New drive to make Pitchi Richi a public treasure
21 May 2019
By ERWIN CHLANDA
Every now and again there is a burst of enthusiasm to rescue from neglect and vandalism one of the town’s potentially most appealing attractions, Pitchi Richi. But in the past few decades not much has come from it.
This is going to be different, says Faye Alexander, from Heritage Alice Springs Inc which launched a garden master plan for the sanctuary last week.
She says it’s the first step towards turning it into an attraction open to the public, a project that will cost up to $2m.
“The plan mostly concentrates on the northern end of the property around the William Ricketts Sculpture Garden,” says Ms Alexander.
“The design (pictured) by Arid Edge Environmental Service will help to define areas and improve the flow of the paths with recommendations for pram and wheelchair access, whilst respecting the existing surroundings.
“Advice on mound stabilisation, planting and weed management, more shade structures and seating will be included.”
About 50 people turned up, walked around the beautiful grounds just south of The Gap, and listened to a talk by architect Ra Sim whose service is linked to the Arid Lands Environment Centre.
Ms Alexander says public funding has been intermittent and in small amounts.
The biggest one was $50,000 from the NT Government to restore the roof of Chapman House.
She says renovation of this building will require a further $300,000 to $400,000, well beyond the reach of the mostly volunteer based group founded by heritage architect Domenico Pecorari more than a decade ago.
“There is no time line as yet,” says Ms Alexander. “We’re a community group plodding along.”
But the plan will enhance the likelihood of getting grants although much work will continue to need volunteers: “It doesn’t take much to put down some mulch.”
There has been repeated vandalism of the sculptures, including the smashing of the Rain Man by William Ricketts, now being restored by conservator Isabelle Waters who previously worked with the Hermannsburg Potters.
ABOVE: In the foreground, a 44 gallon drum converted into a meat safe.
It is great seeing this place restored to its beauty. A breathtakingly peaceful haven. Well done to all on your persistence and dedication. What a great attraction it will be again. Congratulations to you all.
Wonderful news. For far too long authorities have not recognised that the tourism future of Alice lies largely south of The Gap, between The Gap and the airport.
There are too many vested commercial interests and conventional real estate interests to allow heritage type development north of The Gap.
They refuse to look at places like Hahndorf and Ballarat to see how heritage issues are basic to their economies, and contribute to the communal good.
No one has asked why the Katherine, Mt Isa, and Mclaren Vale tourism centres are all on the main approach to town where they have a captive market, but ours is crowded into a space with little or no parking.
The Big M stores have a mathematical formula on which they base their shop position.
It is based on the number of passing vehicles and pedestrians. If they did as we do they would go broke just as we are. An old Frank Sinatra film says it all (A hole in the head)
He who whispers down the well
About the thing he has to sell
Will never make as many dollars
As he who climbs a tree and hollers.
I don’t see too many tourism people standing on the South Road at the Welcome Rock where they all stop, or hollering as they go past.
Well put, Trevor.
Trevor Shiell, I think Pitchi Richi could really use a spokesperson like you to help with funds for restoring the beautiful place it once was😊
My father Robert O’Connor did some restoration work on some sculptures around 2015 or maybe earlier before he passed in 2018.
He was given permission to stay on the property in his caravan while he worked. I was wondering if I could visit the site and see some of the pieces.
Regards, his son Robert junior.
@ Robert O’Connor: I remember, with much gratitude, your father’s time helping our association with the conservation of the twenty or so William Ricketts sculptures at Pitchi Richi that form the largest collection outside of Ricketts’ own sanctuary in the Dandenong Ranges in Victoria, and a vital part of what makes Pitchi Richi such a unique and historically significant place.
Heritage Alice Springs has had a terrible past year culminating in a series of buffel grass fires that nearly destroyed the main building on site, Chapman House, upon which approximately $160,000 of NT Heritage grant funding has been spent over the last 12 years or so.
Fortunately, the sculptures survived the fires thanks to quick action by the local fire services and HAS volunteers.
As a result, HAS has set up an on-going fundraising drive which has to date raised over $16,000, thanks to the generosity of local businesses, for the purpose of establishing a Fire-hose Reel system across the property and making Chapman House habitable for the purpose of accommodating on-site volunteers.
I would be very pleased to arrange a personal tour of Pitchi Richi for you and ask that you contact me on dpecorari@westnet.com.au to set a time that suits you best.
With thanks,
Domenico Pecorari
Chair, Heritage Alice Springs management committee
On Monday last week I again sat at the Welcome Rock South between the airport and town.
Between 1.20pm and 2.15pm I counted 65 people sitting on the rock.
I repeated the exercise on Tuesday and there were 35 in less that an hour.
I have a breakdown of there figures into vehicle types if required but again wondered where the tourism bodies were to sell what we have to offer.
Not just for Alice but for the whole of the NT.
It’s probably less than one kilometre from there to the Transport Hall of Fame – a national icon with abundant parking for busses and caravans.
Other centres planned their tourism displays and facilities around parking.
There is an attention grabber on the main road south of the turn off and the obvious thing is to put an alternative entry from there with an exit via the cemetery.
On that score I sat at the cemetery turnoff prior to that and in two hours or so 13 caravans entered.
I said to myself, thank the Lord they didn’t all get into the CBD.
One recently pulled up on the bus stop opposite the post office to get mail!
This difficulty should be on the tourism web site for everyone’s benefit.
Now to put in an industrial site at the back of the Hall of Fame would be further madness for a number of reasons not all of which are related tourism.
A mining company at Wingelina (Nico Resources) has preliminary plans for a processing facility at or near Brewer. Can you imagine the traffic flow problems south of The Gap and how obvious it is to base further development in that area where both water, power and existing industrial space is already Available? And several more mining companies in the wings! No traffic surveys have been done.
In addition there has been talk in high places – apparently unnoticed – of the need to have a logistics base in that area following the sealing of the Tanami and incursions on the NW coast. That too is pretty obvious but politics and lack of vision keeps getting in the way.
In the meantime it was nice to see the Yirara student involved in the seniors event last week, and that’s exactly the role they could be playing in a positive manner with the cultural centre next to the school and Desert Knowledge precinct, and a display of bush foods growing and maintained by the correctional people as a display of their culture along the sides of the highway.
We also have no major icon to draw attention. There is a big banana, a big lobster etc but we have a big nothing. It went to Aileron but the possibilities are endless.