Shortly after the Wangi Power Station gallery went live, the Lakes Mail reached out for an interview about the site.
Not much has changed on the site in the years since this article. The owners appear to be in no hurry to move, and there is no public proposal for the building's future.
The Independent Member for Lake Macquarie, Greg Piper, summed up the position fairly bluntly in a related Newcastle Herald piece:
"My heart says 'save it', it's a fabulous building. My head tells me it will probably be demolished. It's being slowly demolished now by the passage of time, the elements, and there's vandalism."
Mr Piper did not see a role for state funds in preserving the building: "the costs would be huge, and I don't think that would be the best use of state money". Lloyd McDonald confirmed the family company had received offers for the property but had declined to sell, and could not see a date for development.
"Photographer Brett Patman has captured a haunting series of images from inside the cavernous buildings of the decommissioned Wangi Wangi power station. Rumours have long circulated about what would become of the site, which is for sale. A $300-million plan to transform the power station into 11 storeys of shops, apartments, a cinema and restaurant were shelved last year when the man who developed the plan, Ian McDonald, passed away."
Read the original Lakes Mail piece at lakesmail.com.au.
