1980s
In 1984, the Government of Western Australia proposed, at the suggestion of Perth businessman Dallas Dempster,[6] that a casino complex be constructed at Burswood Island on the Swan River, 3 km east of the Perth central business district.[7] This was the site of a large landfill facility,[6] which posed difficulties in the proposal, design and construction phases due to the risk of subsidence resulting from decomposition and also the risk of release of effluent into the adjacent river as a result of pile driving for the construction.[8][9] The winning bidder to build the complex was Tileska Pty Ltd, a joint venture between Dallas Dempster and Genting Berhad, a Malaysian casino operator.[7][10]
At the time, there were allegations by rival bidders of misconduct against Dempster and Premier of Western Australia Brian Burke,[11] but, after a thorough investigation of these accusations, the WA Inc Royal Commission found no impropriety in that regard.[12] This consortium planned a two-stage construction.
The first stage was initially expected to cost $200 million, and involved futuristic-looking buildings[13] comprising a 135-table casino, 400-room hotel, 18-hole golf course, convention and exhibition centre, tennis courts, amphitheatre and other amenities, together with a beautification of the Burswood Island area.[7] The second stage of the plan involved the $100m construction of another hotel on the site, but no time schedule was set for this[7] and the second hotel was not constructed until two decades later. The Tileska joint venture took up 60% of the capital in the Burswood Property Trust, which was to own the complex.[7] Genting would run the resort, having experience operating casinos in Malaysia's Genting Highlands.[14]
Construction of the resort was approved by the Western Australian Parliament in March 1985 in the Casino (Burswood Island) Agreement Act 1985.[9] It was hoped that the hotel-casino complex would be ready in time for the 1987 America's Cup race, to be hosted by Perth,[7] and construction was to a tight schedule to achieve that deadline.[9] The Burswood Property Trust was listed on the Australian Securities Exchange on 30 May 1985.[15] When it opened on 30 December 1985, Burswood Island Casino (as it was then known) was the largest in Australia,[15] and third-largest in the world.[16] It was expected to receive two to three million visitors per year and have an annual gross profit of $100m.[17]
The Burswood Island Casino was opened several months ahead of schedule,[18] and the other parts of Stage 1 (including the hotel, conference centre, theatre and indoor stadium) remained under construction throughout 1986 and much of 1987. By January 1987, the complex recorded its three millionth visitor.[19] Not sharing in this financial success, the Burswood Property Trust encountered financial difficulties and sold the hotel operations in the under-construction Burswood Island Hotel to Japanese investor Brisney Pty Ltd,[20] a joint venture between investment company Yunan Development Co Ltd and hotel operator Kanematsu Trading Co Ltd.[21][22] On 28 August 1987, the Burswood Dome indoor sports stadium was opened to the public, and was noted as being by far the largest auditorium in the southern hemisphere.[23]
The hotel's opening was delayed by 85 days, largely as a result of inclement weather and industrial disputes.[20] This delay meant that the hotel and conference centre was not available during the early stages of the America's Cup race, necessitating refunds to overseas visitors.[22] Although the 417-room Burswood Island Hotel opened its doors to the public on 4 October 1987,[24] the hotel's management reportedly allowed one of the casino's highest rollers to stay there a day early, during which time he won $1.4 million,[24] which was believed at the time to be the highest amount ever won by an individual in an Australian casino.[24]
The Burswood Convention Centre was opened on 20 November 1987, and on 8 April 1988, the entire Burswood Island complex had its official opening.
