Liam McNally
A Melton V8 Superboat world champion is calling on council to “resurrect” the old jet boat racing course in MacPhersons Park.
The Harkness race track was formerly a yearly stop on the V8 Superboat Australian Championship, and even hosted the World Championships in 2009.
The track has gone unused since Peter Freckleton’s Melton Jet Sprint’s lease ended in 2014.
Local V8 Superboat racer and current world champion Phonsy Mullan is calling for the boat track to be revived and used for its original purpose.
“I would like to make the track at MacPherson Park available on a lease, to be able to have a social club where people could come and race,” he said.
“Currently the track is an eyesore and a waste for the shire and the residents. Getting the track back on national circuits would bring value to the shire and its residents.
“We also have a huge presence with four local drivers dominating the [sport]… The sport has a huge following, we are currently seeing a rapid growth of exposure through Foxtel, Kayo, and now 7mate has picked us up.”
In November 2017, Melton council released the MacPherson Park Recreation Reserve Future Directions Paper, which suggested the former jet boat racing circuit be removed in order to establish a “new large scale, flexible, outdoor events space for the City of Melton”.
The document described the project as a “significant and costly undertaking,” with an estimated cost of $1 million and assigned it a “medium” priority level.
More than five years later, the old boat track remains and Mr Mullan believes reviving it for its original purpose would be a much less costly project than an outdoor event space.
While Melton mayor Lara Carli said no “formal proposal“ has been brought to council, Mr Mullan said he has liaised with council twice before about the idea without it progressing.
“This particular part of MacPherson Park has not been used for some time and the site requires significant rehabilitation in line with the environment overlay,” Cr Carli said.
Council also said if it is provided a detailed proposal about intended use for the site for and how it would be managed then council would consider all the existing constraints of the site in its response.
