And then when the Pleasant Hill looked almost certain to become another demolition by neglect heritage site, Dean Montgomery bought it.
And he said things like “We want to keep it (the Silver Ball). It’s an icon for the city and many people have an attachment to it."
Dean had been a member of our Save the Silver Ball and Fletcher's Gardens Facebook page and he said he was attracted by the stories and community connection shown there and decided to look again at buying the site. We were absolutely ecstatic! We still pinch ourselves because Dean has turned out to be our dream owner. Under the guidance of Site Manager, Troy Kelly, the restoration is progressing with the utmost care and respect for its history and with community engagement at every step.
There's a great interview that Dean did with Jeremy Lee from South West ABC Radio just after he bought the site - well worth a listen - the link is below.
