The character of Mount Augustus National Park in remote Western Australia could be about to change. As the state government looks at ways to increase tourist numbers and tourism dollars, it has commissioned a $150,000 study to find the best ways to unlock what it sees as the park’s enormous potential.
Mount Augustus, situated almost 500 kilometres east of Carnarvon, is more than twice the size of Uluru but has nothing like the drawing power of the Rock. Mount Augustus itself rises 717 metres above a stony, red sandplain of arid shrubland and is said to be one of the most spectacular solitary peaks in the world.
The WA Government has said it’s time the park started to raise its profile to become a world-class attraction. It says the new study will examine what kind of resort development could be built there to lure more visitors.
The Shire of Upper Gascoyne has welcomed the initiative and says a business case will be ready by the end of the year. “It’s important that anything built there, which we’re certainly hoping will be the case, that the infrastructure will be appropriate for Mt Augustus itself,” the Shire of Upper Gascoyne CEO, Dirk Sellenger, told the ABC. “There has been some discussions, perhaps a tent sort of set-up, which they have in the Kimberley and I understand works quite well.”
Mr Sellenger said it was still early days and nothing had been locked in yet. Have you been to Mount Augustus?
