After being closed for several years, Boggo Road Gaol, one of Brisbane's iconic historical sites is to be reopened to the public. Well, partially at least. Instead of the much anticipated return to full operation as a tourist attraction and educational resource, two floors of a single cell block and parts of the yard are all that will be made accessible [1]. Even so this a move in the right direct. Or so I thought...
When I saw the initial news reports and declarations of tour dates on the part of Haunts of Brisbane (to be run in conjunction with Boggo Road Gaol Historical Society [BRGHS]) I was pleased by the fact that genuine historical groups would be involved in offering tours. A quote from Tim Mander (Public Works minister) was especially heartening:
“The interim agreement includes provisions to ensure fair and equitable access to other organisations including the Boggo Road Gaol Historical Society, the Queensland Prison and Penal Historical Association and the National Trust of Queensland" [2]
From the above one may expect that fairness was ensured such that the holder of the Deed of Licence (Cameron "Jack" Sim of Ghost Tours pty ltd) had to play nice with community groups. Given his track record of interacting with the BRGHS specifically, one might suspect that such documented stipulations would be essential to make sure Mr. Sim doesn't monopolise the site.
However, it appears that fairness is not guaranteed. In a post on the Haunts of Brisbane Facebook page, Liam Baker points out a number of troubling facts [cf: 3]. Firstly, third party activities including historical tours by the BRGHS et al are to be booked through Mr. Sim (by the groups not the visitors). Resultantly, I expect Sim would have final discretion over when and for how long other groups use the site giving him quite a high degree of control.
Secondly, Mr. Sim is "entitled to collect a site access fee" (quote from Baker, not sure of the specific wording of the Deed). The amount of that fee is at Mr. Sim's discretion. Presumably, Mr. Sim could decide to charge legitimate, non-profit, historical groups an access fee of $0. Such a decision would show that he understands the basic distinction between a business enterprise (Ghost Tours pty ltd etc) and a community group whose proceeds go to the upkeep of heritage sites (BRGHS etc). In actuality Sim is not going down the route of being what I would consider a decent person and is instead asking for "$100 per hour" for "non-profit activities" [3]. I had to read the section twice. Initially I though it must have been $100 for anything but non-profit (as is usually the case) and that perhaps Sim was claiming that certain tours don't count as non-profit.
When I say certain tours I specifically mean a proposal to conduct "Haunted Cellblock" tours. Based on what I have read and heard in the past, it appears Mr. Sim is concerned that anyone else who goes to cemeteries after dark or talks about ghosts on tours is trying to move in on his business. Indeed, based on what Mr. Sim is listed to have said concerning negotiations for site access, he believes allowing the BRGHS/Haunts of Brisbane tours would financially cripple his own operation [3]. Based on Mr. Sim's general habit for paranoia about competition this is not surprising. The problem for Mr. Sim is that these are not business tours as far I can tell. He doesn’t say they are but that leaves open the issue of how one can ethically charge a non-profit group.
So the question for me became: why shouldn’t there be another crime/ghost tour operator in Brisbane? A rather basic answer may be that ‘this town is only big enough for one’. That’s an empirical claim and it would rest on the shoulders of the one making it to prove the case. Given the multiple operators in Sydney, Melbourne, and Adelaide I suspect competition is not an inherent destroyer.
Perhaps the case is more one of ‘competition will destroy only a specific operation’. That would only be the case if the operation in question were unable to compete. In other words, that operator may be said to require a monopoly because they couldn’t offer a product which would stand up in comparison when consumers are given a choice. Is that the case with Mr. Sim’s business? I don’t know. The only objective way to assess this would be to see how he fares in a competitive environment. In my opinion, if Mr. Sim is not able to provide tours which draw in sufficient paying customers and at a competitive rate then he should try his hand at another business. My personal view is that Ghost Tours pty ltd is overpriced. Aside from that capitalistic consideration, I would also say his tours don’t do justice to the wealth of folklore and cultural history possessed by Brisbane.
Making my opinion clearer still I don’t believe there would necessarily be genuine one-to-one competition. From what I’ve seen, Cameron “Jack” Sim’s business offers a rather entertainment-centric experience. All of the rhetoric about history aside, much of which I consider part of the pantomime (i.e. helping to sell the story by positioning it as fact not fiction), Ghost Tours pty ltd doesn’t seem to be about history in the same way a BRHS tour is. Edited versions of self-collected oral tales (whether true or not) spoken by costumed ‘ghost hosts’ in an after dark setting where people are on the lookout for ghosts is what I would call light entertainment.
Voyeurism in the form of night time jaunts through cemeteries and prisons is fine on its own and sells. Therefore there’s a place for entertainment. But entertainment neither equates to nor displaces education. To my mind, conducting more-than-nominally historical tours would not render an entertainment-centric company unviable unless said historical tours were more entertaining than those offered by said company. Is that what troubles Mr. Sim? I don’t know.
I certainly think that if Brisbane is only big enough for one crime/ghost tour operator then that operator should be the best and attract attention on the basis of merit not monopolisation. If Ghosts Tours is up to that then I openly invite Mr. Sim and Co. to show they should be the only game in town.
1 http://boggoroad.blogspot.com.au/#!/2012/12/confused-about-boggo-road-reopening.html
2 http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/brisbanes-historic-boggo-road-gaol-to-reopen-as-tourist-attraction-after-seven-years/story-e6freoof-1226530457162
3 http://www.facebook.com/notes/the-haunts-of-brisbane/the-boggo-road-gaol-saga/517989281552862
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