Sun City Precinct, Two Rocks

Parent Place or Precinct

17953 Two Rocks Marina Precinct

Child Places

• 17939 Sun City Land Sales Office (fmr)
• 16771 Two Rocks Shopping Centre and Tavern
• 17523 Atlantis Marine Park (former)
• 17941 Two Rocks Limestone Retaining Wall
• 17942 Two Rocks Marina

Statement of Significance

Sun City Precinct, Two Rocks, a coastal precinct comprising the Two Rocks Marina, limestone retaining wall, a concrete block shopping centre and tavern in the Late Twentieth Century Perth Regional Style (1974), and limestone sculptures, together with the largely cleared site of the former Atlantis Marine Park (1981) has cultural heritage significance for the following reasons:

the place is associated with the trailblazing, flamboyant, and now somewhat notorious entrepreneur Alan Bond whose financial activities and vision for the marina-based Yanchep Sun City development, along with Japanese partner Tokyu Corporation saw the project, one of the first and only residential, commercial, and recreational investment projects undertaken by a private company in the 1970s, come to fruition;

the place reflects the boom-and-bust cycles common to Western Australia throughout its history, and on this occasion the wealth and affluence experienced during the late 1970s and 1980s, followed by the immediate downturn of the early 1990s, as seen in the rise and decline of the Yanchep Sun City development;

the Two Rocks Marina and Shopping Centre are representative of the Two Rocks Yacht Harbour Town Centre Plan, as shown in the 1972 Yanchep Sun City Leisure Region Master Plan prepared by Clarke Gazzard Planners for Yanchep Estates (subsidiary of Bond Corporation), which indicates the intention of Yanchep Sun City as a tourist centre;

the place provides an example of the expansion of the northern suburbs in accordance with post-World War Two town and regional planning;

the place has social and historical significance to the local community, contributing to the development of the Two Rocks and Yanchep region.

The Atlantis Shopping Plaza as well as the northern carpark along Enterprise Avenue is not included in the precinct. The site of the former Atlantis Marine Park, and the associated King Neptune Sculpture make little contribution to the State heritage values of the precinct.

Values

11(a) Importance in demonstrating the evolution or pattern of Western Australia’s history;

Sun City Precinct, Two Rocks, and particularly the Two Rocks Marina, are associated with entrepreneur Alan Bond and his campaign to challenge for the America’s Cup in the 1970s, as outlined in the 1972 Yanchep Sun City Leisure Region Master Plan prepared by Clarke Gazzard Planners Pty Ltd for Yanchep Estates Pty Ltd (subsidiary of Bond Corporation).

Sun City Precinct, Two Rocks reflects the boom-and-bust cycles common to Western Australia throughout its history, and on this occasion the wealth and affluence experienced during the late 1970s and 1980s, followed by the immediate downturn of the early 1990s.

Sun City Precinct, Two Rocks provides an example of the expansion of the northern suburbs in accordance with post-WWII town and regional planning.

The King Neptune Sculpture, the primary remaining element of the former Atlantis Marine Park, provides a tangible reminder of a notable tourism site in Western Australia, and contributes to an understanding of the region as a tourist destination.

Sun City Precinct, Two Rocks represents a significant residential, commercial, and recreational development born of the high degree of optimism in Western Australia seen in the late 1970s and early 1980s which saw substantial investment in the project by Alan Bond’s Bond Corporation.

Sun City Precinct, Two Rocks represents foreign investment in Western Australia with the involvement of Japanese company Tokyu Corporation Pty Ltd, partner to Bond Corporation Pty Ltd.

11(b) Importance in demonstrating rare, uncommon or endangered aspects of Western Australia’s heritage;

Sun City Precinct, Two Rocks is rare as a private individual’s vision of a new, marina-based satellite city on what was the extreme outskirts of the Perth metropolitan area at that time, and was one of the most significant residential, commercial, and recreational investment projects undertaken by a private company in the 1970s.

Initially constructed as a training base for the America’s Cup, the Two Rocks Marina was the first harbour to be developed predominantly for recreation in Western Australia, focused on becoming a new population centre and a place of leisure.

The former Atlantis Marine Park, a popular marine theme park in the 1980s, represents a form of tourist attraction that remains uncommon in Western Australia.

11(d) Its importance in demonstrating the characteristics of a broader class of places;

Sun City Precinct, Two Rocks is representative of the desire for coastal living, which remains highly valued in Western Australia.

The Two Rocks Shopping Centre is representative of shopping complex designed in the Late Twentieth Century Perth Regional architectural style, constructed as part of the expansion of northern suburbs.

11(e) Any strong or special meaning it may have for any group or community because of social, cultural or spiritual associations;

Sun City Precinct, Two Rocks has significance to the local community, with the King Neptune Sculpture embraced as a symbol for Two Rocks, and contributing to the community’s sense of place.

The King Neptune Sculpture and site of the former Atlantis Marine Park serve as a tangible reminder of the popular 1980s Western Australian tourist attraction and is valued by those who have fond memories of the Park during its operating years, with the King Neptune Sculpture continuing to draw in visitors.

Sun City Precinct, Two Rocks is valued as a marine-based recreational area, contributing to the character of Two Rocks, with the Two Rocks Marina important to the local boating, crayfishing, and fishing community, and to the Sun City Yacht Club and Volunteer Marine Rescue Group.

The Two Rocks Shopping Centre and Tavern are valued by the local community as a social centre to gather and connect.

11(f) Its importance in exhibiting particular aesthetic characteristics valued by any group or community;

The King Neptune Sculpture has landmark value, viewed from Enterprise Avenue within the precinct, and from Lisford Avenue northbound, leading into Sun City Precinct, Two Rocks. The King Neptune Sculpture is valued by both the local community as a local icon, and by the wider community as a tourism icon.

The Two Rocks Shopping Centre and Tavern presents as a cohesive group of commercial buildings designed together in the Late Twentieth Century Perth Regional architectural style and is reminiscent of a Mediterranean seaside town.

11(g) Any special association it may have with the life or work of a person, group or organisation of importance in Western Australia’s history;

Sun City Precinct, Two Rocks is associated with the trailblazing, flamboyant, and now somewhat notorious, entrepreneur Alan Bond whose financial activities and vision for the Yanchep Sun City project in the 1970s, along with Japanese partner Tokyu Corporation, saw the project come to fruition using strong marketing, quality design, and well-known professionals.

Sun City Precinct, Two Rocks has associations with artist Mark Le Buse, who contributed the limestone King Neptune Sculpture, the former celebrity clock and other limestone sculptures at the former Atlantis Marine Park, and the Waugal Monoliths located adjacent to the Two Rocks Shopping Centre.

The Two Rocks Shopping Centre and Tavern was designed by well-known architect Anthony Brand from the prominent firm, Forbes & Fitzhardinge and was built by Jaxon Constructions.

11(h) Its importance in demonstrating a high degree of creative or technical achievement;

Sun City Precinct, Two Rocks includes Two Rocks Shopping Centre and Tavern, which received a Design award in 1976 and a Bronze Medal for Architectural excellence in 1979.

Physical Description

Sun City Precinct, Two Rocks is a coastal precinct located in the suburb of Two Rocks, approximately 70 kms north of the Perth CBD. Bounded to the north by Sovereign Drive, the east by Lisford Avenue and to the west by the Marina breakwater sea walls, with the southern boundary defined by the southernmost portion of the seawall and Jorden Street leading to the Marina. the southern boundary is a line extending west to east from the sea wall at Jordan Street to Lisford Avenue. The northern boundary excludes the Atlantis Shopping Plaza as well as the northern carpark along Enterprise Avenue.

Sun City Precinct, Two Rocks comprises the following areas and elements:
1. Two Rocks Marina;
2. Two Rocks Shopping Centre;
3. Two Rocks Tavern;
4. Limestone Retaining Wall;
5. Waugal Monoliths;
6. King Neptune Sculpture;
7. The site of the former Atlantis Marine Park
8. Sun City Yacht Club; and
9. Two Rocks Volunteer Marine Rescue Group.

History

The Wanneroo locality, where Sun City Precinct, Two Rocks is located, occupies the traditional lands of two Noongar language groups, the Whadjuk and Yued, with Two Rocks located in the Yued region. This region is within Mooro Country, the district of Whadjuk Noongar leader and elder Yellagonga.

The Two Rocks area was not settled by Europeans until the Perth metropolitan area experienced rapid development in the 1950s. Instigated by post-WWII reconstruction and mass immigration, as well as the industrial and mineral boom which lasted until the 1970s, the metropolitan area expanded dramatically.

Development in the northern-most suburbs remained slow throughout the late 1960s, with some suburban development in the Marmion-Sorrento district and Quinns Rocks. On 18 March 1971 The Corridor Plan for Perth was published by the State Government, which reflected amendments to the 1950s planning schemes to allow for greater-than-anticipated car use.

In 1969 Bond Corporation Pty Ltd, the company of property developer and millionaire Alan Bond, purchased 19,600 acres of undeveloped pastoral property, known as the Yanchep Estate, from Wydgee Pastoral Company Pty Ltd.

In April 1972, Bond launched his $250 million dollar Yanchep Sun City redevelopment, marketed as a ‘leisure city’ for 250,000 residents located 30 miles from Perth. The completed development was anticipated to have four marinas, eleven hotels, a golf course, other sports facilities, holiday chalets, shops and offices, with continuing construction planned over a twenty-year period Bond had linked the redevelopment to his 1974 challenge for the America’s Cup, stating that, after winning the challenge, Yanchep Sun City would be the venue for the 1977 America’s Cup, and had hoped that the publicity surrounding his challenge would create interest in the development. The 1972 Yanchep Sun City Leisure Region Master Plan prepared by Gazzard Planners Pty Ltd for Yanchep Estates Pty Ltd (subsidiary of Bond Corporation) outlines the intention of the development, with the Two Rock region planned as a tourist centre with the major attraction based on the harbour and marina.

The first housing subdivision was at Yanchep Lagoon c.1970 and the second at Two Rocks from 1971. The development was marketed as Western Australia’s own Gold Coast and described as an ‘exciting, new, year-round sunshine playground, a mecca for Australian sun lovers’, ideal for retirees or investment. In July 1972, brick-and-tile home and land packages were advertised from $11,000, with a $1,100 deposit. Over 500 home sites were reportedly sold, and 170 homes constructed in 1972. However, many promised facilities were never actually constructed, with others substantially delayed.

In 1974, Bond Corporation sold 49% of Yanchep Sun City Pty Ltd to their Japanese partner, Tokyu Corporation, and by 1976 eight housing estates had been released with hundreds of houses having been constructed. The shopping centre was also well established at this time and included a tavern, a supermarket, medical and dental facilities, and a restaurant. The Two Rocks Shopping Centre and Tavern had been designed by well-known architect Anthony Brand from the prominent firm, Forbes & Fitzhardinge and was built by Jaxon Constructions.

Along with the wider Yanchep Sun City development, the Bond Corporation funded the construction of the Two Rocks marina. Intended as a training base for Australia’s 1974 challenger to the America’s Cup, it also provided facilities for recreational boating and the local fishing industry. Construction of the Two Rocks Marina began in 1973 and was reportedly completed in nine months.

By 1978, the Bond Corporation had sold its remaining shares in Yanchep Sun City Pty Ltd to Tokyu Corporation for $7 million. Over the next decade, Yanchep Sun City Pty Ltd, a subsidiary of Tokyu Corporation, continued to develop the Yanchep/Two Rocks area to a high quality.

In January 1981, Acting Premier Ray O’Connor announced the commencement of a five-year, $20 million marine park development at Yanchep adjacent to the Two Rocks Shopping Centre and overlooking the Marina named Atlantis Marine Park. American born artist Mark Le Buse was commissioned to sculpt a 10m high statue of King Neptune to overlook the marine park, a large clock with limestone and concrete busts of well-known celebrities, and other sculptures in the park including a pod of dolphins at the entrance. Yanchep Sun City Pty Ltd was granted a license from the Department of Fisheries and Wildlife to catch and keep local dolphins at the park. Atlantis Marine Park was officially opened on Boxing Day 1981. Within five weeks of opening Atlantis Marine Park had had 100,000 visitors and had reached over a million visitors by 1982. By 1990, Atlantis Marine Park was forced to close, with the closure coinciding with the 1991 recession.

In 1999 Fini Group Pty Ltd purchased the Two Rocks Shopping Centre and the former Atlantis Marine Park site with the intention to develop the town centre and land for a mixture of residential and commercial purposes. Yanchep Sun City’s lease for the Two Rocks Marina expired in 2014 and the Department of Transport assumed operational control. The Department of Transport has undertaken improvement works across the facility. The 2020 Two Rocks Master Plan addresses planned improvement works.

The Two Rocks Town Centre Structure Plan was approved in March 2014, with the objective of creating a residential and mixed used “town centre offering facilities of local and regional value”. The former Atlantis Marine Park site has since been cleared in preparation for development. In December 2021, public comments were sought on a proposed shopping centre to be built on a portion of the Atlantis site, adjacent to the King Neptune Sculpture. The proposal generated concern from local residents, with a petition opposing the location of the development signed by approximately 1100 people. The Metro Outer Joint Development Assessment Panel (JDAP) approved the proposal on 4 May 2022.

The Two Rocks Marina, Shopping Centre and Tavern continue to be used for their original purpose. The Sun City Yacht Club continues to operate on premises at the Two Rocks Marina in its clubhouse known as the ‘Tin Shed’. The Marina is used commercially for the rock lobster industry and also by recreational boating enthusiasts.

Historic Themes

Creation Date

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Disclaimer

This information is provided voluntarily as a public service. The information provided is made available in good faith and is derived from sources believed to be reliable and accurate. However, the information is provided solely on the basis that readers will be responsible for making their own assessment of the matters discussed herein and are advised to verify all relevant representations, statements and information.