The rise and fall of the Batavia Motor Inne: Long-awaited demolition again shines light on site’s sordid past

Claiming a prized position in one of Geraldton’s oldest streets in the city’s west end — opposite a primary school, next to a brewery and nestled among many homes — the Batavia Motor Inne used to be a popular watering hole and hotel, but after more than a decade of neglect it transformed into a community hellhole. It has been a hotbed of crime and antisocial behaviour and a magnet for the city’s homeless and squatters, causing untold problems for police, the local council and people who live in the vicinity. Locals have described being too scared to walk outside their homes, while others wonder if they will ever see the day it is demolished. Despite the mountain of doubt, demolition day has arrived with contractors moving in with excavators on the weekend and starting to tear down the graffiti-ridden complex. For many, the massive milestone will be the long-awaited end of an era to what has been a sordid saga in recent times. However, the Batavia Motor Inne started out as one of the city’s most popular pubs, once complete with a Scottish bar, honeymoon suite, 76 rooms, a piano bar, lush garden and the venue to countless weddings and functions. The Inne offered affordable accommodation in the early 2000s — single beds went for $70 while it was $75 for a double bed or twin share. Now the site is ridden with layer-on-layer of graffiti, broken windows, piles of rubbish and hazards everywhere you look. The motel was bought for an undisclosed price by Singaporean syndicate Batavia Village, after liquidators for the former owners, Mystic, offered it for sale when they went into receivership in 2007. The Inne became derelict around that period due to the 2008-09 financial crisis and has remained vacant ever since, despite multiple changes in ownership. There were talks of a $3 million refurbishment in 2010 that never eventuated. A Batavia Village spokesperson told reporters the company was keen to begin work on the hotel to bring it up to four-star standard, and it would be renamed Batavia City Hotel. The City of Greater Geraldton has been trying to see the site demolished for at least the past eight years, issuing demolition notices in 2014, 2019 and 2022. With private ownership, the council’s hands have been tied. Demolition, fencing, clearing the site are the responsibilities of the owners. Batavia Village listed the property for sale in June 2021 to avoid the responsibility of securing or clearing the site, and it was purchased for $572,000 three months later by another company 54 Fitzgerald Pty Ltd — headed by property developer Giuseppe “Joe” Scaffidi the husband of ex-City of Perth Lord Mayor Lisa Scaffidi — and his co-directors Anthony Scaffidi and Michael O’Sullivan. The site has attracted dozens of rough sleepers and itinerants and a string of crimes, fires and sex attacks have been committed on the grounds in recent times. Some of the more serious evil deeds committed at the Batavia includes the case of James Robert Sbresni, who raped a 14-year-old girl at the derelict motel during a two-day ordeal in June 2021 after he flew to WA following months of grooming the girl on Snapchat. He was sentenced to 5½ years in jail earlier this year. In another case, Norman Trevor Gilbert has admitted to one count of rape, but pleaded not guilty to a second, at Batavia Motor Inne in December last year involving a 28-year-old woman. And in a third case, two men — Chad James Broad and George Windie — were in March this year charged with taking an intoxicated 12-year-old girl to the abandoned motel and sexually abusing her after she had been given alcohol. Mr Broad is accused of two counts of rape while Mr Windie pleaded guilty to indecently dealing with a child under 13. In recent years, the headlines about crime and antisocial antics at the Batavia have come thick and fast, garnering attention from then-premier Mark McGowan as well as a host of his ministers. In June 2020, a homeless man squatting at the site repeatedly whacked a person with a metal pole while he was sleeping on the ground. He was sentenced to seven months in jail. Then in June this year, a 28-year-old woman allegedly stabbed her partner multiple times in the back with a shard from a broken plate after a drunken argument. There have been a series of fires break out within the grounds, including three blazes in less than a fortnight last November. The days where passers-by shiver as they drive or walk past the eyesore are numbered, with the site fenced off earlier this year. Police and community workers have spent months trying to move on squatters and find those homeless alternative accommodation. Regional Alliance West operations manager Chris Gabelish told a parliamentary inquiry into homelessness last year that more than 40 people used the Batavia Motor Inne at any one time. He also revealed his team of community welfare workers had handed out whistles upon request to females at the site to use in case of a sexual or physical attack. In another setback, the owners’ preferred contractor was found to not have the suitable commercial demolition licence, delaying the process even further. It’s been hard to keep people out of the fenced-off site, with a woman charged with allegedly assaulting a police officer who was trying to move her on ahead of demolition after she refused to leave on Sunday. Earlier this month, the Geraldton Guardian reported on a video that captured disco lights blaring from the top floor of the ruined complex. As walls started to crumble as an excavator got to work on Monday, it was a day many thought would never come. City of Greater Geraldton Mayor Shane Van Styn said on Monday: “The safety of our community will rise once demolition of this cesspit is complete. For too long the hotbed of serious crime has stood while various owners have remained idle. “We are grateful to finally see positive action taking place to demolish the Batavia . . . A bit of dust and noise is a small price to pay for the safety of our children.” So what’s next for the Batavia? The owners have already unveiled concept plans to turn the 10,500sqm inner-city site into an office and retail hub, with an undisclosed timeline. For now, a levelled site will be a welcome sight for many.