Mount Buffalo Chalet Redevelopment Project It's

Mount Buffalo Chalet Redevelopment Project
Newsletter 3
It's spring!
2014
The winter at Mount
Buffalo has been a
cracker with the Chalet
standing up to heavy
snowfalls with thousands
of visitors enjoying the
snow play facilities at
Dingo Dell and cross
country ski trails at Cresta
Valley. Spring is in the air
and it's time to enjoy
walks, waterfalls and
wildflowers in the
foothills.
Winter at Mount Buffalo
The Victorian Alps has had a
great snow season this year
with the passage of several
extremely cold weather
systems dumping well over a
metre of snow in some areas.
It started snowing at Mount
Buffalo late in June and a great
cover settled across the
plateau. The Chalet
maintenance Manager, Darren
Redden said "the Grand Old
Lady has stood up well again as
she has for over 100 snow
seasons". Ranger-in-Charge,
Julien Atherstone reports day
visitation has been high. He
says "it's been the busiest
snow season since 2005 and
great to see car parks at Dingo
Dell and Cresta Valley almost
full on many days during
winter".
Chalet Auction
The auction of items excess to
those needed to refurbish The
Chalet went well, with about
500 people attending. Gerard
Gray of auction agents,
Dickens Real Estate, reported
that bidding was strong with
many very satisfied customers
securing their piece of the
Chalet. Gerard said it was a
long day and the staff were
exhausted, but enjoyed the
unique experience. He said:
"the old signs were particularly
sought after, as was furniture,
knick knacks and workshop
tools".
Preparing for works
The Victorian Coalition
Government has invested $7.5
million into the
redevelopment of the Chalet.
The last few weeks have seen
the design team from MGS
Architects working closely with
Parks Victoria to put together
detailed designs in line with
the plans approved by
Heritage Victoria. This phase
involves carefully putting every
detail into the plans from
power and waste water plant
specifications to interior
timber finishes, textures and
colours to meet heritage
requirements.
Documents for the project will
be put to the market for
tender later in the year. In the
meantime, experienced
commercial builders have
been invited to express their
interest in being head
contractor for the renovation
of the historic Mount Buffalo
Chalet. This process is now
closed and successful firms will
be short listed by Parks
Victoria and invited to
participate in a select tender
process which will ultimately
award the building contract.
Mt Buffalo Chalet Community
Forum
The Mount Buffalo Chalet
Community Forum has now
met four times and, as
expected, is proving to be a
very active and enthusiastic
group, providing an important
community link to the project.
As well as advising Parks
Victoria, members have been
briefing other local groups and
actively contributing updates
through social media. The
"Mount Buffalo Chalet-Lost
History" Facebook site has
been developed by members
and is attracting lots of
interest with people posting
some fascinating insights into
the past. Members have also
been looking at various ways
of celebrating the history and
re-opening of The Chalet and
have offered to assist Parks
Victoria with the development
of a Heritage Interpretation
Plan.
Looking after moveable
Heritage
There are thousands of items,
including furniture and tools
and equipment that will be
used to refurbish and manage
the Chalet when it is reopened. Properly recording
and securely storing these
items, as well as determining
what is in excess to need and
available for the community,
has been a massive
undertaking over the last few
months. All items of heritage
value kept for refurbishment
have now been recorded,
catalogued and secured. They
are stored carefully on site or
the most sensitive items
removed to proper archive
storage. Some items such as
the grand piano and billiard
table have had a box built
around them to protect them
during the building restoration
works.
The Chalet supports
"not for profits"
Some regional not-for-profit
organisations have taken up
the offer from Parks Victoria to
have items that will assist their
operations. They have gone in
particular to groups offering
opportunities for under
privileged youth to experience
the mountains.
More information
Visit www.parks.vic.gov.au or
call 13 1963.