are myriad projects across Victoria that kept old structures and added interest to the new structures and the towns’ fabric.
We suggest Council should run an architectural design competition for the site, which is done routinely in Europe for any public sites, and guarantees the best, most innovative and fresh results.
We are concerned about the school’s social significance as there is not much heritage protection in Wonthaggi, and the temptation to raze the entire site is very real.