Campbelltown can be very proud of its heritage buildings - but not this one. The Fisher's Ghost Restaurant building is a local eyesore.
I walked down Queen Street a few months ago, photographing the heritage buildings. When I got home, I realised that I had missed Fisher's Ghost Restaurant.
So, I went back with the camera more recently, specifically to photograph it for my Panoramio Campbelltown pages. Yet I walked past it without even seeing it!
Retracing my steps, I found that this once fine restaurant - where we used to dine on special occasions - is now almost completely hidden in the middle of a tangled growth of trees, shrubs and vines.
Western view from Queen Street.
The property, in Queen Street, is in total disarray - an ugly fenced off wilderness area.
Reports have said that the owner is in dispute with the Council over the property but in the meantime the place has been left to rot in a jungle:
NW view from Queen Street.
Originally built in 1845 as a flour mill, the building later served as a hospital before it was taken over for commercial purposes. When it became a quality restaurant my wife and I sometimes dined there in the 1980's but not any more.
What is the point of Heritage Listing this iconic local building, if it is to be left to decay over a petty disagreement? The trees and shrubs should be removed immediately to prevent further deterioration and the owner should be permitted to restore the building to Heritage guidelines.
Southern View.
Meanwhile, the other Heritage Listed buildings in Queen Street remain in good condition. The old Fieldhouse General Store building - directly opposite Fisher's Ghost Restaurant - looks very neat and tidy:
Footnote:
There have been a number of local newspaper reports about this shambles but they all seem to be locked up and innaccessible behind the new pay-walls they are erecting around their websites now. Another valuable resource lost!
However, here is a 2010 'Advertiser' YouTube report on Fisher's Ghost Restaurant:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2HyWDI2yAlU - for some reason I could not embed this video.