Yarloop Concept Master Plan
Prior to its destruction by fire in 2016, the Yarloop Workshops site was recognised for its historical significance as the largest privately owned railway workshop remaining in Australia. The site housed historic timber workshop buildings dating back to around 1900, which served as a maintenance yard for the steam trains used to transport felled timber for the Millar’s milling operations until their closure in 1978. The site was then converted into a working museum, displaying the workshops and their machinery in pristine condition.
Following the tragic fire, only the brick vault, steam shop equipment, and a collection of locomotives, equipment, and tools were salvaged.
In 2018, Gresley Abas were engaged to design a Concept Master Plan for the site, the goal of which was to interpret the buildings that were lost in the fire to house interpretive facilities commemorating the significance of the former workshops, the significance of Yarloop in the role it played in the southwest timber industry, and the tragic fire event of 2016. In addition to providing a financially viable tourist attraction to visitors, the site redevelopment also needed to address the need for stimulating social, cultural and economic growth in the town.
Our Concept Design proposed contemporary reconstruction of two of the workshop buildings on the site in a striking blackened timber silhouette. The structures were proposed to be enclosed where needed, and open skeletons in other areas, to create an evocative, interpretive experience of the buildings that once stood there. In addition to the housing of found artifacts on the site, our proposal sought to incorporate the tool of augmented reality to overlay an engaging and powerful interpretive experience for the visitor.
“Landscape will play a very important role in this project as a means of interpretation, and as a placemaking tool. ”
Other elements on the site such as an industrial playground, a nature playground and a café sought to reinforce the site as a destination for tourists and locals alike to ensure its financial viability for the town.
The northern part of the site was dedicated to telling ‘the fire story’, through an interpretive pavilion, memorial garden, and ceremonial colonnade.
The Shire of Harvey is currently commencing Stage 1 of the project.
