{{Short description|Hotel and casino complex in Hobart, Tasmania}} {{Use dmy dates|date=June 2015}} {{Use Australian English|date=June 2015}} {{Infobox casino | name = Wrest Point Hotel Casino | logo = Wrest Point Hotel Casino logo.svg | logo_size = | logo_caption = Wrest Point Casino logo | image = Wrest Point Casino.jpg | image_size = | image_caption = Wrest Point Hotel Casino at night | pushpin_map = | pushpin_mapsize = | pushpin_map_caption = | pushpin_label_position = none | coordinates = {{coord|42|54|7|S|147|20|17|E|display=inline,title}} | location = [[Hobart]], [[Tasmania]], <br /> [[Australia]] | address = | date_opened = {{Start date and age|1973|02|10|df=y}} | date_closed = | theme = | rooms = 269 | space_gaming = | shows = | attractions = | notable_restaurants = 5 + 6 bars | casino_type = [[Resort]] | owner = [[Federal Group|Federal Hotels]] | license_holder = [[Federal Group]] | architect = Colin Philp (1939) <br> D. Hartley Wilson (1939) <br> [[Roy Grounds]] (1973) | names_pre = | renovations = | website = [http://www.wrestpoint.com.au/ Official Site] | embedded = {{designation list | embed = yes | designation1 = Tasmanian Heritage Register | designation1_free1name = Place ID | designation1_free1value = 7,496<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://heritage.tas.gov.au/Documents/THROnline_Jan2021.pdf |title=Permanent and Provisional Registrations as at 22 Jan 2021 |access-date=2022-10-04 |page=149 |publisher=Tasmanian Heritage Register |archive-date=24 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220924092950/https://heritage.tas.gov.au/Documents/THROnline_Jan2021.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> | designation1_free2name = Status | designation1_free2value = Permanently Registered}} }}
The '''Wrest Point Hotel Casino''' is a [[casino]] in [[Tasmania]]. It was Australia's first legal casino, opening in the suburb of [[Sandy Bay, Tasmania|Sandy Bay]] in [[Hobart]], on 10 February 1973. The hotel tower is the [[List of tallest buildings in Hobart|tallest building in Hobart]] as well as Tasmania.
==History== Historically, Dunkley's Point was a camping ground held by the semi-nomadic Mouheneener people, who held a permanent settlement at nearby [[Long Beach, Tasmania|Long Beach]] called ''kreewer''.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://tasmanianbeaches.net/2015/11/04/long-beach-sandy-bay-beach/ |title=Derwent River: Long Beach (aka Sandy Bay Beach) |website=tasmanianbeaches.net |date=4 November 2015 |access-date=5 July 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://palawa-places.org.au/milaythina-sandy-bay |title=Sandy Bay |website=palawa-places.org.au |access-date=5 July 2022}}</ref> [[Norfolk Islanders|Norfolk Islander]] Thomas Chaffey constructed his residence on the point between 1808 and 1813, during the [[British colonisation of Tasmania]], which became known as Chaffey's Point by the end of his life. The ''Traveller's Wrest Hotel'', which is still standing today on Sandy Bay Road, was erected by his son William Chaffey in 1836. David Dunkley purchased the Chaffey's Point estate from William Chaffey in 1847. He constructed his residence, St. Helena and renamed the area Dunkley's Point. George G. Robertson purchased St. Helena in 1898 and rebuilt it, adding a jetty and a boat house. Mrs. G. Minette Lucas purchased the estate in 1928 and erected her mansion, known as ''Wrest Point''. The estate was purchased by entrepreneur Arthur James Drysdale in 1936.
===Wrest Point Riviera Hotel=== Designed by architects Colin Philp and David Hartley Wilson, the [[streamline moderne]] ''Wrest Point Riviera Hotel'' was considered "one of the most modern establishments of its kind in Australia" upon opening on 5 December 1939.<ref>{{Citation | author1=Royal Australian Institute of Architects. | author2=Institute of Architects of New South Wales. | author3=Board of Architects of New South Wales. | title=Architecture : an Australasian review of architecture and the allied arts and sciences. | section=43 v. : ill.; 28 cm. | volume=36 |issue= 4 |date= 1 Oct 1948 | location=Sydney | publisher=Atkins, McQuitty Ltd | url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-2997067706 | id=nla.obj-2997067706 | access-date=7 April 2023 | via=Trove}}</ref> 400 guests attended the opening, including [[Tasmanian Premier]] [[Edmund Dwyer-Gray]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article25778491 |title=WREST POINT OPENING |newspaper=[[The Mercury (Hobart)|The Mercury]] |volume=CLI |issue=21,537 |location=Tasmania, Australia |date=6 December 1939 |accessdate=7 April 2023 |page=12 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> [[File:Wrest Point Riviera Hotel, Hobart, Tasmania - 1940s.jpg|left|thumb|Wrest Point Riviera Hotel, 1940s]] Built at a cost exceeding [[£A]]70,000, the luxurious hotel featured accommodation for 500 patrons. The entirety of Dunkley's Point was also redeveloped, featuring tiered garden beds, a heated saltwater bathing pool, tennis court and a private jetty with a steamboat named ''Arcadia'' offering scenic cruises and a yacht named ''Acushla''. Both the pool and tennis courts were walled as a means to protect patrons from undesirably strong winds.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article52366358 |title=RIVIERA HOTEL OPENED |newspaper=[[The Examiner (Tasmania)]] |volume=XCVIII |issue=228 |location=Tasmania, Australia |date=7 December 1939 |accessdate=7 April 2023 |page=12 (LATE NEWS EDITION and DAILY) |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> [[File:Bathing pool at Wrest Point Riviera Hotel, Hobart, Tasmania - 1940s.jpg|left|thumb|Bathing pool, circa 1940s]] During World War II the hotel was "booming" and the hotel was sold to Australia's oldest hotel group, [[Federal Group|Federal Hotels]], in March 1956.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-08-25/wrest-point-casino-heritage-listed/8840396|title=Hobart's giant 'hair roller' honoured with heritage listing|date=2017-08-25|work=ABC News|access-date=2018-01-28|language=en-AU}}</ref>
===Granting of the casino licence=== On 14 December 1968, a statewide referendum was held asking voters whether they supported the granting of a casino licence to Wrest Point, conditional on the proposed redevelopment of the hotel.<ref>https://tasmaniantimes.com/2024/03/a-political-retrospective-on-wrest-point-stadium/</ref> The proposal was approved by with 56% support, and the Wrest Point Casino Licence and Development Act 1968 was subsequently passed by the Tasmanian Parliament.<ref>https://tasmaniantimes.com/2024/03/a-political-retrospective-on-wrest-point-stadium/</ref>
===Development=== The development of the casino included the construction of the 17-storey hotel tower, with a revolving restaurant, designed by Sir [[Roy Grounds]], a landmark that is nationally identified with Hobart, and the 64-metre (210 feet) [[dodecagonal prism]] tower remains the [[List of tallest buildings in Hobart|city's tallest building]].
In 1984, Federal Group constructed Australia's first purpose-built convention and entertainment complex on site at a cost of over $20 million, called Wrest Point Convention Centre.<ref>https://www.resortbrokers.com.au/learn/blog/experience-counts-in-the-business-of-creating-emotional-connections.html#:~:text=Since%20those%20days%2C%20the%20company,convention%20centre%20at%20Wrest%20Point</ref> Later, in 1996, the construction of the boardwalk was completed.
'''''50Th Anniversary Redevelopment'''''
Between 2018 and 2023, Federal Group undertook a staged redevelopment program at Wrest Point Hotel Casino, completing a renovation project reported to total approximately AUD $65 million to coincide with the property's 50th anniversary.<ref>https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-12-14/wrest-point-casino-50th-anniversary-redevelopment/10617140</ref> The redevelopment was implemented progressively across multiple years. In 2018, works included refurbishment of the Point Revolving Restaurant, followed in 2019 by upgrades to tower accommodation and the Boardwalk area.<ref>https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-05-16/wrest-point-redevelopment-continues/11116864</ref> In 2021, renovations extended to the casino facilities, including reconfiguration of the gaming floor and upgrades to associated amenities.<ref>https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-06-10/wrest-point-casino-upgrade/100203782</ref> Further works undertaken in 2022 included the introduction of new food and beverage venues such as the Longhorn Smokehouse, expansion of the Birdcage Bar, redevelopment of the main reception area, and the establishment of a dedicated lounge for Forte members.<ref>https://www.wrestpoint.com.au/news/major-redevelopment-continues</ref> The redevelopment program concluded in 2023 with refurbishment of Water Edge and Motor Inn accommodation, upgrades to tower floors one to five, and renewal of mezzanine and corridor areas, completing the multi-stage renewal of Tasmania's tallest hotel building.<ref>https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-03-22/wrest-point-redevelopment-final-stage/102127566</ref>
===Heritage Listing=== Wrest Point Hotel Casino was added to the Tasmanian Heritage Register on the basis of its historical, social, and architectural significance, rather than age alone.<ref>https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-08-25/wrest-point-casino-heritage-listed/8840396</ref> The Tasmanian Heritage Council assessed Wrest Point as significant because it was Australia's first legal casino, opened in February 1973, and because of its role in the development of Tasmania's post-war tourism and hospitality industry.<ref>https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-08-25/wrest-point-casino-heritage-listed/8840396</ref> while the Heritage Council's decision was based on formal heritage criteria, the listing generated mixed public responses, highlighting broader debate about how “heritage” is defined, particularly in relation to modernist architecture and twentieth-century commercial buildings.<ref>https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-08-25/wrest-point-casino-heritage-listed/8840396</ref>
==Gallery== {{Commons category}} <gallery widths="200px" heights="200px" perrow="6"> Wrest Point, Tasmania (7364680146).jpg|Wrest Point casino and hotel tower in 2012 Wrest Point Convention Centre 20180903-003.jpg|West end of the Wrest Point convention centre and casino Lords_Beach_Sandy_Bay_Tasmania_1930s.jpg|The Wrest Point Riviera Hotel and [[Lords Beach, Tasmania|Lords Beach]] in 1939 </gallery>
==See also== * [[1968 Tasmanian casino referendum]] * [[Federal Group]] * [[List of tallest buildings in Hobart]]
==References== <references />
==External links== *[https://wrestpoint.com.au/ Wrest Point Hotel Casino] official site *[http://www.tourismtasmania.com.au/org/community_aware/taw2000/td_wrestpoint.html Tourism Tasmania article]
{{Casinos in Australia}} {{Hobart landmarks}}
[[Category:Music venues in Tasmania]] [[Category:1970s in Tasmania]] [[Category:1973 establishments in Australia]] [[Category:Buildings and structures with revolving restaurants]] [[Category:Casinos completed in 1973]] [[Category:Casinos in Tasmania]] [[Category:Culture in Hobart]] [[Category:Hotel buildings completed in 1939]] [[Category:Hotel buildings completed in 1973]] [[Category:Hotels in Hobart]] [[Category:Landmarks in Hobart]] [[Category:Restaurants in Hobart]] [[Category:Sandy Bay, Tasmania]] [[Category:Tourist attractions in Hobart]] [[Category:Casino hotels in Tasmania]] [[Category:Modernist architecture in Australia]] [[Category:Streamline Moderne architecture in Australia]]