Parks Victoria is looking to breathe new life into Point Cook Homestead almost a year after its former tenants went into liquidation.
Parks Victoria district manager Rocky Barca says the organisation is in the process of identifying potential uses for the site and any areas of investment required to ensure its long-term viability.
Parks Victoria owns the homestead buildings and surrounding land.
“While we are working on a long-term plan, Parks Victoria is also looking to activate the homestead through identifying opportunities for community groups to use the site,” Mr Barca said.
“Point Cook Homestead is an important local cultural heritage site and Parks Victoria is working to ensure the best outcome for the community and local tourism industry.”
The homestead has been closed to the public since July 7 last year, when the tenants went into voluntary liquidation.
The closure left organisers of 19 weddings and other functions, including seven on which deposits had been paid, in the lurch.
One of the affected couples was bride-to-be Jessie Anderson and fiance Nathan Mattia, who had paid a deposit for their February 2016 nuptials only weeks earlier. Ms Anderson said they did not get a receipt to confirm payment.
She said they only learned the homestead had closed when her fiance found it locked. The couple never received a refund.
Ms Anderson told Star Weekly they had married in February this year at Keilor Hotel.
“We got married in the little garden out the back and had a cocktail event in the function room there. It worked out fine,” she said.
Point Cook Homestead was originally the property of the Chirnside family and is considered to be one of Victoria’s earliest pastoral homestead complexes.
