The Wrest Point Hotel Casino is a

casino A casino is a facility for certain types of gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos are also known for hosting live entertai ...

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

. It was Australia's first legal casino, opening in the suburb of Sandy Bay in

Hobart Hobart ( ; Nuennonne/Palawa kani: ''nipaluna'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Home to almost half of all Tasmanians, it is the least-populated Australian state capital city, and second-small ...

, on 10 February 1973.

History

Historically, Dunkley's Point was a camping ground held by the semi-nomadic Mouheneener people, who held a permanent settlement at nearby

Long Beach Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California. Incorporate ...

called ''kreewer''. Following the

British colonisation of Tasmania The British colonisation of Tasmania took place between 1803 and 1830. Tasmania was a British colony from 1856 until 1901, at which time it joined five other colonies to form the Commonwealth of Australia. By the end of the colonisation in ...

, Norfolk Islander Thomas Chaffey constructed his residence on the point between 1808 – 1813, which by the end of his life was known as Chaffey's Point. The ''Traveller's Wrest Hotel'', which is still standing today on Sandy Bay Road, was erected by his son William Chaffey in 1836. David Dunkley purchased the Chaffey's Point estate from William Chaffey in 1847. He constructed his residence, St. Helena and renamed the area Dunkley's Point. George G. Robertson purchased St. Helena in 1898 and rebuilt it, adding a jetty and a boat house. Mrs. G. Minette Lucas purchased the estate in 1928 and erected her mansion, known as ''Wrest Point''. The estate was purchased by Arthur Drysdale in 1936.

Granting of the casino licence

The ''Wrest Point Riviera Hotel'' was designed by architect Keith Wildman and built by Arthur Drysdale, opening 5 December 1939 on the site of the current Wrest Point Casino. During World War II the hotel was "booming" and the hotel was sold to Australia's oldest hotel group,

Federal Hotels Federal Group is a privately owned family company which operates tourism, hospitality, retail, and a national sensitive freight company but are primarily known for their casino and gaming assets in Tasmania which is described as a "a licence to pr ...

, in March 1956. In the 1960s, The Federal Group attempted to secure Australia's first casino license. At the time, Tasmania's natural scenery and beauty were not widely known elsewhere, and as a result the state wasn't attracting many tourists. The marketing claim was that a casino could be the draw-card that would kick-start Tasmania's tourism industry. John Haddad, one of the company's executives at the time, was assigned the role of getting a casino license. He met with then Tasmanian Premier

Eric Reece Eric Elliott Reece, AC (6 July 190923 October 1999) was Premier of Tasmania on two occasions: from 26 August 1958 to 26 May 1969, and from 3 May 1972 to 31 March 1975. His 13 years as premier remains the second longest in Tasmania's history, On ...

and other state officials. A state

referendum A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...

was held to determine the granting of a gambling licence. The polls were very tight, especially since the question in the referendum attempted to minimise the gambling aspect of the development. Shortly before the referendum was to be held, the Labor party, sensing they had the numbers in the parliament pushed through the legislation to legalise the casino. They did not wait for the results of the vote. When the vote was taken the hotel redevelopment was narrowly passed. Questions have since been raised about how the legislation was passed, with one member of parliament,

Kevin Lyons Kevin Orchard Lyons (7 February 1923 – 24 May 2000) was an Australian politician and member of the Tasmanian House of Assembly representing the seat of Darwin (later renamed Braddon). Biography Early life Born in 1923 in Hobart, he was th ...

, suspected of accepting bribes over the licence.

Development

The development of the casino included the construction of the 17-storey hotel tower, with a revolving restaurant, designed by Sir

Roy Grounds Sir Roy Burman Grounds (18 December 19052 March 1981) was an Australian architect. His early work included buildings influenced by the Moderne movement of the 1930s, and his later buildings of the 50s and 60s, such as the National Gallery of V ...

, a landmark that is nationally identified with Hobart, and the 64-metre

dodecagonal prism In geometry, the dodecagonal prism is the tenth in an infinite set of prisms, formed by square sides and two regular dodecagon caps. If faces are all regular, it is a uniform polyhedron. Use It is used in the construction of two prismatic uni ...

tower remains the city's tallest building. After the centre's opening in 1973 (after which it was known as ''Wrest Point Hotel Casino'') the casino provided a catalyst for the nation's casino industry, with 12 additional casinos opening across the country. This included a second Federal Group casino in Tasmania, the Country Club Casino, which opened in Launceston in 1982. The building has been extended in recent years, including the conference centre which was opened in 1984, and the boardwalk in 1996. Wrest Point underwent an extensive multi-year redevelopment that began in 2018, including new restaurants, gaming areas, and the refurbishment of accommodation.

Controversy

While initially the hotel was supposed to be an entertainment complex, the casino soon took over much of the hotel; and, while the poker machines were initially not permitted, by executing successful lobbying, they now come to dominate the complex, with over 650 machines. The owners of the hotel and the poker machines, Federal Hotels, were fined on a number of occasions for poker machines that were not functioning as programmed, and were thus in breach of the law. In 2017, the building was protected with a heritage listing. While some saw this as significant, the decision "angered local residents and puzzled some experts."

2018 Tasmanian election

In the 2018 election, the opposition leader, Rebecca White, promised to remove all pokies from pubs and clubs, leaving the two casinos as the only location for pokies in the state, citing the negative health and economic impacts of poker machines. The Federal Group, who own both the casinos and the pokies licences have opposed the policy as have the Liberal government.

Gallery

Wrest Point, Tasmania (7364680146).jpg, Wrest Point casino and hotel tower in 2012 Wrest Point Convention Centre 20180903-003.jpg, West end of the Wrest Point convention centre and casino Lords_Beach_Sandy_Bay_Tasmania_1930s.jpg, The Wrest Point Riviera Hotel and Lords Beach in 1939 Bathing pool at Wrest Point Riviera Hotel, Hobart, Tasmania - 1940s.jpg, Bathing pool at Wrest Point Riviera Hotel, circa 1940s Wrest Point Riviera Hotel, Hobart, Tasmania - 1940s.jpg, Wrest Point Riviera Hotel circa 1940s

References

External links

Wrest Point Hotel Casino
official site

{{Hobart landmarks Hotel buildings completed in 1939 Casinos completed in 1973 Hotel buildings completed in 1973 Landmarks in Hobart Hotels in Hobart Restaurants in Hobart Casinos in Australia Buildings and structures with revolving restaurants Culture in Hobart Tourist attractions in Hobart Casino hotels Sandy Bay, Hobart 1973 establishments in Australia