A disused property once famous for its dancing horses and later set to be repurposed as accommodation for vulnerable Noongar people is now at the nucleus of a legal stoush.
A disused property once famous for its dancing horses and later set to be repurposed as accommodation for vulnerable Noongar people is now at the nucleus of a legal stoush.
The Aboriginal Housing Recovery Centre filed a writ in the Supreme Court last week seeking a declaration that it holds an equitable estate in two Wundowie properties after a plan to redevelop them into a social housing facility seemingly ran aground.
The plaintiff has named Equity Trustees Wealth Services as a defendant to the action, an ASX-listed company intended to be a co-trustee in connection with the land, according to the writ.
Equity Trustees is also the registered proprietor of the land in question, comprising 51 Jocoso Rise and 29 – 3349 Great Eastern Highway, as trustee for the Noongar Charitable Trust.
The land was previously home to the Spanish-inspired El Caballo Blanco resort, established by Perth entrepreneur Ray Williams in 1974, and best known for its dancing Andalusian horses.
El Caballo was shut down in 1999 and the properties later sold for about $12 million in April 2020 to be redeveloped by the Aboriginal Housing Recovery Centre, a registered charity, and Equity Trustees.
According to the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission, The Aboriginal Housing Recovery Centre was established in October 2019, with former AFL footballer Des Headland listed as a director alongside former South West Aboriginal Land and Sea Council chief executive Wayne Nannup.
Some three years later, and the Aboriginal Housing Recovery Centre has claimed in the writ that its co-trustee, Equity Trustees, no longer wishes to proceed with the project.
According to the writ, the group is also alleging Equity Trustees has taken steps to sell the land.
The Aboriginal Housing Recovery Centre is seeking a declaration that it holds an “an equitable estate or interest” based on the financial and non-financial contributions it made to the properties as part of the redevelopment plan.
Details of the contributions nor a monetary value as to the amount of those contributions has been included in the writ.
