Sun City Satellite Development

Statement of Significance

The expansive site of the Sun City satellite development is of historical social and aesthetic significance as evidenced in the suburbs of Two Rocks and Yanchep. The development was the outcome of Alan Bond’s vision and much of the existing 1970s built form and infrastructure is evident of that vision. The townsite of Two Rocks and the attraction of Yanchep Lagoon facilitated community cohesion and pride. Tokyu Corporation took over the vision in 1979.

Physical Description

The site of the Sun City Satellite development includes the expansive suburbs of Yanchep and Two Rocks. Separated from the established Perth metropolitan area in the 1970s, it is 50 kilometres north. A range of 1970s housing development and an influx from 2015 has had exponential residential development in the corridor north from Butler.

History

The Sun City Satellite development occupies the traditional lands of two Noongar language groups, the Whadjuk and Yued. The Yued region that is within Mooro Country, is the district of Whadjuk Noongar leader and elder; Yellagonga. Tokyu Corporation established in 1922 to develop urban residential areas and railway construction. By the 1970s, it had over 240 companies in 4 main groups; transportation; development; distribution & retail and recreation and leisure. They were one of the leading industrial groups in Japan. In addition to operating hotels through affiliated companies, Tokyu was planning to establish 35 hotels throughout Japan on top of existing fifteen. The Yanchep/Two Rocks area was not settled by Europeans until the Perth metropolitan area experienced rapid development in the 1950s. Instigated by post-World War Two reconstruction and mass immigration, as well as the industrial and mineral boom, the metropolitan area expanded. Development in the northern-most suburbs remained slow throughout the late 1960s. In 1971 the Corridor Plan for Perth was published by the State Government, reflecting amendments 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, previously owned by the Wydgee Pastoral Company, known as the Yanchep Estate. The first housing subdivision of Yanchep Sun City 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 April 1972, Bond launched his $250 million dollar Yanchep Sun City redevelopment, as a satellite city and premier tourist resort in Western Australia. The 1972 Yanchep Sun City Leisure Region Master Plan for Yanchep Estates Pty Ltd (subsidiary of Bond Corporation) outlined the intention of the satellite development planned as a tourist centre with the major attraction based on the harbour and marina of Two Rocks. 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. 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, residential development was well underway, beginning with 127 lots on the beachfront and this was followed by the marina in 1973/74 and shopping and recreation centre at Two Rocks. Many of the streets in the “Yachting Village” area of Two Rocks, in the north of the precinct, skirted by Sovereign Drive to the south and west, are named after yachts from America's Cup challenges. Bond Corporation funded the 1973 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 crayfishing industry. Bond employed a Russian designer to design the strong seawalls needed to cope with the strong winds and currents. These were constructed from local limestone and measured in width approximately 12- 18 metres at the base to six metres at the top. 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 Two Rocks 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 renowned architect Anthony Brand from the prominent firm, Forbes & Fitzhardinge and was built by Jaxon Constructions for Alan Bond's Yanchep Sun City and America's Cup in 1975. It was awarded a Design award in 1976 and a Bronze Medal for Architectural excellence in 1979. By 1978, the Bond Corporation had sold its remaining shares in Yanchep Sun City Pty Ltd to Tokyu Corporation for $7 million. In 1979, Tokyu commissioned market research to inform of their progress and future. They confirmed their intent to develop & expand the holiday and recreation aspect of the Yanchep and Two Rocks vision including profitable tourist opportunities to stimulate residential. An established a new project team already done a feasibility on a marine life park at Two Rocks. Over the next decade, Yanchep Sun City Pty Ltd, a subsidiary of Tokyu Corporation, continued to develop the Yanchep/Two Rocks area, until a series of joint ventures in 2010 that commenced a new era of development of Yanchep and Two Rocks.

Uses

Historic Themes

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