King Neptune: WA’s lost ocean marine park and iconic statue’s heritage recognised on WA list
The future of Perth’s historic King Neptune statue from a 1980s-hit theme park and its surrounding area will be secured after receiving heritage recognition.
The short-lived Atlantis Marine Park in Two Rocks was a major part of the “Sun City Precinct” created by late WA business tycoon Alan Bond ahead of Perth hosting the America’s Cup.
By the 1990s, however, the hopes of booming tourist numbers to ocean-themed park dried up, leaving it and surrounding residential and commercial area abandoned.
Now, a large part of the seaside area will have been recognised for its significant contribution to the State’s history.
The listing on the State Register means that any changes or works proposed at the site needs to be referred, usually by the responsible local government, to the Heritage Council for advice.
The register was designed in the 1990s to promote the conservation of significant WA places into the future.
However, the new listing on the register doesn’t mean the site can’t be adapted or changed completely.
Any developments deemed sensitive and serving contemporary needs could be approved if identified as compatible to the heritage value.
Heritage Minister David Templeman said the town helped market WA to the world when intentional attention was drawn to Perth during the 1987 America’s Cup.
“This listing ensures that the cultural heritage values of the Sun City Precinct will continue to be recognised by future generations of West Australians,” the Labor Minister said.
It marked WA’s first private residential, commercial and recreational investment project of its size and at the time.
The project was initially launched in 1972 when Two Rocks Marina was established as a training base for the Cup, alongside the Yanchep Sun City “leisure city” and a new yacht club.
In early 2022, the King Neptune statue was fully restored for the local community.
The 10-metre Roman god of the sea-inspired statue has become a landmark for the area and synonymous with the former coastal project which helped put the sleepy fishing town on the map.
WA Attorney General and Butler MP John Quigley had called for the State Government to buy the land in April 2022 to stop a $16 million shopping centre proposal involving Woolworths.
Mr Quigley on Wednesday welcomed the listing as a “win for heritage”.
“I am delighted that the Minister for Heritage has determined the Precinct should be included on the State Register of Heritage Places,” he said.
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