Station closes

By Melissa Meehan
YARRA Glen’s historic farm Gulf Station has closed until further notice.
The two remaining staff members, Clemens Unger and Garth Matthews, were made redundant on Wednesday afternoon.
Animals on the property were also removed on Thursday.
Earlier this year, the National Trust, the owner of the property, came under fire from Yarra Valley residents after it was announced that the heritage property would be closed during autumn and winter.
A meeting was soon organised between National Trust chief executive officer (CEO) Mark Purslow and employees and residents who feared that the property would never be reopened.
While apprehensive before the meeting, employees and residents said they felt hopeful about the future of the farm after Mr Purslow reassured those who attended that Gulf Station would reopen later this year.
On Wednesday former manager Clemens Unger said he was extremely disappointed with the National Trust’s decision to close the property indefinitely.
“We were promised all of these beautiful things but it all was just a smokescreen,” Mr Unger said.
“In the back of my mind, I thought this might happen but it is still a surprise.”
Mr Purslow played down claims by the community that Gulf Station would be closed forever.
“The plan for Gulf Station is to redevelop,” Mr Purslow said.
“We need to relocate the animals on the site for the time being, and we will bring them back for the relaunch.”
Mr Purslow would not give the Mail any indication of an approximate time for the relaunch.
“I can’t say,” he said.
“But we will defiantly reopen in the future.
“We are not walking away from this site.”
According to the Mr Purslow, the site will reopen under a different business model.
“We are hoping to introduce a model similar to the McRae Homestead in Rosebud which is run by the community and volunteers,” Mr Purslow said.
Margo Healy, an original manager at Gulf Station during the 1980s, said that the buildings at the property were very vulnerable to fall into disrepair if not properly looked after during the closure.
The Yarra Glen community is said to be devastated at the news of the closure.
Resident Marjorie Woollands said that the farm was an integral part of Yarra Glen.
“If it does reopen, I don’t think it is fair to rely on volunteers to run the property,” Ms Woollands said.
“A lot of the volunteers are retired and it’s quite a big responsibility.”
Ms Woollands said she was disappointed that Yarra Glen could be losing the heritage property.
“People in Yarra Glen think that it is closing down for good, we have already lost our doctor, priest and mechanic and we cannot lose a unique tourist attraction like Gulf Station as well.”
A statement released by the National Trust said that the property would be closed to general visitation, but a series of open days was planned throughout the “facelift” period. The educational program is also set to continue to run as normal.