The official launch of the ramp was held on Saturday 20th November, 2004. A.Q.A. was invited and Ian Bennett and Nazim Erdem attended. As you can see by the photos, the ramp has been a big project due to the steep decent to the beach. The ramp meets Australian Standards in regard to wheelchair access and is easy travelling. There is also a car park at the top with wheelchair bays and a wheelchair accessible toilet is currently under construction. AQA was happy to donate to this project and it was great to see our name on a plank along with a lot of other people and organisations who had contributed. We would like to thank all those members who made a contribution.

This project was driven by Dawn & John King who are the former owners of the Wheelies Rest Accommodation located at 12 Smith’s Beach Rd, Phillip Island. We have previously advertised this accommodation in News Link, but now having seen it for ourselves we can certainly recommend it as a very accessible holiday destination, particularly with the added attraction of the ramp to view the scenic beach.

Dawn gave a guided tour of the accommodation, which includes a 4 bedroom house which sleeps 12 people has 2 bathrooms, a large living and kitchen. There is also a separate apartment for 2 designed for a couple or client and carer. A lot of thought and effort have gone into this accommodation and it has been purpose built for people with disabilities. There are also commodes and hoists available on site.

We would like to congratulate Dawn & John for not only providing excellent holiday accommodation for people with disabilities, but also having the perseverance and energy in making it possible for people with disabilities to enjoy this part of Phillip Island with relative ease.