By Mikayla van Loon
Kinley is bringing back its historical tours of the former Cave Hill Quarry, which began in 2018, having taken a hiatus because of the pandemic.
Combining the return with Family History Month, the first tours will be held on Saturday 6 August, with Intrapac Property’s CEO Maxwell Shifman saying more could be added should the demand be there.
“So far, we’ve filled up. I think it’s four sessions on the day already but if there’s good demand, we’ll make sure we run them again down the track,” he said.
The tours are an opportunity for the community to learn about the site from its formative years and to see the development up close, including the filling of the quarry before it’s complete.
“The Kinley tours are really focused on the history of the site, who it was owned by and how it operated, seeing the historic buildings that are still there and the ones we intend to incorporate into the project long term and really turn into community assets,” Mr Shifman said.
“We’ll also touch on where the project is going because we’re obviously transforming the site.”
Mr Shifman said tying in this tour with the beginning of Family History Month was important because of the connection to the Mitchell family.
“It’s very important in terms of the history and the legacy of the site. It’s something we focus on anyway but it has particular significance at this time.
“So it’s something that we’ll hone in on and give people an insight into how important that quarry was to the growth of the Lilydale area but also how that unfolded as David Mitchell was, I suppose usurped by his very famous daughter Dame Nellie Melba over time.”
Leading the tours himself, Mr Shifman said it can be quite uncommon to have the head of a company running personal tours particularly of such a large scale development.
“It’s something I’ve chosen to do and have enjoyed and I think a lot of that’s because of the passion and the legacy I want to create at Kinley.
“It’s a really important project for me. It’s an important project for the Yarra Ranges and the state and it’s something that it’s really an honor to be part of.”
Wanting people to not see Intrapac and Kinley as just a faceless venture by a developer, Mr Shifman said it is important to him to have that human connection with the community and allow them to explore their curiosities about the site.
The first phases of the build are occurring currently and with the Hull Road entry pretty much complete, Mr Shifman said it’s great that people can begin to see the next chapter of Lilydale as a suburb.
