Project Updates
Milestones, progress, and the long road toward opening.
This page brings together the latest stories from Coffin Rock Distillery as the project moves through planning, restoration, site works and the long process of bringing the distillery to life.
New stories will always appear first, while older updates remain below so visitors can follow the journey over time.
For now, the stories below are placeholders and can be replaced as new milestones are ready to publish.
Nearly Two Years in the Making
• March 2026 •
In early 2024 we engaged a town planner and began the process of turning the idea of Coffin Rock Distillery into a formal proposal.
The first step was designing the site, refining the layout and preparing the development application. After months of work, the application was finally lodged in September 2024.
At the time, we expected the process to take a few months. We knew there would likely be questions, requests for changes and some back and forth, but we never imagined just how long the road ahead would become.
The First Delay
After lodging the application, very little happened.
For more than six months there was almost no response. It was not until April 2025 that we finally began receiving formal feedback and requests for further information.
Part of that delay appears to have been caused by changes in staff and responsibilities during 2024 and 2025, which saw the application sit in limbo for extended periods while it was handed between different people.
Addressing Every Concern
Although frustrating, those concerns were never something we wanted to dismiss.
From the beginning, our goal has not been to simply build a distillery. We want to create something that belongs here. Something that fits the landscape, respects the surrounding properties and becomes a positive part of the local community rather than something seen as the black sheep.
In response, specialist acoustic, traffic, environmental and site soil evaluation reports were commissioned to properly assess the proposal and address every issue raised.
Over the following months we worked through every concern. Additional reports were prepared, plans were revised and specialist advice was sought to ensure concerns around noise, traffic and environmental impacts had been properly addressed.
The acoustic report ultimately found that the proposal could comply with all relevant requirements.
A revised submission incorporating all of those changes was lodged in October 2025.
Another Long Wait
Then came another long wait.
Despite the revised submission addressing almost every issue raised, more months passed with little response.
By the time a tentative meeting date was finally set for April 2026, almost two years had passed since we first engaged the town planner. We are now hopeful that the proposal will finally be heard by the ordinary council in April.
Those delays have pushed the overall project back significantly.
The original hope had been to move into the next stages of planning and construction much sooner. Instead, the entire project timeline has shifted by close to two years.
Looking Forward
But if there is one positive to come from that delay, it is that the project is now stronger than when we first submitted it.
The extra time has allowed us to refine the plans, address concerns properly and make sure Coffin Rock Distillery is being developed in a way that works not just for us, but for the wider community as well.
We remain hopeful that April 2026 will mark the end of the approval process and the beginning of the next chapter for Coffin Rock Distillery.
Website and Social Media Launch
• February 2026 •
For a long time, Coffin Rock Distillery existed mostly as plans, sketches, late-night conversations and far too many notes scattered across phones, notebooks and scraps of paper.
This month, that changed.
The Coffin Rock Distillery website is now live, along with our first official social media pages.
It might seem like a small step, but for us it marks an important moment. For the first time, the project has a public face and a place where we can begin sharing the journey properly.
A Place to Follow the Journey
Over the coming months and years we will be using the website and social media to share updates on the property, planning process, approvals, construction, spirit development and everything else that goes into building a distillery from the ground up.
The website is still only the beginning. Right now it is a simple introduction to the project and the story behind Coffin Rock Distillery, but it will continue to grow as the project moves forward.
In time, we hope it will become a place where people can follow the progress of the distillery, learn more about the history of the property, explore our future spirits range and eventually book tastings, tours, events and accommodation.
Our Official Social Pages
At the same time, we have launched our official pages across social media.
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Instagram, @coffinrockdistillery.wa
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Facebook, facebook.com/coffinrockdistillery
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Threads, @coffinrockdistillery.wa
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TikTok, @coffinrockdistillery
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YouTube, @coffinrockdistillery
For now, those pages may look a little quiet, but not for long.
As work continues on the property, we will be sharing photographs, behind-the-scenes updates, old farm stories, planning progress and the occasional glimpse of what Coffin Rock Distillery may one day become.
Only the Beginning
This is still the very beginning, but after a long time working quietly in the background, it feels good to finally put the project out into the world.
The Old Farmhouse Fire and a New Beginning
• January 2026 •
The loss of the old farmhouse has been one of the more difficult parts of preparing the Coffin Rock property for its next chapter.
An Empty House
After our grandfather passed away, the house was left vacant. Even before then it had already been suffering damage from white ants, but once the house was no longer lived in its condition deteriorated rapidly. Structural timbers began to fail, sections of the floor would crumble underfoot, and parts of the ceiling had already started collapsing in the kitchen and bedrooms.
The Fire
Sadly, in its abandoned state the house also became a target for anti-social behaviour, with repeated break-ins and damage around the property. During work to clear the heavily overgrown vegetation surrounding the building, the house unexpectedly caught fire and was engulfed within seconds.
With years of vines, leaf litter and dry timber surrounding the building, combined with structural supports already hollowed out by white ants, the house had effectively become a tinderbox waiting to happen.
The fire brought a new concern. Not only had the house been lost, but there were fears that asbestos contamination may have spread across the area through the fire and firefighting efforts.
Cleanup and Recovery
Following specialist assessment and advice, the remains of the house were demolished and removed. The surrounding area has now been fully cleared and remediated, with all identified asbestos contamination removed from the site.
While it is sad to see a piece of the property's history gone, the house had sadly reached the point where it could no longer be safely saved.
One small piece of that history remains. The old Metters No. 2 kitchen oven was recovered before the fire and is now being restored as a reminder of the generations who lived and worked here before us.
With the house removed and the contamination cleaned up, the area is now safe, open and ready for a new beginning.
Left Standing
The old laundry shed and water tank have also been retained and may become part of the future event and bar area.
Updates FAQ
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