Robe Obelisk faces grim end as replica landmark recommended
There is a 50 per cent chance the landmark Robe Obelisk will fall into the sea within the next 27 years, according to a new report that recommends the local council build a replica further inland.
The District Council of Robe will on Wednesday consider the findings of a report prepared by the Robe Obelisk Working Party, a group of environmental, heritage and legal experts as well as community representatives convened in August to consider options for the Robe Obelisk on Cape Dombey.
The state heritage-listed obelisk was built in 1855 and has become a tourist attraction and symbol of the Limestone Coast town, but it sits on shaky foundations that are at high risk of coastal erosion and inundation.
There is a 50 per cent likelihood that erosion will affect or eliminate the obelisk headland by 2051, and the entire Cape Dombey headland by 2100, according to coastal modelling provided to the working group.
The Robe Obelisk is not accessible to the public. Photo: Thomas Kelsall/InDaily
“The rate of erosion and time for impact on the Obelisk is unknown,” the report states.
“Failure or impact could result from a storm event or could be in the order of 20 to 50 years.”
The working party considered whether to preserve, relocate or replicate the obelisk in a new location.
The group recommended council create a replica obelisk opposite the Robe Gaol ruins around 400-metres inland from the existing obelisk.
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A map showing the existing obelisk and its proposed relocation site. Image: District Council of Robe
Council administration has recommended councillors “proceed with investigations into the possibility of replicating the Robe Obelisk at the site identified”.
Working party chair Richie White, a volunteer and Robe local, said the party would determine details of the new obelisk on Friday.
“That will be our next task will be to work out some details of what that replica is going to be,” he said.
“It could be something that looks like the current obelisk, it could be a hologram, it could be a number of options.”
The report recommended against preserving the existing obelisk due to “practical constructability, cost and longevity” reasons.
The working party explored hardening the obelisk’s underlying sandstone, but the state government’s Department for Environment and Water “indicated that they would not support unproven technology or the introduction of foreign materials and chemicals into the area”.
“In addition there are no guarantees that alternative preservation treatments will work,” the report said.
Another preservation option considered was building a rock wall on the southwest side of the obelisk, but this was considered cost prohibitive.
“If the Obelisk was protected by a rock wall the adjoining unprotected cliffs on either side of [it] would still continue to erode,” the report said.
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“Eventually the Obelisk would be isolated.
“The ongoing costs of maintaining and repairing protection on such a high energy coast would be costly and most likely the responsibility of the Robe District Council.
“The conclusion was a multi-million dollar cost – with potential ongoing maintenance.”
Relocation, meanwhile, was estimated to cost more than $1 million. The working party recommended against it due to “potential failure risk” and “practicality [and] safety” concerns.
The party considered a method put forward by specialist heritage building company Mammoth Movers whereby the obelisk would be cut into two or three pieces and then helicoptered to a new site.
This option, while requiring limited work at the site, would still have safety issues and “potential for failure of structure due to age and condition”, the report said.
“At a very broad level it was estimated by the working party – based on other relocation examples (eg stone cottage relocation) and complexity of the site context – that relocation could be in the order of $1,000,000 plus,” the report found.
The Robe Obelisk faces a lonely end if it is not relocated or preserved. Photo: Thomas Kelsall/InDaily
If the council rules out relocation or preservation, the obelisk will be left to fall into the sea.
“That will be sad the day that happens, but it’s going to be inevitable,” White said.
“I think the whole community would be upset about that but it’s a foregone conclusion and it’s going to happen and we just move forward.
“That’s why we were very keen to maintain the icon in the community in some form, it’s an emblem and an icon that represents this community.”
Robe mayor Lisa Ruffell was unavailable for comment.
