Copper Coast Tourism

Mr ELLIS (Narungga) (18:09): It is with extreme pleasure that I rise today to report on the arrival of cruise ships into Wallaroo on the Copper Coast on Yorke Peninsula for the first time ever. It happened over this most recent summer period. The first ship, Vasco Da Gama, docked at Wallaroo on 7 December and was greeted by plenty of locals geared up to lay out the welcome mat and welcome onshore everyone on board. Those locals who went to such great lengths to lay out the welcome mat recognise the value of such cruise ships, the visits they provide and the benefits for the local tourism economy and small businesses in surrounding towns. Many community groups gathered together to ensure that the first visit would not be the last.

I particularly commend the significant effort and work by Copper Coast Council staff, Mayor Roslyn Talbot and CEO, Russell Peate, as well as Lyn Spurling, who worked tirelessly in her capacity as Council Tourism Coordinator to ensure that the visits went smoothly and volunteer greeters were trained and ready for the important role they would play in making sure visiting passengers would have an enjoyable time.

It is with great pleasure that I report that the first ship contained some 967 passengers, as well as 543 crew. Mindful of the importance of first impressions, when disembarking they were greeted, provided with information and directed to activities and sites that we had on offer. Many enjoyed the Wallaroo main street and the markets organised especially for the occasion by the NYP Rotary Club, with 50 market stallholders there offering their wares.

Also organised especially for the occasion were town shuttle buses and two ship shuttles. The passengers enjoyed intercruise tours to the historic Wallaroo Walk, the Farm Shed Museum and Tourism Centre at Kadina and also to Camelot Gardens in Kadina, an acclaimed garden created and maintained by Helen and Dean Rodda from their home, which is right around the corner from mine. It is a tremendous garden, and if anyone is in town and would like to visit I am sure Helen and Dean would be more than happy to show them through.

Other passengers disembarked to enjoy tours of Moonta Mines, the Moonta Road Tram, Celtic Cuppa experiences, pasty making and an op shop tour. Well done to all involved in offering these experiences, which no doubt led to the even better patronised second cruise ship visit to Wallaroo that occurred on 3 January. On this ship, there were 1,292 passengers and 537 crew on board the Vasco Da Gama. Again, the markets were there to greet the disembarking passengers. Many more enjoyed the hop-on, hop-off town shuttle buses to Kadina and Moonta and back. There were increased ship shuttles operating in the morning, bringing passengers and crew to and from the ship to the John Terrace Reserve area.

Unfortunately, bad weather forced the cancellation of one of the scheduled cruise ship visits and also some intercruises and local tours on the second visit, but all stakeholders, community groups and businesses are looking forward to again welcoming more cruise ships in the 2020-21 season. The first one for Wallaroo is due to arrive on Wednesday 16 December.

I cannot commend enough the efforts of the more than 70 local volunteers who attended information sessions and registered to help direct and welcome passengers upon their arrival. So much preparation was required to become a new destination for the cruise ship visits, which included significant council works to provide suitable parking areas for tour buses, improvements to the port, etc. All involved were mindful that first impressions count and that cruise ships coming to our shores may very well be the catalyst for major spin-off benefits for local businesses and tourism operators not only in the Copper Coast but across Yorke Peninsula, Mid North and into the neighbouring Clare Valley.

Overall, across the state it was a very busy cruise season last summer, bringing in multimillion dollar economic benefits for our state. Last year, more than 182,000 passengers arrived at South Australian ports, some 12,000 more than the previous year. It is fantastic that they visited and experienced more regional communities than ever before, including, somewhat biasedly, Wallaroo. The latest statistics highlight that the cruise sector injected more than $145 million into the state economy last year, compared with $114 million the year before.

Across the state, there were some 80 scheduled cruise ships visiting South Australian ports, including 38 visits to Adelaide, 26 visits to Penneshaw—and they need those now more than ever—13 to Port Lincoln and two to Wallaroo. It is a great outcome for all those regions and for tour operators, pubs, wineries, shops, visitor service providers and communities who have the opportunity to showcase their unique rural lifestyle. Well done to all on the Copper Coast to ensure that, when our first passengers arrived, they were offered a wide range of activities and treated to a wonderful experience on the Copper Coast.