Open Letter to Cairns Mayor

Matthew Williams Director, MWA 19 Dumbarton Street McMahons Point, NSW 2060 M 0410232939 E info@mw-arch.com.au W www.mw-arch.com.au Cr. Bob Manning Mayor Cairns City Council 119 – 145 Spence Street Cairns, QLD 4870

By Email: a.morris@cairns.qld.gov.au Thursday, 02 December 2021 Dear Mayor, My name is Matthew Williams and I am a NSW Registered Architect based in North Sydney. I am in Cairns for a period, for purpose of a holiday and some physical rehabilitation following an injury. I have travelled to Cairns regularly since 2016, when my son moved here with his mother.

Over this period, I have observed some of the building projects and urban initiatives in the City. I also appreciate Cairns as a unique city because of it’s close relationship with nature and the water’s edge. For your information, whilst working for Cox Architects in Brisbane, I completed the successful design submission for the Esplanade Walk, as well as completing initial urban design and block planning for the Cairns CityPort, and early spatial concepts for what is now the ‘Harbour Lights’ facility.

I always have ideas for urban spaces for all the places I visit, and Cairns is, of course, no exception. It does have some very unique and special buildings and urban typologies, both new and old, and it is, overall, a well managed, attractive and amenable place to visit and live. I thought to set some of these ideas down, for your information.

Idea 01: Cairns Central Indigenous Culture Centre I have noticed that many indigenous People arrive to Cairns from all parts of the Cape and the Atherton Tablelands.

Often, they travel to Cairns for some ‘family business’ purpose – a birth, a death, a cousin or friend who is ill and needs support, or they may have some health matters to attend to themselves. I note that many of these visitors, are not supported by generous travel budgets and as such, cannot afford the cost of accommodation in Cairns whilst they stay here. I note that the solution for many of these visitors is, in the absence of any affordable accommodation, to sleep on the street or in the local parks. Of course, this is not legally allowed, and these visitors then become subject to ‘move on’ orders, or possibly even spend time in the watchhouse as they may have had too much to drink.

It occurred to me that Council could solve all of the above problems by providing to visiting indigenous People, a safe and affordable place to stay, within the Cairns Central City Frame, that also becomes a focus of culture and story telling, and a safe point of contact for Cairns’ international visitors, and the visiting Aboriginal people. I have notice that these visiting Aboriginals are quite approachable and enjoy the process of telling stories about where they are from, their traditions, talking about their local food groups and hunting practises, and many other things as are of interest to many people visiting Cairns from around the world.

Such a facility could comprise, an outdoor ‘talking circle’, where visiting indigenous people could gather and socialise, in a safe, familiar and comfortable setting, this could include gardens comprising local indigenous plant species, and interpretive signs that assists visitors to understand local traditions, places and culture. This ‘talking circle’ could then also connect directly to basic sleeping quarters, perhaps comprised mostly of a ‘long house’ style sleeping arrangement, with a few private rooms available for privacy when culture requires. This ‘Talking Circle’ could also connect with arts production and exhibition facilities for small scale art production and showcase. Perhaps indigenous Businesses might like to colocate here, to form something of a hub of indigenous Culture, Service and Business. There could also be an indigenous Youth Centre, and a Mental Health and Wellbeing centre, providng the chance for informal interactions between visitors and staff, that ultimately can lead to more trusting relationships and improved service.

Such a facility would seem to offer the following advantages: _ opportunity for friendly interaction between visiting Aboriginals and international visitors, who are interested to get to know each other and have an interaction _ feature corroboree and story telling, that is good for indigenous mental health, as well as offering a spectacle for Cairns tourism _ reduce or diminish reliance on sleeping outdoors for visiting Aboriginals _ provide visiting Aboriginals the opportunity for a good night’s sleep, which would assist them to deal with their ‘family business’ in a better state of mind _ provide a safe place for visiting Aboriginals, away from police harassment or ‘move on’ orders, instigated simply because these visitors have no other place to go _ Support visits by groups of aboriginals for cultural or family purposes To be honest, it is a surprise to me to see this issue not only persist since 2016, with no meaningful action that I can observe, and on this latest visit, my witnessing only an exacerbation or substantial increase in police harassment of visiting indigenous peoples. I would suggest that if Cairns wants to be considered a contemporary, inclusive city, and also rely on Aboriginal Culture in its tourism marketing, that it should show at least some good will to the Indigenous People who visit here.

An example facility is here, in Sydney, the Redfern National Centre for Indigenous Excellence: https://ncie.org.au/ This Facility was designed by my friend, architect Peter Tonkin, and provides for all members of the Redfern community and beyond, a place to go for positive and meaningful interactions around the central theme of ‘Sports’. The facility also includes accommodation, such that teams can visit from regional areas and participate in advanced training and coaching during their stay at the facility.

Idea 02: Cairns ‘Box Park’ Looking at the Cairns City Frame, there are many undeveloped sites that constitute underutilised open space. At the same time, it is apparent that within the Cairns Central Precinct: _ A ‘Markets’ style arrangement works and is sustainable (Rusty’s Markets) _ There are many local arts and crafts producers _ There are many small business start ups with strong Customer focus A ‘Box Park’ facility repurposes industrial shipping crates to form an interesting and unique set of spaces that are: _ Low cost to produce _ Low cost to maintain

_ Require only very low rents because of low start up costs and low overheads _ Can host small and medium sized events, such as live music, food festivals, cultural events, plays and outdoor theatre, public competitions, artwork and market days _ Subject to NCC compliance, could include for short term accommodation (eg. a ‘backpacker’) _ Is ultimately removeable or demountable It occurred to me, that there may well be a land asset owner out there, who might entertain the idea of permitting the erection of such a facility on their site, with an agreeable minimum tenure, such that that owner can draw a passive rent from the facility, at the same time as offering an interesting and unique use to the Cairns community and tourism market.

It would also become a showcase for local arts and craft production, and provide an opportunity for small business ventures to start up.

These kinds of facilities work well locally and overseas, and some examples are provided here: ‘Box Park’, London: https://www.boxpark.co.uk/ Buck Street Market, London https://secretldn.com/buck-street-market-camden/ ‘The Wine Box’, Mariposa Hill in Valparaiso, Chile (by New Zealand Winemaker, Grant Phelps) https://usacontainers.co/beautiful-shipping-container-hotel-in-chile/ X Cargo, Hospitality Facility in Brisbane https://xcargobrisbane.com/ Idea 03: Cairns Yacht Club Facility I came to learn about the history of the Cairns Yacht Club during social sails on holiday visits before the COVID lockdowns commenced. I must admit, I was not aware of the original facilities for the Yacht Club, and these seem to have been a useful and enjoyable facility for Cairns locals and visitors alike. The original Building looks to be full of character as well as having the unique disposition of a beachfront setting, allowing for easy use of small craft, suited to juniors sailing.

Sailing is a lovely community driven sport as it includes for crews of various skills and abilities, using a broad range of small, medium and large watercraft, for recreational and competitive purposes. Sailing as well adds character to the City, by way of seeing the sail craft come and go on race days, as well as the opportunity for race series to attract national and international attention, as well as maritime events that can be hosted at the facility. As well as this, modern Yacht Clubs also provide strong revenue streams for business operators, and can provide for the community a range of ancillary facilities, including food and beverage offerings, support for conferences and events, gym and physical health, and possibly even a small amount of boutique, high end accommodation units.

Recently I did liaise with the Cairns Yacht club and produced a Concept Masterplan, supporting expansion of operations and a range of improved community facilities, maritime assets and vessel services, which can be viewed here: http://mw-arch.com.au/?p=2665 The Middle Harbour Yacht Club in Mosman, Sydney, includes a beach and a mix of facilities that makes it a very successful, popular destination and a strong contributor to the lifestyles of people in that area who use the facility. The beach is a very important asset and supports safe junior sailing and small craft operations (eg. stand up paddleboards and kayaks), as well as providing a unique and interesting ‘stage’ for corporate and community events.

We recently undertook design studies to assist the Club to consider expansion possibilities, results of which can be viewed here: http://mw-arch.com.au/?p=2766 To my mind, the Yacht Club, in its current position and with the benefit of some increased land area, can provide a site that would be the final piece of the puzzle for the Cairns waterfront, and provide the opportunity to create a unique, special and memorable building, that would increase Cairn’s visibility on the world stage. The site is very visible from the lovely promenade walk along the Cairns Esplanade parklands.

Certainly, the unique and interesting addition at the Crystalbrooke Riley resort has contributed to this visibility, a special, unique and memorable building at this location in Cairns, could be the ‘crowning jewel’ of the waterfront, and further define Cairns as a sophisticated, modern city on thee world stage. As well, because of the strong commercial opportunity for such a facility, it would more than likely pay for itself, with no public funds expenditure necessary. Once a masterplan approval is gained to set out and control the bulk, height and scale of the facility, gain a binding agreement from stakeholders for the location and operation of the facility, and define a useful and meaningful operational brief, Council could sponsor an international Architectural Competition, to seek out a truly unique architectural solution for the site. Council could also run in parallel, an open market tendering process to identify the preferred operator for the facility and the final operational brief.

Cairns is a beautiful City and already has a strong urban character and identity within the international tourist market. I believe maintaining and strengthening links between Cairns the City, the great diversity of people who live in and visit Cairns, and the unique and special ecological framework in which the City is situated, will only improve and add to the experience of Cairns as a unique, beautiful, memorable and liveable place, for people from all walks of life, and strengthen it’s position within the national and international tourism and property development and investment market.

Of course, I would be delighted to talk through any of these ideas with you personally, or perhaps you might think of certain relationships that you already have, that might be interested in discussing further any of these ideas with me.

Otherwise thank you for your service in maintaining Cairns as a beautiful and unique place to visit and live.

Kind regards

Mathew Williams Architect NSW Reg. 8645