IT has taken more than a decade to bring to fruition, but the unveiling of the design for the Port of Newcastle’s new cruise ship terminal is an important point in Newcastle’s reinvention as a modern harbourside city.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
And the benefits are by no means solely restricted to Newcastle. A trip to the Hunter Valley vineyards is a staple and popular attraction on the cruise ship calendar – so are tours of Port Stephens – so the financial benefits are destined to be spread well beyond Hunter Street.
Having announced the $12.7 million funding for the project in September last year – the same day that it announced the Newcastle 500 Supercars – the state government has continued to invest in the city, despite the loss of the seats that it briefly held from 2011, and which kick-started the Coalition’s perhaps surprising support for a region that has almost always voted Labor.
In the best Newcastle tradition, the path to the terminal at the Channel Berth – on the main, southern arm channel of the Hunter River – has been heavily debated.
In the early 2000s, the few cruise ships that visited the port were more likely than not to tie up at the Throsby wharves, at Honeysuckle’s western end.
For some time, there was a push to have a container terminal built somewhere near Queens Wharf – or closer to Nobbys near the former tug berths – the argument being that passengers could step straight off their ship into the heart of the city, rather than disembarking in a markedly industrial area of the port.
But for a variety of reasons, including ease of manoeuvering these often giant vessels, the Channel Berth won out in the end. The initial marquees that greeted passengers were always a temporary measure, and now the modern, wave-influenced design unveiled on Monday will give the city a cruise gateway it can be proud of.
The cruise terminal is also an example of how a dedicated effort from this region’s decision-makers can produce unexpected results. Scepticism was rife early on, with the feeling being in some quarters that Sydney would always be the dominant port of call.
But history shows that Newcastle, and the southern port of Eden, have both managed to inject themselves into the market. So much so, that the target of 30 vessels a season set by Hunter tourism advocate Will Creedon is a realistic – while admittedly ambitious – mark for Newcastle to aim for.
ISSUE: 38,660.
