・the owners of the Harbourside Festival Marketplace had a number of property investments they could not sell; they cosequently got into financial difficulties and the banks effectively took control of the Marketplace.
・a Parliamentary Inquiry was held into the accountability efficiency and effectiveness of the Darling Harbour Authority; and
・thc Authority's Board was dismissed by the Government arid most senior management resigned to go to jobs in the private sector.
Cumnulatively, this looks a complete disaster. Darling Harbour and the public areas arid facilities, however, continued to function very successfully. The impact of these collapses started to he felt around 1993 as no new attractions were available at Darling Harbour. The Authority compensated for this through its program of public events and festivals and this, of course, cntailed the expenditure of public funds, which were the subject of constant review arid possible reduction. Thc experience quality of visits to Darling harbour was, therefore, constantly under threat.
The development problems faced at Darling Harbour were not site-specific, of course. There was a general property crash in I 987 which caught Sydney's most experienced and substantial developers off guard.
Darling Harbour, in fact, weathered the property crash better than most, but construction was in the traditional areas of hotel, residential and commercial office, rather than the specialised entertainment facilities that Darling Harbour needed. 'l'he following projects were undertaken by the private sector during the period 1990 to 1995;
・purchase of the 99 year lease of the former casino site and construction 0r stage 1, a 26-storey commercial office tower, new monorail station and new pedestrian bridge;
・completion of the Novotel Hotel;
・construction of. the Ibis Hotel and One Darling Harbour (residential); and
・refurbishment of tile Goldsbrough Mort woolstore (residential).
Darling harbour, itself, was not tiawed as a project. there was still investor confidence.
Most of the problems were caused by wider difficulties faced by lessees with their property portfolios.
At Darliug Harbour, we were confident that when the economy began to turn the better, it would turn first at Darling Harbour.
We prepared for the "good times" by undertaking a Master Plan review to examine;
・the original master planning principles;
・Darling Harbour's relationship with neigbouring and/or competitive developments;
