General News
14 March, 2026
New owners for centre
THE Mossman Gorge Cultural Centre has been sold to tourism company Journey Beyond, following lengthy negotiations with the Australian Government’s Indigenous Land and Sea Corporation (ILSC).
Announced last week, the sale follows “extensive consultation” since 2024, led by the ILSC and including the Traditional Owners - the Kuku Yalanji of Mossman Gorge.
The sale represented “a significant step toward” returning the land to community ownership, a joint statement from ILSC and Journey Beyond said.
The transaction involved the sale of the operational assets of ILSC’s subsidiary, Voyages Indigenous Tourism Australia Pty Ltd (“Voyages”), which operated the Mossman Gorge Cultural Centre.
The new partnerships between the Traditional Owners and Journey Beyond would bring ongoing economic benefits to the Indigenous community, which includedthe transfer of land, for which the community would be paid rent from Journey Beyond’s leasing of the site.
In the meantime, Voyages, which was now under the Journey Beyond portfolio, would continue to run the centre, but with its name now removing the word “Indigenous, to make it Voyages Tourism Australia Pty Ltd.
The Journey Beyond group said the acquisition of the Mossman Gorge centre “truly complements its existing portfolio of incredible rail expeditions, unique camps and lodges, cruises and touring experiences”.
“This is an incredibly important and exciting moment for Journey Beyond,” chief executive Chris Tallent said.
With a head office in Adelaide, Journey Beyond also runs Sailaway Port Douglas, tourism trains The Ghan, Indian Pacific, Great Southern and The Overland, and other tourism ventures in Australia and New Zealand. The group is owned by US private equity firm Crestview Partners.
ILSC CEO Joe Morrison said the agreement was the culmination of years of work and engagement with community to find a new operational owner for Voyages to facilitate the divestment of land to community.
“The ILSC’s focus has been on maximising indigenous benefit,” he said. “We are pleased to move closer to fulfilling the ILSC’s statutory obligations of returning land to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and in doing so, create benefit for Traditional Owners … as well as Indigenous people at local, regional and national levels.”
