Sultan could save Sunset Hospital
The Sultan of Johor has emerged as an unlikely player in plans to restore Dalkeith’s historic Sunset Hospital after paying $8.5 million for a small part of the site.
Proceeds from the sale of the block of prime riverside real estate to Sultan Ibrahim Ismail of Johor will be used by the State Government to restore the wider heritage-listed site.
The 1,993sqm of land being acquired by the Sultan represents about 2 per cent of the total site. It includes a 1960s-era house and is zoned for residential development.
Premier Colin Barnett said the intention was to make the site open to the public, with the buildings likely leased cheaply to not-for-profits or community groups in return for interior restoration.
Mr Barnett said alongside New Norcia and the Midland Railway Workshops the Sunset Hospital site, which has been closed since 1995, was one of WA’s most significant heritage sites.
“I’ve always had a special interest in Sunset: I grew up about 100m from it and my parents were there for 50 years so I’ve always known about the site since the day I was born,” he said.
Colin Barnett at Sunset Hospital in 2013. Picture: Bill Hatto/The West Australian
“The part we’ve sold off is actually down below at river level and it’s just an old 1960s site.”
Mr Barnett said he did not know what the Sultan intended to do with the land, saying he received no special treatment.
“I don’t know what he intends to do with it, he probably intends to build a residence on it,” he said.
“There’s no special condition . . . he just purchased it.”
Plans to sell the adjoining site were announced two years ago but the sale was only confirmed today.
Built in 1904 the hospital was originally known as Claremont Old Men’s Home, renamed Sunset Hospital in 1941 and housing up to 750 residents.
It closed in December 1995 and has remained largely unused ever since, despite various proposals over the years.
