Newcastle Steelworks

Newcastle Steelworks circa 1935

The Newcastle Steelworks was a steel mill built by BHP in Newcastle, New South Wales. Construction commenced in January 1913, with operations commencing in March 1915. It was officially opened on 2 June 1915 by Governor-General Ronald Munro Ferguson. ^[1] Newcastle was selected due to its proximity to the Hunter Valley coalfields with the iron ore shipped from Whyalla. ^[2]

Having become one of the largest employers in Australia with a workforce that peaked at 11,000 in 1981, it closed on 30 September 1999. ^{[3] [4] [5] [6]} Demolition commenced in 2000. ^[7]

In 2022, the Department of Planning & Environment called for expressions of interest to redevelop the site. ^{[8] [9]}

The 150 ha (370 acres) steelworks had a 45 km (28 mi) rail network. Initially operated by steam locomotives, 32 and 37 class diesel locomotives were later introduced. ^{[10] [11]}

References

1. The Opening of the Newcastle Steelworks Archived 2023-09-05 at the Wayback Machine Barrier Miner 22 May 1915
2. Jay, Christopher (1999). A Future More Prosperous: The History of Newcastle Steelworks 1912–1999. BHP. ISBN   1876634065.
3. Steel City without the Big Australian 7.30 Report 29 September 1999
4. Newcastle loses its soul of iron Australian Financial Review 9 December 1999
5. Newcastle remembers steelworks closure ABC News 30 September 2009
6. Closure of steelworks in Newcastle, Australia Archived 2023-03-25 at the Wayback Machine Stockholm Environment Institute June 2021
7. Newcastle Steelworks Major Projects
8. Extensively remediated former BHP steelworks site to be re-purposed Archived 2023-09-05 at the Wayback Machine ABC News 14 February 2022
9. New Push To Redevelop Steelworks Site At Newcastle 2HD 14 February 2022
10. Vessatile Shunter for Two-Gauge Operations Railway Transportation January 1962 pages 32-34
11. Steelworks Sign-Off Railway Digest October 1999 pages 22-24

32°53′42″S151°45′36″E / 32.895°S 151.760°E / -32.895; 151.760