The Newcastle Steelworks was built by

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 ...

Newcastle, New South Wales Newcastle ( ; Awabakal: ) is a metropolitan area and the second most populated city in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It includes the Newcastle and Lake Macquarie local government areas, and is the hub of the Greater Newcastle area, w ...

. Construction commenced in January 1913, with operations commencing in March 1915. It was officially opened on 2 June 1915 by

Governor-General Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy t ...

Ronald Munro Ferguson Ronald Craufurd Munro Ferguson, 1st Viscount Novar, (6 March 1860 – 30 March 1934) was a British politician who served as the sixth Governor-General of Australia, in office from 1914 to 1920. Munro Ferguson was born in Kirkcaldy, Fife, S ...

. Newcastle was selected due to its proximity to the

Hunter Valley 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 ...

coalfields with the

iron ore Iron ores are rocks and minerals from which metallic iron can be economically extracted. The ores are usually rich in iron oxides and vary in color from dark grey, bright yellow, or deep purple to rusty red. The iron is usually found in the fo ...

shipped from

Whyalla Whyalla was founded as "Hummocks Hill", and was known by that name until 1916. It is the fourth most populous city in the Australian state of South Australia after Adelaide, Mount Gambier and Gawler and along with Port Pirie and Port Augusta ...

. 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. Demolition commenced in 2000. In 2022 the

Department of Planning & Environment The New South Wales Department of Planning and Environment (DPE) is a department of the New South Wales Government, responsible for effective and sustainable planning to support the growth in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It makes pl ...

called for expressions of interest to redevelop the site. The steelworks had a rail network. Initially operated by steam locomotives, 32 and 37 class diesel locomotives were later introduced.Steelworks Sign-Off ''

Railway Digest ''Railway Digest'' is a monthly magazine, published in Sydney, covering contemporary railways of Australia. Overview The magazine's publisher is the Australian Railway Historical Society (ARHS), NSW Division. The first issue was published in M ...

'' October 1999 pages 22-24

References

{{Coord, 32.895, S, 151.760, E, format=dms, display=title BHP Industrial buildings in New South Wales Ironworks and steelworks in Australia Manufacturing plants in Australia 1915 establishments in Australia 1999 disestablishments in Australia