The Wrest Point Hotel Casino is a casino in Tasmania. It was Australia's first legal casino, opening in the suburb of Sandy Bay in Hobart, on 10 February 1973. History Historically, Dunkley's Point was a camping ground held by the semi-nomadic Mouheneener people, who held a permanent settlement at nearby Long Beach called kreewer. Following the British colonisation of Tasmania, Norfolk Islander Thomas Chaffey constructed his residence on the point between 1808 – 1813, which by the end of his life was known as Chaffey's Point. The Traveller's Wrest Hotel, which is still standing today on Sandy Bay Road, was erected by his son William Chaffey in 1836. David Dunkley purchased the Chaffey's Point estate from William Chaffey in 1847. He constructed his residence, St. Helena and renamed the area Dunkley's Point. George G. Robertson purchased St. Helena in 1898 and rebuilt it, adding a jetty and a boat house. Mrs. G. Minette Lucas purchased the estate in 1928 and erected her mansion, known as Wrest Point. The estate was purchased by Arthur Drysdale in 1936. Granting of the casino licence The Wrest Point Riviera Hotel was designed by architect Keith Wildman and built by Arthur Drysdale, opening 5 December 1939 on the site of the current Wrest Point Casino. During World War II the hotel was "booming" and the hotel was sold to Australia's oldest hotel group, Federal Hotels, in March 1956. In the 1960s, The Federal Group attempted to secure Australia's first casino license. At the time, Tasmania's natural scenery and beauty were not widely known elsewhere, and as a result the state wasn't attracting many tourists. The marketing claim was that a casino could be the draw-card that would kick-start Tasmania's tourism industry. John Haddad, one of the company's executives at the time, was assigned the role of getting a casino license. He met with then Tasmanian Premier Eric Reece and other state officials. A state referendum was held to determine the granting of a gambling licence. The polls were very tight, especially since the question in the referendum attempted to minimise the gambling aspect of the development. Shortly before the referendum was to be held, the Labor party, sensing they had the numbers in the parliament pushed through the legislation to legalise the casino. They did not wait for the results of the vote. When the vote was taken the hotel redevelopment was narrowly passed. Questions