Rechercher dans ce blog

Sunday, January 8, 2023

Australian designer George Gorrow to launch Crescent Head hotel amid local development concerns - ABC News

Like many small Australian beachside holiday towns, Crescent Head — with its popular surf break — heaves under a huge population surge every summer. 

Its enduring small-town charm and surf culture on New South Wales' Mid North Coast has captured the attention of Sydney-born designer and hotelier George Gorrow.

With his wife and German model Cisco Tschurtschenthaler, the pair are transforming an old motel at Crescent Head into a 1970s-inspired surf club hotel to be opened later this year.

However, some locals who are already managing the annual tourist congestion are unhappy, especially as there is another motel redevelopment proposal under consideration for the town. 

From Bali to Crescent Head

Mr Gorrow co-founded streetwear fashion label Ksubi and has spent the past decade living in Bali, where he and Ms Tschurtschenthaler opened a successful hotel and gallery in the surf town of Canggu.

A surfer rides the nose of a malibu on a very small wave in a bay
A longboard surfer enjoys Crescent Head's point break.(Supplied: Woody Gooch)

Now parents of two young boys, they have returned to Australia and to a town holding fond memories for Mr Gorrow.

"Crescent Head still feels like that place you visited as a child, still feels so pure " Mr Gorrow said.

"I love surfing. So does my wife, and Crescent Head is one of the most iconic surf breaks on the north coast, so we are trying to keep in with that [theme].

"My vision of a surf club hotel comes from when I was young and used to travel around the coast with my dad, who was an avid surfer.

"We would always stay in different cabins."

Mr Gorrow also loves "original Aussie pubs overflowing with culture".

"So I want to bring that into the place, where everything you look at tells a story," he said.

A man walks on the beach holding a surf board, with a young boy walking next to him.
George Gorrow is a father to two young sons and loves to surf.(Supplied: George Gorrow)

The hotel, on Pacific Street, will also include a gallery, music and restaurant, and locally shaped surfboards.

Mr Gorrow said the external structure would not change much in a bid to "keep a lot of the uniqueness of the building" and its footprint will be reduced to 24 rooms.

"The Macleay region is so rich in culture; we will also be partnering with local farms and producers to showcase the region," he said.

A black and white image of two men in shirts and pants, with clothes hanging on a rack behind them in an open room.
Ksubi founders Gareth Moody and George Gorrow have also released a new fashion line.(Supplied: George Gorrow)

A village 'under incredible stress'

The other motel redevelopment proposal in the works is for a property on nearby Baker Drive.

A man in a striped coloured shirt, smiling.
Crescent Head Malibu Club president Roger Fergusson says coastal towns are under stress.(Supplied: Roger Ferguson)

The development application for a three-storey building is with Kempsey Shire Council and on public display for feedback.

It has sparked concerns among some locals that the character of their seaside community risks being lost among new and upmarket developments.

Crescent Head Malibu Club president and resident of 30 years Roger Fergusson says the village community is "under incredible stress".

"Coastal villages are under threat everywhere, the ethos, the history of village lifestyle that makes up the north coast of NSW," he said.

"We have an incredible surge of traffic and people this summer, a huge volume of illegal campers, our water is under threat, our sewerage is under threat and parking is over the top."

The town 'needs tourism'

Robyn Harvey, 72, a former Australian longboard surfer who grew up in Crescent Head, said there was a positive side to new developments.

Crescent Head holiday park under a blue sky
Crescent Head Holiday Park is a popular destination for tourists.(Supplied: Crescent Head Holiday Park)

"We need tourism for the shops to survive and get through our winter … this will just sparkle it up a little bit," she said.

"I've seen the town back in the 1950s right through to now.

"It was great then and now. We all have to learn to share and get along with every generation."

A public meeting to discuss the latest Baker Drive development proposal will be held locally on January 12.

Two girls standing on a coastal headland watching surfers and waves on the point.
Robyn Harvey watches Crescent Head's point break in 1963 as a 13-year-old.(Supplied: Robyn Harvey)

Finding the right balance 

Kempsey Shire Councillor and resident Alexandra Wyatt said finding the balance between maintaining small town character and embracing expansion was a challenge.

An aerial view of a coastal town, with it's point surf break in the distance.
Crescent Head is a popular coastal village on NSW's Mid North Coast.(Supplied: Robyn Harvey)

Visitors were recently turned away from the Mid North Coast holiday town of Seal Rocks due to safety concerns over gridlocked roads.

"I find opinion in Crescent Head very divided," Cr Wyatt said.

"Things can't stay the same as they were in the 1970s, '80s, '90s … and we need to make sure they evolve in a way that is aesthetically pleasing, that maintains environmental values and the character of the landscape.

"I would also like to see some social equity in there, so we don't just kick out everyone who can't afford to be there. 

"We cannot love these places to death."

Waves roll in around a coastal headland on a sunny day.
Crescent Head is home to a well-known Australian point break.(Supplied: Robyn Harvey)

Adblock test (Why?)


Australian designer George Gorrow to launch Crescent Head hotel amid local development concerns - ABC News
Read More

No comments:

Post a Comment

Ti Tree Local Court list, Friday, January 26 - NT News

[unable to retrieve full-text content] Ti Tree Local Court list, Friday, January 26    NT News Ti Tree Local Court list, Friday, January 2...