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Published on : Thursday, September 10, 2020
Tourism leaders across Australia are quite optimistic and enthusiastic about developing experiences around Robbins Island and its famous saltwater cattle muster.
But the family owning the island is uncertain to get involved in tourism in the short term and cautious about logistical challenges.
“There’s always people that want to come and do the muster but that has its own problems,” said Robbins Island Wagyu co-director John Hammond.
The Hammonds have owned Robbins Island for decades, taking their herds along the beaches from time to time and for a short swim to the Tasmanian mainland.
There are a number of prospective products for Robbins Island, such as horse riding along the muster route, films about the journey and overnight stays in “authentic accommodation”.
But having tourists taking part or witnessing the muster would be challenging, since it it happens at irregular times and could get in the way of a working wagyu operation.
Mr. Hammond said that he is open to other tourism opportunities like a restaurant or even a links golf course in the future; however, the focus now is completing the long-awaited Robbins Island Wind Farm.
A tourism venture would ultimately depend on “Whether the next generation wants to take that on. There’s certainly a lot of potential for the place tourism wise,” Mr. Hammond said.
“And once we have better access to the place (from the wind farm), it would be possible one day to have quite a nice facility over here with a restaurant severing Wagyu beef,” he added.
Circular Head Tourism Association president Clint Walker said that even as a muster experience could be “absolutely fantastic”, the logistical challenges might be “an extremely difficult enterprise to deliver”.
“It would take a concerted effort and it would only really be available to an extremely small amount of people,” he said.
Tags: Australia, Robbins Island