place

Woolwich Dock

1901 establishments in AustraliaCommonwealth Heritage List places in New South WalesShipyards of New South WalesTransport infrastructure completed in 1901Woolwich, New South Wales
Woolwich Docks
Woolwich Docks

Woolwich Dock is a former dry dock and shipyard in Woolwich, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The site was purchased by Morts Dock and Engineering Company in 1898. When it was officially opened on 4 December 1901 it was the biggest dry dock in Australia, at 188 metres (617 ft) long and 27 metres (89 ft) wide.Several extensions were carried out between 1902 and 1918, and the dock was lengthened to 260 metres. To achieve this William Street was acquired and a new road constructed – Franki Avenue, named after the general manager and later managing director of the company, James Peter Franki. By 1917 the company employed over 1,500 people. In the 1940s the Atlas workshops were replaced by the sawtooth roofed building which still stands on the site and several brick buildings were added. The busiest times for Woolwich Dock were during the two world wars when many passenger vessels were converted to armed troopships and repairs were carried out on damaged ships. After the Second World War work declined and the dock was closed down in 1958 and until 1963 the dock was vacant. 1963–1997: Army Occupation The Australian Army purchased it in 1963 for its water transport operations. The three oldest buildings on the site were demolished and the Army erected a number of metal prefabricated buildings, added timber fender piers and timber wharves to the dock itself and constructed a traveling boat crane beside the dock. They made use of the dock for launching craft and the workshops for repairs and maintenance. The Army units based at Woolwich were relocated to Townsville, Queensland, in 1997. 1997 Onwards In the late 1990s it was proposed that the land be sold to developers. A community group, Foreshore 2000 Woolwich, was formed to protest against sale of the site and through the lobbying efforts of this group and the local council, the Australian Government agreed to the site being returned to the people of Sydney. In 2001 the Sydney Harbour Federation Trust was formed to administer Woolwich Dock and various other sites around Sydney Harbour.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Woolwich Dock (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Woolwich Dock
Alfred Street, Sydney Woolwich

Geographical coordinates (GPS) Address Nearby Places
placeShow on map

Wikipedia: Woolwich DockContinue reading on Wikipedia

Geographical coordinates (GPS)

Latitude Longitude
N -33.8408 ° E 151.1723 °
placeShow on map

Address

Woolwich Dock and Parklands

Alfred Street
2110 Sydney, Woolwich
New South Wales, Australia
mapOpen on Google Maps

Woolwich Docks
Woolwich Docks
Share experience

Nearby Places

Cockatoo Island
Cockatoo Island

Cockatoo Island Wareamah is a UNESCO World Heritage Site at the confluence of the Parramatta River and Lane Cove River in Sydney Harbour, New South Wales, Australia. Cockatoo Island is the largest of several harbour islands that were once heavily timbered sandstone knolls. Originally the Island rose to 18 m (59 ft) above sea level and was 12.9 hectares (32 acres) but it has been extended to 17.9 ha (44 acres) and is now cleared of most vegetation. Called Wa-rea-mah by the Indigenous Australians who traditionally inhabited the land prior to European settlement, the island may have been used as a fishing base, although physical evidence of Aboriginal heritage has not been found on the island.Between 1839 and 1869, Cockatoo Island operated as a convict penal establishment, primarily as a place of secondary punishment for convicts who had re-offended in the colonies.Cockatoo Island was also the site of one of Australia's biggest shipyards, operating between 1857 and 1991. The first of its two dry docks was built by convicts. Listed on the National Heritage List, the island is significant for its demonstration of the characteristics of a long-running dockyard and shipbuilding complex, including evidence of key functions, structures and operational layout. Cockatoo Island contains the nation's most extensive and varied record of shipbuilding, and has the potential to enhance understanding of maritime and heavy industrial processes in Australia from the mid-19th century.In July 2010, UNESCO proclaimed Cockatoo Island as a World Heritage Site, and has been managed by the Sydney Harbour Federation Trust since 2001.