PARKS Victoria has ordered contractors to stop work on the historic Flinders Pier restoration just four months after construction began, citing a lapse in funding.
The direction issued to lead contractor Bridgewater Marine comes less than five months after Minister for Ports and Freight Melissa Horne announced that works had commenced as part of the Allan Labor Government’s $18 million investment to restore some of the state’s most historic piers.
Construction had been expected to finish by mid-2026.
Chair of the Save Flinders Pier campaign, Charles Reis OAM, said the decision had shocked and dismayed supporters who fought for the pier’s preservation over the past five years.
Demobilisation of the site has begun in the past few days. Timber piles that had been stored in the lay-down area onshore, ready for installation this week, have already been loaded onto trucks and removed. Around 28 piles have already been driven into the sand to support the pier structure.
Reis wrote to Minister Horne on 18 April requesting the immediate release of additional funds so the works could be completed on schedule. As of 20 April, he is yet to receive a response.
“The Flinders Pier was never going to cost anywhere near $18m. It is a fraction of this cost,” Reis said. “So where has the money gone and why has Parks Victoria had to stop work?”
The original Flinders Pier was built in 1864 and the current project is its first major restoration since the 1970s. The heritage-listed structure was due to receive new piles, beams, crossheads, capping beams and decking, with the works designed to safeguard marine life beneath the pier including the weedy seadragon.
Reis said the situation was difficult to reconcile with the extensive assessments that preceded the work, including an environmental impact statement, a marine impact assessment, a geotechnical review, an engineering assessment, a condition assessment and a review of the pier’s significance to First Nations peoples.
“Parks Victoria has very good pier monitoring in place, and along with all the studies that preceded the work, there should never have been any surprises,” Reis said.
The Save Flinders Pier campaign was formed at a public meeting in Flinders in May 2021, after the State Government announced plans in July 2020 to demolish the inner 180-metre section of the pier.
The campaign successfully lobbied Heritage Victoria, which in October 2022 added it to the Victorian Heritage Register for its state-level cultural heritage significance. Reis said the heritage listing placed an obligation on the Government to complete the restoration rather than walk away from it.
Around 45,000 Victorians supported the push to save the pier, which also drew public backing from British broadcaster Sir David Attenborough.
Reis said the pier’s value included the access it provided the public. “This is a really important amenity. It allows people with disabilities, people with children, and older people to actually get out and enjoy the marine life without necessarily having to step on a boat,” he told The News.
Reis called on the Government to release funding urgently so the works could be completed in line with its commitment.
“Flinders Pier is a valuable marine amenity for all Victorians. It will be important that funding is immediately provided by the State Government to complete the works.”
