Telstra Tower on Black Mountain, one of Canberra’s main tourist attractions, is an embarrasment to the city, and Canberra tourism. The public viewing areas are very shabby, access for visitors with disabilities is very poor, there is no signage pointing out Canberra’s principal attractions, the cups used by the coffee shop are a discrace and visitors are charged $7.50 for the privilage of the visit.
I apologised to my interstate visitors and will not return in a hurry. The only positive was a great view of Canberra. Telstra may not in the tourism business, but the presentation of the Tower is not a good image for Telstra, the company mangaing the Tower for Telstra or Canberra tourism.
All involved need to shake up the presentation.
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Do they still have the sign telling you to ‘watch the step’ on the door beside the map showing that you are some 70 odd metres, up the tower? Or whatever the height of the observation deck is, long time since been there.
Dad and I had a good giggle at that one.
The only fault I could find was the lack of EFTPOS in the cafe. It might be a bit dated but the idea is to look at the view OUTSIDE not the one inside!
If you want a good view of Canberra, Mt Ainslie is free.
Just don’t go up on a Friday night when the local teenage population head up there ‘for the view’
Hell of a coincidence that this post should show up on the same day as this article.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-01-20/legal-fight-over-black-mountain-towers-condition/4472854
seems relevant…
Convenient post given the article in today’s paper.
I’m not up with the electrics of the tower, but given the basis of the restaurant owners complaint appears to come from a building report, I’m afraid I’m not too worried. (For those who aren’t aware, in Canberra, you can pretty much pay to have a building report say whatever you want it to say).
I went to the tower a couple of years ago and wasn’t blown away even then. The restaurant was crap and the charge to get in was unjustified ..
Telstra apparently still owns the tower (I thought they’d sold it off), but they quite some time ago rebranded it to Black Mountain Tower. (Interesting that they decided they didn’t want their name on it anymore). Telstra apparently outsourced the management of it too.
Spectra said :
I say it in the Crimes today as well. I only buy it on Sundays with a copy of the Sunday Tele. They are for my pet Galah to crap on. Honest. True story.
Ben_Dover said :
More cheese dear?
Spectra said :
Very interesting…. #conspiracytheory
We went up to the tower not long ago. I tend to agree with the OP. It does need a face lift. All the pictures and amenities are very dated. All the pictures above the viewing windows are probably the originals. It should be presented better as a major tourist icon.
I went to the restaurant there many years ago. Got quite sick, maybe motion sickness?
After reading the article in the Crimes today I wouldn’t be rushing back to the restaurant, cafe or tower. Not a good publicity stunt for the guy who owns the restaurant. Come to my restaurant, you may get stuck in the lift, the revolving floor may break down, sewerage may leak, the chef may get stuck in the lift while cooking your meal or the air conditioning may break down. I don’t think it’s also a good look to not pay rent for two years!
Time for an eximplosion.
I took some friends visiting from England up there last year. While old and outdated, it’s hardly in disrepair.
Biggest problem is the swarms of gross bugs on the observation deck.
The simplest of things to fix, the signs above the windows, hasn’t even been done. They are still the same as 12 + years ago…
It is a bit of a relic, isn’t it? I wouldn’t even consider it a tourist attraction, more just a glorified landmark.
There has been a few upgrades to signage in the parking area. I would imagine / hope this was just the beginning.
Comic_and_Gamer_Nerd said :
Americans?
We need a bigger tower
We visited 2 weeks ago & it has had a bit of a spruce up, the old photos have been replaced with a few plasma screens showing some very nice images of Canberra, the gift shop has had a clear out & back at the bottom Telstra have a small exhibition of old phones, cell phones etc.
Its my youngest a favourite place to visit & $17 for a family is good value I think, head up on a clear evening about 30 minutes before sunset, watch the sun drop below the Brindies, have a coffee inside & then watch the city light up after – makes for a very pleasant couple of hours…
Just looks a bit dated due to the pebblecrete everywhere.
So… Telstra Tower is a bit tired.
Perhaps it just needs a good lie down.
DrKoresh said :
Sure is, a monument to how fast technology can change. Betcha Telstra now wishes they’d gone with the steel truss broadcast tower option now.