CHROFI, together with McGregor Coxall, were successful in winning an invited competition to design a tourist interchange and Information Centre at Birubi Point, Port Stephens, within the internationally recognised Worimi Conservation Lands.
The Worimi Conservation Lands contain the largest mobile coastal sand dune system in the Southern Hemisphere. Beyond its physical attractions and adventure tourism offerings, it is also the native land of the Worimi people - a site rich in the living cultural history of its original inhabitants and custodians.
The competition brief called for a transport interchange to satisfy immediate operational demand, with an expectation of developing additional visitor and interpretation facilities as use, appreciation and custodianship of the Conservation Lands evolved. Working with McGregor Coxall, we curated a place-specific “story of the wandering sands,” with visitors invited to linger and actively experience the landscape, focusing on the physical and cultural heritage. Central to our approach was the need to respect and cultivate the heritage of the Worimi people, the Worimi Conservation Lands and the adjacent Birubi Point Aboriginal Place.