Thomson Hay Project
Lake Tyrrell Tourism Infrastructure Design
Client
Buloke Shire Council
Collaboration
Morton Dunn Architects, Cardno TGM Engineers, Challis Signage Design, CP Group, MP Cordia & Associates
Lake Tyrrell Tourism Infrastructure celebrates the lake’s unique landscape, culture and night skies while creating a safe, accessible and memorable visitor experience.
Lake Tyrrell Tourism Infrastructure Design emerged from growing international interest in the lake, sparked before Buloke Shire Council issued its 2017 brief. Julie Pringle, a Sea Lake local, recognised its potential and shared images of the pink lake and its remarkable sky reflections on Chinese social media.
Coach loads of Chinese visitors soon arrived in Sea Lake, six kilometres from the lake, despite limited accommodation and visitor facilities. Unmanaged access subsequently damaged vegetation, created safety and environmental issues, and left vehicles bogged in muddy lake margins. The absence of pathways, signage and washing facilities also placed pressure on local services.
Supported by Regional Development Victoria and guided by Buloke Shire’s brief, our team delivered the project from community consultation through to completion and handover. The extensive site required a carefully sequenced visitor experience: a main carpark, amenities and viewing platform sit 1,500 metres from the lake, while defined paths and boardwalks provide safe, accessible access to its remote and fragile landscape. Interpretive signage shares cultural history, night skies, flora, fauna and more than 120 years of salt mining. It also acknowledges Direl’s sacred significance to the Boorong people and its Creation stories connecting Country, People, Time and Sky.
Designed for day and night use, the lakeside works include a 75-metre circular jetty, a sky lounge for panoramic celestial viewing, and 2.0 metre high corten steel TYRRELL letters that encourage visitor interaction and social sharing. Most importantly, the project has supported Sea Lake’s economic renewal, strengthening local confidence, accommodation, businesses and employment opportunities.
Awards:
2022 AILA Victoria Landscape Architecture Award for Tourism
2022 AILA National Landscape Architecture Award for Tourism
Publications:
Scape Magazine # 19 (2022) - International Magazine for landscape | architecture | tourism ‘About the View’.
