Today I was honoured to attend the relaunch of 80 Hartley st. A place many people will have known as Oriental Gourmet since 1986.
This newly renovated space will be looked after and utilised as an office into the future.
Thank you to Mr Randle Walker and Centrecorp for your support of heritage buildings in Alice Springs.
Joshua Burgoyne MLA
Member for Braitling
Thanks to;
Centrecorp Board: for approving the budget for these works.
Benson Gunner, staff and subcontractors: dedicated to preserving the Heritage of this building, no shortcuts and no compromises.
Dept of Heritage: for their assistance with advice and approvals.
Neighbours: for putting up with works for 9 months.
The Heritage Precinct is not just a western, post-colonial Heritage construction its part of the Heritage of everyone that grew up in the town and there are Board Members who played on this street as youngsters. Therefore the area represents a shared Heritage and area of assimilation for Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people alike.
This was a huge learning exercise – it would have been cheaper to completely demolish and start again than restore but that was the challenge. After demolition all that remained were the brick walls, roof timbers, a few windows and limited areas of remaining veranda area. I am sure you will agree what you see now is a great result for the property and the Heritage Precinct.
Randle Walker
CEO
Centrecorp Aboriginal Investment Corporation
A Timeline of 80 Hartley Street Alice Springs
1939: Emil Martin built 80 Hartley Street in the BCG Burnett A3 Reversed design. It is one of four surviving A3 design buildings (others are 75, 82 and 84 Hartley). The properties were all constructed for government workers accommodation.
1939 – 1965: The property was used for government workers accommodation, with the first resident being A E Novice a permanent Clerk who occupied the residence with his parents.
1965 – 1971: Used as a private residence
1971 – 1976: Leased by the Australian Red Cross
1976 – 1986: Medical Centre
1986 – 2024: Chinese Restaurant (The Oriental Gourmet)
2019: three townhouses built to the rear of the property
2023: purchased by Centrecorp Aboriginal Investment Corporation. In December 2023 the operator of Chinese Restaurant announced his retirement and non-renewal of the lease.
2024 – 2025: The property has undergone extensive reconstruction to effectively ‘turn back the clock’ to 1939 and present the property as close to how it was first built.
Reconstruction Works 2024 and 2025
The works were conducted with recognition of adaptive re-use principles to make it a viable and usable office space in the current era. The adaptive re-use principles allow such additions as veranda windows and air-conditioning to allow for cooling and heating, Crimsafe to protect windows, modern lighting standard and bathroom facilities suitable for an office environment.
The demolition of all post 1939 additions included removal of the front brick fence, electric entrance doors, commercial fridges and freezers, commercial kitchen, preparation areas, and extraction units, storerooms, additional bathrooms, ducted evaporative air-conditioning ducts. After demolition all that was left were internal walls, roof timbers and small areas of intact building façade. All electrical wiring and services to the property was also completely removed and reinstated. Some internal walls had to be rebuilt to reflect the original design and all veranda areas reconstructed to be faithful to the original design.
Previous renovations had detracted significantly from the heritage significance of the building. The re-launch of 80 Hartley Street into the Heritage Precinct represents a unique NT example of a property being restored faithfully to its original design.
