Wrest Point Hotel Casino | |
---|---|
![]() | |
![]() Wrest Point Hotel Casino at night | |
![]() | |
General information | |
Location | Hobart, Tasmania, Australia |
Coordinates | 42°54′7″S147°20′17″E / 42.90194°S 147.33806°E |
Opening | 10 February 1973 |
Owner | Federal Group |
Management | Federal Hotels |
Technical details | |
Floor count | 17 |
Design and construction | |
Architect(s) | Colin Philp (1939) D. Hartley Wilson (1939) Roy Grounds (1973) |
Other information | |
Number of rooms | 269 |
Number of restaurants | 5 + 6 bars |
Website | |
Official Site | |
Place ID | 7,496 [1] |
Status | Permanently Registered |
The Wrest Point Hotel Casino is a casino in Tasmania. It was Australia's first legal casino, opening in the suburb of Sandy Bay in Hobart, on 10 February 1973.
Historically, Dunkley's Point was a camping ground held by the semi-nomadic Mouheneener people, who held a permanent settlement at nearby Long Beach called kreewer. [2] [3] Norfolk Islander Thomas Chaffey constructed his residence on the point between 1808 and 1813, during the British colonisation of Tasmania, which became known as Chaffey's Point by the end of his life. The Traveller's Wrest Hotel, which is still standing today on Sandy Bay Road, was erected by his son William Chaffey in 1836. David Dunkley purchased the Chaffey's Point estate from William Chaffey in 1847. He constructed his residence, St. Helena and renamed the area Dunkley's Point. George G. Robertson purchased St. Helena in 1898 and rebuilt it, adding a jetty and a boat house. Mrs. G. Minette Lucas purchased the estate in 1928 and erected her mansion, known as Wrest Point. The estate was purchased by entrepreneur Arthur James Drysdale in 1936.
Designed by architects Colin Philp and David Hartley Wilson, the streamline moderne Wrest Point Riviera Hotel was considered "one of the most modern establishments of its kind in Australia" upon opening on 5 December 1939. [4] 400 guests attended the opening, including Tasmanian Premier Edmund Dwyer-Gray. [5]
Built at a cost exceeding £A70,000, the luxurious hotel featured accommodation for 500 patrons. The entirety of Dunkley's Point was also redeveloped, featuring tiered garden beds, a heated saltwater bathing pool, tennis court and a private jetty with a steamboat named Arcadia offering scenic cruises and a yacht named Acushla. Both the pool and tennis courts were walled as a means to protect patrons from undesirably strong winds. [6]
During World War II the hotel was "booming" and the hotel was sold to Australia's oldest hotel group, Federal Hotels, in March 1956. [7]
In the 1960s, The Federal Group attempted to secure Australia's first casino license. At the time, Tasmania's natural scenery and beauty were not widely known elsewhere, and as a result the state wasn't attracting many tourists. The marketing claim was that a casino could be the draw-card that would kick-start Tasmania's tourism industry.
John Haddad, one of the company's executives at the time, was assigned the role of getting a casino license. He met with then Tasmanian Premier Eric Reece and other state officials.
A state referendum was held to determine the granting of a gambling licence. The polls were very tight, especially since the question in the referendum attempted to minimise the gambling aspect of the development.
Shortly before the referendum was to be held, the Labor party, sensing they had the numbers in the parliament pushed through the legislation to legalise the casino. They did not wait for the results of the vote. When the vote was taken the hotel redevelopment was narrowly passed. Questions have since been raised about how the legislation was passed, with one member of parliament, Kevin Lyons, suspected of accepting bribes over the licence. [8]
The development of the casino included the construction of the 17-storey hotel tower, with a revolving restaurant, designed by Sir Roy Grounds, a landmark that is nationally identified with Hobart, and the 64-metre dodecagonal prism tower remains the city's tallest building.
After the centre's opening in 1973 (after which it was known as Wrest Point Hotel Casino) the casino provided a catalyst for the nation's casino industry, with 12 additional casinos opening across the country. This included a second Federal Group casino in Tasmania, the Country Club Casino, which opened in Launceston in 1982.
The building has been extended in recent years, including the conference centre which was opened in 1984, and the boardwalk in 1996.
Wrest Point underwent an extensive multi-year redevelopment that began in 2018, including new restaurants, gaming areas, and the refurbishment of accommodation.
While initially the hotel was supposed to be an entertainment complex, the casino soon took over much of the hotel; and, while the poker machines were initially not permitted, by executing successful lobbying, [7] they now come to dominate the complex, with over 650 machines. [9]
The owners of the hotel and the poker machines, Federal Hotels, were fined on a number of occasions for poker machines that were not functioning as programmed, and were thus in breach of the law. [10]
In 2017, the building was protected with a heritage listing. [7] While some saw this as significant, the decision "angered local residents and puzzled some experts." [11]
In the 2018 election, the opposition leader, Rebecca White, promised to remove all pokies from pubs and clubs, leaving the two casinos as the only location for pokies in the state, citing the negative health and economic impacts of poker machines. [12] The Federal Group, who own both the casinos and the pokies licences have opposed the policy as have the Liberal government. [13]
Hobart ( HOH-bart; is the capital and most populous city of the island state of Tasmania, Australia. Located in Tasmania's south-east on the estuary of the River Derwent, it is the southernmost capital city in Australia. Despite containing nearly half of Tasmania's population, Hobart is the least-populated Australian state capital city, and second-smallest by population and area after Darwin if territories are taken into account. Its skyline is dominated by the 1,271-metre kunanyi / Mount Wellington, and its harbour forms the second-deepest natural port in the world, with much of the city's waterfront consisting of reclaimed land. The metropolitan area is often referred to as Greater Hobart, to differentiate it from the City of Hobart, one of the seven local government areas that cover the city. It has a mild maritime climate.
Sandy Bay is a suburb of the city of Hobart, Tasmania, Australia, located immediately south of the central business district, and adjoining the suburb of Battery Point. Sandy Bay is bounded on the east by the Derwent River, and has several beaches along the shore, the main beaches with public access are Short Beach, Nutgrove Beach, Long Beach and Lords Beach.
Federal Group is a privately owned family company which operates tourism, hospitality, retail, and a national sensitive freight company but is primarily known for their casino and gaming assets in Tasmania which is described as "a licence to print money". In the past the company has been known as both "Federal Hotels" or "Federal Hotels and Resorts".
Casino Canberra is a casino located in the Central Business District of Canberra, the capital city of Australia.
The Derwent Entertainment Centre (DEC), known commercially as MyState Bank Arena since 2021, is Tasmania's largest indoor arena, serving as Hobart's primary location for large indoor sporting events, functions and live entertainment. Commissioned by the Tasmanian Government and the Glenorchy City Council, the DEC served as the home arena for the Hobart Devils in the NBL from 1989 until 1996, when the team's licence was revoked. Subsequently, between 1997 and 1998, ownership was transferred entirely to the City of Glenorchy, where it became a financial burden and incurred significant maintenance expenses for Glenorchy taxpayers, while seeing limited use. As the largest enclosed multipurpose venue in Tasmania, the DEC has hosted many Australian and international musical acts, including Kylie Minogue, Bob Dylan, Carole King, The Corrs, James Brown, Leonard Cohen, Tina Turner, Blondie and The Beach Boys.
Tatts Group was an Australian gambling company. In 2017, the company combined with Tabcorp Holdings Limited under the Tabcorp brand.
Sandy Bay Road is a road in Tasmania that connects the southeastern edge of the Hobart CBD with the southeastern suburb of Taroona. It is two-way over its entirety and is 12 kilometres in length. It begins as a continuation of Harrington Street near where it intersects with Davey Street. From there, Sandy Bay Road travels southwards alongside the western edge of St. Davids Park, bypassing Battery Point. It then turns slightly to the west again, before descending a small hill towards the south-east once more, into Sandy Bay proper. Sand Bay Road then continues south-easterly, hugging the western shore of the River Derwent. Passing Wrest Point Hotel Casino it continues to the south-east along Sandy Bay Beach through Lower Sandy Bay. At the point where the Alexandra Battery overlooks Long Beach, Sandy Bay road follows the coast bending in a more southwards direction. The road then begins to climb uphill towards the suburb of Taroona where it becomes the Channel Highway. The road is allocated route code B68.
The Sandy Bay Football Club was an Australian rules football club based in Sandy Bay, Tasmania. The team participated in the Tasmanian Football League from 1945 to 1997.
Kevin Orchard Lyons was an Australian politician and member of the Tasmanian House of Assembly representing the seat of Darwin.
The Tasmanian casino referendum was a one-question referendum held on 14 December 1968, which concerned the granting of Australia's first casino licence to the Federal Group to operate the Wrest Point Hotel Casino in Sandy Bay.
Country Club Tasmania is a casino in Launceston, Tasmania, owned by Federal Hotels. It is Tasmania's second casino. It is also used for a variety of local events and is home to an 18-hole golf course. Targa Tasmania uses the casino as a starting point for the race.
Gambling is an activity undertaken by many Australians. In 2022, 72.8% of Australian adults gambled within the previous 12 months and 38% of Australian adults gambled at least once per week. In 2017, Australians were estimated to lead the world with the highest gambling losses on a per-capita basis.
Rebecca Peta White is an Australian politician. She has served as the 51st Leader of the Opposition in Tasmania and Leader of the Parliamentary Labor Party in Tasmania from July 2021 until April 2024, having previously served in that role from March 2017 until May 2021. She has been a member of the Tasmanian House of Assembly in the electorate of Lyons since the 2010 state election. Previously, White served as Shadow Minister for Health and Human Services, and Opposition Spokesperson for Children.
Madeleine Ruth Ogilvie is an Australian lawyer and politician. She is a Liberal Party member of the Tasmanian House of Assembly representing the Division of Clark and is a minister in the Second Rockliff ministry
The Tasmanian Heritage Register is the statutory heritage register of the Australian state of Tasmania. It is defined as a list of areas currently identified as having historic cultural heritage importance to Tasmania as a whole. The Register is kept by the Tasmanian Heritage Council within the meaning of the Tasmanian Historic Cultural Heritage Act 1995. It encompasses in addition the Heritage Register of the Tasmanian branch of the National Trust of Australia, which was merged into the Tasmanian Heritage Register. The enforcement of the heritage's requirements is managed by Heritage Tasmania.
The 2021 Tasmanian state election was held on 1 May 2021 to elect all 25 members to the Tasmanian House of Assembly.
Tasmania has been notable in the history of gambling in Australia.
James Boyce is an Australian author and historian based in Tasmania. He has written four major books on Australian history and the history of Western thought.
Nutgrove Beach is a popular beach destination along the River Derwent in Sandy Bay, Hobart, Tasmania. The north facing beach has views of kunanyi / Mount Wellington, Lords Beach, Wrest Point Hotel Casino, the Tasman Bridge, and the City of Clarence on the eastern shore. Nutgrove Beach neighbours Long Beach and Red Chapel Beach, and is within close proximity to the Sandy Bay Sailing Club and Lower Sandy Bay shops. The beach is dog-friendly and has bathroom facilities.
Lords Beach is a suburban beach along the River Derwent in Sandy Bay, Hobart, Tasmania. The north-east facing beach has views of Wrest Point Hotel Casino, Nutgrove Beach and the City of Clarence on the eastern shore. Containing several raised jetties and covered piers, Lords Beach neighbours Red Chapel Beach to the west and Dunkley’s Point on the east.