Kooragang Island
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Kooragang () is the northernmost and largest
suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separate ...
of the
city of Newcastle The City of Newcastle is a local government area in the Hunter region of New South Wales, Australia. The City of Newcastle incorporates much of the area of the Newcastle metropolitan area. The Lord Mayor of City of Newcastle Council is Counci ...
, in the
Hunter Region The Hunter Region, also commonly known as the Hunter Valley, is a region of New South Wales, Australia, extending from approximately to north of Sydney. It contains the Hunter River and its tributaries with highland areas to the north and so ...
of
New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...
, Australia. Dominated by
Kooragang Island Kooragang () is the northernmost and largest suburb of the city of Newcastle, in the Hunter Region of New South Wales, Australia. Dominated by Kooragang Island, the eastern part of the suburb is primarily industrial, while the western part of th ...
, the eastern part of the suburb is primarily industrial, while the western part of the suburb consists of nature reserves. Covering an area of , at the , there were no people living in the suburb.


Geography

Kooragang extends from in the southeast, to the eastern bridge at Although known as the "Hexham bridge", there are actually two bridges crossing the Hunter River. Both are in the suburb of
Tarro Tarro is a north-western suburb of the Newcastle City Council local government area in the Hunter Region of New South Wales, Australia. It, and parts of nearby Beresfield, was originally known as Upper Hexham, "lower" Hexham being an older set ...
with the north and south ends of the bridges in
Tomago Tomago is a combined industrial/semi-rural suburb of the Port Stephens local government area in the Hunter Region of New South Wales, Australia. It is located just north of the Hunter River and west of the body of water known as Fullerton Cove. ...
and Hexham respectively.
in the northwest, a distance of . Except for a small portion of land in Hexham, the north and south arms of the
Hunter River Hunter River may refer to: *Hunter River (New South Wales), Australia *Hunter River (Western Australia) *Hunter River, New Zealand *Hunter River (Prince Edward Island), Canada **Hunter River, Prince Edward Island, community on Hunter River, Canada ...
forms Kooragang's borders. At its greatest, the suburb is approximately from southwest – northeast. Vehicular access to Kooragang is via three bridges. From the
Tourle Street Bridge The Tourle Street Bridge is a pair of road bridges that carry Tourle Street across the Hunter River from Mayfield West to Kooragang in the Hunter Region of New South Wales, Australia. The original steel truss bridge A truss bridge is a b ...
is the primary access to Kooragang, Stockton and Port Stephens from suburbs. In the east of the suburb, the
Stockton Bridge The Stockton Bridge is a road bridge that carries the Nelson Bay Road across the Hunter River, between Kooragang and Stockton in the Hunter Region of New South Wales, Australia. The bridge and Nelson Bay Road serve as the main transport rout ...
connects Kooragang to Stockton. Access to the western part of the suburb is via the Ash Island bridge at Hexham. Kooragang is generally low and flat, with some build-up in the industrial area in the eastern part of the suburb, on Kooragang Island.


History

Kooragang is dominated by Kooragang Island, which was created by reclaiming land, combining a number of smaller islands in the Hunter River estuary. The original islands were separated by mud flats and various channels and were first explored and surveyed by Europeans in 1801. Larger islands included Ash Island, Upper Moscheto, Moscheto Island, Dempsey Island, and Spit Island. Ash Island was the largest of the islands, named because of the Ash trees that grew upon it. By 1821, much of Ash and other timber on the island had been harvested. In 1827 Alexander Scott was granted of land there. After settling on the island in 1831, it grew as a community with many visitors. The original wooden bridge linking the island to the mainland was eventually replaced with a concrete bridge that is still used today. Fifty families lived on the island until it was devastated by the
1955 Hunter Valley floods The Hunter Valley Floods (also known as the Maitland Flood) of 23 February 1955 was a major flood on the Hunter River in New South Wales, Australia. They were one of the most devastating natural disasters in Australia's history. The flood over ...
. By the 1960s, industrial development closer to Newcastle resulted in a land reclamation scheme that combined the smaller islands into what is now Kooragang Island. The western part of Kooragang island, which is now home to the Kooragang Wetland Rehabilitation Project, is still known as Ash Island.


Kooragang Island


Coal exports

The eastern and more well-known part of Kooragang Island is primarily a coal export port. It was established in 1984 by a
BHP BHP Group Limited (formerly known as BHP Billiton) is an Australian multinational mining, metals, natural gas petroleum public company that is headquartered in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The Broken Hill Proprietary Company was founded ...
led consortium, with a capacity of 15 million tonnes per annum. By 2013 the capacity had been increased to 120 million tonnes per annum. In July 2013 a record high of 10.3 million tonnes of coal was processed through the port of Newcastle, with 83 of the 114 ships being loaded at the Kooragang terminal. Transport of coal to Kooragang Island from Hunter valley coal mines is achieved via the
Sandgate Flyover The Sandgate Flyover is a grade-separated railway flyover that carries the Main North line across the Kooragang Island line, located in Sandgate, in the City of Newcastle local government area of New South Wales, Australia. Description Situa ...
, with coal trains being moved through the port by a
balloon loop A balloon loop, turning loop, or reversing loop ( North American Terminology) allows a rail vehicle or train to reverse direction without having to shunt or stop. Balloon loops can be useful for passenger trains and unit freight trains. Bal ...
.


Other industries

In addition to coal exports, many other industries exist on Kooragang Island, some having existed there since before the coal export port was established. Industries include Mountain Industries, which operates a
bitumen Asphalt, also known as bitumen (, ), is a sticky, black, highly viscous liquid or semi-solid form of petroleum. It may be found in natural deposits or may be a refined product, and is classed as a pitch. Before the 20th century, the term a ...
plant, Blue Circle Southern Cement,
Sims Metal Sims Limited (formerly Sims Metal Management Limited) is a global environmental services conglomerate, operating through a number of divisions, with a focus on: (a) Ferrous and Non-ferrous metal recycling, (b) enterprise data destruction and cl ...
recyclers and
Orica Orica Limited () is an Australian-based multinational corporation that is one of the world's largest providers of commercial explosives and blasting systems to the mining, quarrying, oil and gas, and construction markets, a supplier of sod ...
Kooragang, which manufactures agricultural fertiliser and explosives for the mining industry. Orica Kooragang opened in 1969.


Electricity generation

A single 600 kW
wind turbine A wind turbine is a device that converts the kinetic energy of wind into electrical energy. Hundreds of thousands of large turbines, in installations known as wind farms, now generate over 650 gigawatts of power, with 60 GW added each year. ...
was installed on the island between Cormorant Road and the Hunter River in 1997, generating enough power for 150 homes per year. However, its future came into question because it sat on land that may be needed for a future ship turning basin. It was eventually dismantled on 29 October 2014. The turbine was later installed in Tasmania.


Ash Island

Ash Island is west of the Newcastle CBD and covers an area of . It is accessed by a road bridge at the western end of the island. Originally, a wooden bridge was constructed to connected Ash Island from
Hexham Hexham ( ) is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Northumberland, England, on the south bank of the River Tyne, formed by the confluence of the North Tyne and the South Tyne at Warden, Northumberland, Warden nearby, and ...
and a jetty was constructed near the Scott house. After concerns about the environmental impacts of industry the Coffey Inquiry was held in 1970 listing concerns over pollution and
environmental degradation Environmental degradation is the deterioration of the environment (biophysical), environment through depletion of resources such as quality of air, water and soil; the destruction of ecosystems; habitat destruction; the extinction of wildlife; an ...
. It has over 200 species of birds and 15 species of frogs. There over 300 native plant species. It has a combination of rainforest, mangroves and saltmarshes. Europeans settlement introduced kikuyu grass to the area.


History

The Indigenous mobs of the
Worimi The Worimi (also spelt Warrimay) people are Aboriginal Australians from the eastern Port Stephens and Great Lakes regions of coastal New South Wales, Australia. Before contact with settlers, their people extended from Port Stephens in the sout ...
and
Awabakal The Awabakal people , are those Aboriginal Australians who identify with or are descended from the Awabakal tribe and its clans, Indigenous to the coastal area of what is now known as the Hunter Region of New South Wales. Their traditional te ...
were the first used the area as major food source. In 1797 Europeans discovered red
cedar Cedar may refer to: Trees and plants *''Cedrus'', common English name cedar, an Old-World genus of coniferous trees in the plant family Pinaceae *Cedar (plant), a list of trees and plants known as cedar Places United States * Cedar, Arizona * ...
and
ash trees ''Fraxinus'' (), commonly called ash, is a genus of flowering plants in the olive and lilac family, Oleaceae. It contains 45–65 species of usually medium to large trees, mostly deciduous, though a number of subtropical species are e ...
. In 1801 Captain William Paterson commissioned a survey. In the 1800s industrial activity began on the island. In the 1860s the land was transformed to agricultural land and dairy farms. Ash Island has 17 dairy farms with 55 families living there. In 1921 the bridge built by the A.A Company was demolished. In 1955 all the families moved out due to major flooding. After this the NSW government took control of the land and leased it for grazing land. In the 1960s a large scale industrial development began and by 1968 become a part of Kooragang Island. In 1968, a 10 klometre railway line opened on Kooragang Island, branching off the
Main Northern railway line The Main North Line (also known as the Great Northern Railway) is a major railway in New South Wales, Australia. It runs through the Central Coast, Hunter and New England regions. The line was the original main line between Sydney and Brisban ...
to the west of Warabrook station. In 1984 the area was declared a
Ramsar site A Ramsar site is a wetland site designated to be of international importance under the Ramsar Convention,8 ha (O) *** Permanent 8 ha (P) *** Seasonal Intermittent < 8 ha(Ts) **
In 1993 Kooragang Wetlands Rehabilitation Project was founded.


Notable people

In 1827
Alexander Walker Scott Alexander Walker Scott (10 November 1800 – 1 November 1883) was an Australian entomologist mainly interested in butterflies. Scott was the son of Dr Helenus and Augusta Maria Scott. He was born in Bombay, India and was educated at Bath Gramm ...
purchased 2,560 acres of land. In 1846 Scott moved his wife Harriet Calcott, step daughter Mary Ann and daughter Helena and Harriet from
Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
. Harriet Scott was 16 and her sister was 14 when they moved from Sydney to Ash Island. They were both famous artists with majority of their letters is displayed at the
Australian Museum The Australian Museum is a heritage-listed museum at 1 William Street, Sydney central business district, New South Wales, Australia. It is the oldest museum in Australia,Design 5, 2016, p.1 and the fifth oldest natural history museum in the ...
. In 1866 Scott became bankrupt and sold the property which was subdivided, cleared and drained. In 2020 Dr Bernadette Drabsh from the University of Newcastle and natural history student Rachel Klyvee released a documentary series about a project wanting the restore the scott's sister image. Friedrich Wilhelm Ludwig Leichardt was a German born artist who visited the Hunter Region between 1842 and 1843. He was invited by
Alexander Walker Scott Alexander Walker Scott (10 November 1800 – 1 November 1883) was an Australian entomologist mainly interested in butterflies. Scott was the son of Dr Helenus and Augusta Maria Scott. He was born in Bombay, India and was educated at Bath Gramm ...
to travel down to Ash Island. He arrived on Friday 23 September 1842 and spent 3–4 days on Ash Island. Many of his sketches are held in the
National Library of Australia The National Library of Australia (NLA), formerly the Commonwealth National Library and Commonwealth Parliament Library, is the largest reference library in Australia, responsible under the terms of the ''National Library Act 1960'' for "mainta ...
and
State Library of New South Wales The State Library of New South Wales, part of which is known as the Mitchell Library, is a large heritage-listed special collections, reference and research library open to the public and is one of the oldest libraries in Australia. Establish ...
. Conrad Marten was English artist who spent time on
Charles Darwin Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all species of life have descended fr ...
's ship HMS ''Beagle''. He travelled around the Hunter area between 1841 and 1852 visiting Ash Island. His drawings from the Hunter area are digitised in the State Library of New South Wales.


Heritage listings

131 Radar Station, located on Ash Island, is a heritage-listed site.


Notes


References


External links

{{Hunter Region places and items of interest Suburbs of Newcastle, New South Wales Islands of New South Wales