Approval of an $8 million National Stronger Regions federal grant application would help the Winton shire and its population deliver a new Waltzing Matilda Centre complex with international standing.
That’s the opinion of the architectural firm that has just released its design for the structure that will replace the building destroyed by fire in June 2015.
Cox Rayner architect Casey Vallance said the vision of the Winton Shire Council was very ambitious, describing it as a place for the whole of Australia.
“We are involved in many public buildings and this needs to be applauded,” he said.
It will cost $20m to rebuild the tourist drawcard that told the story of Australia’s unofficial national anthem, of which $12m will come from the insurance payout, and $1.5m from the state government.
According to Winton mayor Butch Lenton, if the federal funding application isn’t approved, council will have serious decisions to make.
“We would have to use council money and source loan funds,” he said.
“We don’t want to modify the design. We feel changes wouldn’t deliver what we need.
"We don’t want to put it off either – there’s no better time to build than now, with interest rates where they are.”
Cr Lenton said the old building was of its time but was something you could drive past, whereas the new design would capture attention and make people want to go in.
“It’s been scaled down from the original a bit – we didn’t want to make it bigger; we wanted to make it better.”
Cox Rayner, which was chosen from a field of 19 architects around Australia, held three consultation meeting in Winton prior to releasing its final design.
According to Mr Vallance, the final design creates a space to showcase the whole region as well as pay respect to Waltzing Matilda.
“It’s more than just an exhibition space, it’s a hub, a catalyst to draw people in,” he said.
“Rather than just being a still exhibition, it will point to moments and places where stories happened in the landscape there.
“We’re talking about the history – the indigenous culture, dinosaurs, opals, the initial stockmen, Qantas, their war history.
“More than a one-day experience, we expect people will come back multiple times over a week to take more out of it.”
It will be making use of local material, especially stone, and some of the federal funding, if approved, will allow council to cover displays that are currently in an outdoor setting, which would provide a better experience in weather extremes of heat or rain.
“For us, this building is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” Mr Vallance said. “Hopefully the people assessing the program applications can see the significance of what could be created here.”
Successful applicants are expected to be announced in September.
The Winton shire hopes to be able to start reconstruction early next year and to complete the transformation by September 2017.