New $22 million Mon Repos Turtle Centre set to open in time for turtle season

Work has finished on the Mon Repos Turtle Centre, just in time for this year's turtle season with day tours running from November 18 and an official opening planned for November 23.

Mon Repos comprises a stretch of pristine beach in a beautiful, secluded cove near Bundaberg in Queensland, but it's real claim to fame is not it's beauty, it is its importance to the survival of marine turtles.

This globally-significant site supports the largest concentration of nesting marine turtles on the eastern Australian mainland; and the most significant loggerhead turtle nesting population in the South Pacific region.

Every year during the season, hundreds of turtles make their arduous way up the beach to lay their eggs. The first turtle of the season - a 70-year-old female flatback - has already made her arrival, coming ashore on October 16 for her 17th breeding season.

More than 30,000 people come to the area each year to experience the wonder of seeing a turtle lay her eggs, or to witness hundreds of tiny hatchlings emerging from their nest and making a dash into the ocean for the very first time.

The project has contributed more than 45 full-time jobs to the Bundaberg economy, and well over 100 local tradies - from carpenters, floor layers, cabinet makers, plumbers, electricians, landscapers and concreters - have been involved throughout the construction of the centre.

Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service has also employed five new rangers to work in the new centre during the peak turtle nesting season.

The centre is expected to inject millions of tourism dollars to the local economy, while promoting the importance of turtle conservation and playing a crucial part in the survival of the endangered loggerhead turtle, said Queensland Minister for Environment and the Great Barrier Reef Leeanne Enoch.

"The centre will offer a year-round state-of-the-art experience, with touch screen televisions, vivid displays, an immersive theatre room and interpretive signage," she said.

"This redevelopment now provides a contemporary ecotourism experience that allows visitors to fully immerse themselves in marine turtle research and conservation.

"The design of the centre was carefully considered to ensure the building is ecologically sustainable, long-lasting and had minimal impact on the surrounding environment," said Ms Enoch.

The new building is located behind sand dunes, which provide a natural light shield between the building and the beach to reduce light spill which can disorientate turtle hatchlings.

Turtle tours run from November to March each year. Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased here.

More information about the Mon Repos Turtle Centre redevelopment and the turtle tours is available HERE.

The Bundaberg community will have an opportunity to join rangers for a fun-filled community day to acknowledge the important work the Bundaberg community do to promote turtle conservation. Open days will be held on Sunday, November 24 and Sunday December 8.