AGY-2989 | Government Dockyard Newcastle

Full description

The Cockatoo Island Dockyard, where the bulk of the State iron and steel repair and construction was carried out, was closed in February 1913 following the transfer of the property to the Commonwealth Government. (1) It therefore became necessary to find a new location for the enterprise, and an appropriate site was found on Walsh Island, near Newcastle. (2)

An Act to sanction the construction of a floating dock at Newcastle; and for purposes consequent thereon and incidental thereto, 1913 (Act No. 15, 1913) authorised the building of the dock and related works at an estimated cost of £110,000. (3) The construction work included the dock which was of the bolted section type, designed to lift vessels having a displacement of 8,500 tons, the deepening of the site of the dock by dredging; and building wharfage sheds. (4) Erection of the new Dockyard commenced with the construction of workshops in March 1913. The official opening of the establishment was on 27 November 1914 by the Minister for Public Works. (5)

In the early post war years the Dockyard built a number of large ships for the Commonwealth Government. This was the largest shipbuilding contract in Australia. The Dockyard also undertook repair work. (6) From 1919 the facilities were available to private firms and individuals and there was anticipation that this would result in large and profitable orders (7)

The Dockyard failed to perform as a trading enterprise. The balance sheets only revealed a profit in its first three years and the years which immediately preceded the Great Depression. Accounts for the years 1918/19 to 1933 revealed a loss. By 1933 the accumulated loss exceeded £276,000 and this heralded the closure of the dockyard. (8)

The Government Dockyard Newcastle ceased to exist on 31 December 1933 and from 1 January 1934 disposal of Stock, Plant and Equipment, and arrangements for hiring of the Floating Dock and Slipways commenced. (9)

However, in years after closure, the Government met the expenses for the maintenance of the Dockyard. In 1940/41 the maintenance cost exceeded £ 5000 which it was provided from the Consolidated Revenue Fund. (10)

A statutory body, the State Dockyard, Newcastle commenced at nearby Carrington in 1942. (11)

FOOTNOTE
(1) Report of the Department of Public Works for 1912/13, in NSW Parliamentary Papers 1913 Vol. 2 p. 842
(2) Report of the Department of Public Works 1913/14, A.R. 1914/15, v. 5, p.374
(3) An Act to sanction the construction of a floating dock at Newcastle .., 1913 s. 1-3
(4) Ibid. Schedule.
(5) Report of the Department of Public Works 1913/14, A.R. 1914/15, v. 5, p.374 and Report of the Department of Public Works 1914/15, A.R. 1915/16, v. 5, p.876
(6) Report of the Department of Public Works 1920/21, A.R. 1920/21, v. 3, p.760
(7) Report of the Department of Public Works 1919/20 p. 97 in NSW Parliamentary Papers Second Session 1920 Vol 4. P. 624
(8) Report of the Auditor General for financial year 1933/34, A.R. 1934/35, v. 2 p.946 - 951.
(9) Ibid.
(10) Report the State Industrial Undertaking 1940/41, A.R. 1941/42, v.2, p. 602/603
(11) The State Dockyard Newcastle: its wartime establishment and production, January, 1942 - December, 1945, Sydney, T.H. Tennant, Government Printer, 1946, p.16 (digital copy available from Newcastle Region Library).