Future uncertain
Saturday 9 February, 2002

It seems the Quarantine Station is fated to suffer from misfortune.

Once a place known for its appalling conditions where more than 500 people died, it more recently has earned a colourful, if not spooky, reputation for being haunted by ghosts.

Ghost tours run by the National Parks and Wildlife Service give visitors a taste of history as well as the creeps.

New leaseholder, the Mawland Hotel Management group, would no doubt be hoping to put all this in a historical context with plans for a hotel/conference centre, guided tours and education centre.

But two major fires in just four months will no doubt keep the more superstitious of us wondering if this site will ever be able to shrug off its tragic past.

Last October a major fire in a 118-year-old building was estimated to cause more than $1 million worth of damage. Police suspected arson.

On Thursday the site's oldest building exploded in flames and was destroyed.

An electrical fault was cited as the cause.

Considered an integral part of the site, it will have to be completely rebuilt.

Mawland's chief executive officer Max Player said he was "almost crying" when he saw the devastation.

The fires will certainly put Mawland's plans further behind and the cost of rebuilding will have a serious impact on its budget for the site.

So why was North Head chosen by our predecessors as a site where ships of passage were quarantined and ultimately more than 500 died?

Back in 1828, it was considered a place remote enough from Sydney for ships to easily land their passengers.

Very quickly buildings were erected, a jetty was built and the inevitable burial ground was located above the beach.

Conservation groups, including the Friends of Quarantine Station have fought hard to protect the site from unsympathetic redevelopment.

They will be accessing what of Sydney's heritage has been lost in this most recent fire. Questions will be asked as to how the remaining buildings on the site can be protected from further destruction.

It seems a matter of urgency that these issues are addressed if the Quarantine Station is to have the ghost of a chance of building a future through its links with the past.