Jury comment
Championed by the communities of Wye River, Separation Creek and Kennett River after the 2015 Christmas Day bushfires, Great Ocean Road Coastal Trail Master Plan details the future construction of a 90-kilometre-long coastal walking trail. The design team’s early engagement with the Eastern Marr Aboriginal Corporation (EMAC) during the project has enabled the reinforcement of important values and connection to Country. An extensive landscape visual impact assessment informed the design. The project outcome caters to a broad range of people with varied time and ability while dispersing visitation across appropriate areas and avoiding endangered or protected flora and fauna. This complex landscape-led project has been officially endorsed by the project partners, having demonstrated it will provide strong economic benefits to the Victorian economy.
Great Ocean Road Coastal Trail Master Plan applies to Victoria and the land of the Gadubanud people of the Eastern Maar Nation.
Project credits
Design practice Tract First Nations cultural collaborators Eastern Maar Aboriginal Corporation Lead consultant and trail designer World Trail Flora-and-fauna, cultural heritage and planning consultant Biosis Geotechnical engineer Golder Structural and environmental engineer Bligh Tanner Quantity surveyor Zinc Cost Management Project partners Great Ocean Road Coast and Parks Authority, Parks Victoria and Eastern Maar Aboriginal Corporation Photographer DELWP, EMAC and Tract
To view all the winners of the 2023 National Landscape Architecture Awards, go here.
