The State Dockyard was a ship building and maintenance facility operated by the

Government of New South Wales The Government of New South Wales, also known as the NSW Government, is the Australian state democratic administrative authority of New South Wales. It is currently held by a coalition of the Liberal Party and the National Party. The Governmen ...

in Carrington,

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...

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 between 1942 and 1987.

History

In 1942, the State Dockyard opened on the site of the Government Dockyard at Dyke Point in

that had closed in 1933. Officially the New South Wales Government Engineering & Shipbuilding Undertaking, it was universally referred to as the State Dockyard. The dockyard facility was located at Carrington on Newcastle Harbour, on of land in addition to the ship repairs site on . The dockyard launched its first vessel in July 1943. By the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, it had launched two ships for the

Royal Australian Navy The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the principal naval force of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (CN) Vice Admiral Mark Hammond AM, RAN. CN is also jointly responsible to the Minister of ...

and 22 vessels for the United States and had repaired six hundred ships. With the cessation of large scale shipbuilding, in the 1970s it diversified into other engineering disciplines. In November 1986 a team of apprentices from the Hunter Valley Training Company completed a three-year overhaul of steam locomotive 3801 at the dockyard. The dockyard closed on 3 March 1987. A 15,000 ton floating dock was located at Carrington in 1943 to repair damaged ships during World War II. The floating dock was scrapped in 1977 and replaced with a new one built in Japan called Muloobinba, which was eventually sold overseas in 2012.

Ships built

After closure

In 2007 the outline of the painted "STATE DOCKYARD" sign on southern roof of the former dockyard building could still be viewed from above.

Surviving ships

As of 2014, the surviving State Dockyard built ships are ''Cape Don'', a

lighthouse tender A lighthouse tender is a ship specifically designed to maintain, support, or tend to lighthouses or lightvessels, providing supplies, fuel, mail, and transportation. In the United States, these ships originally served as part of the Lighthou ...

built in 1962 for the Commonwealth Lighthouse Service which is now a museum ship at

Balls Head Bay Balls Head Bay, formerly known as Oyster Cove, Wollstonecraft Bay, Sugarworks Bay, Powder Works Bay and Kerosene Bay, is a bay located to the west of the Waverton Peninsula, west of Balls Head and to the east of Berry Island, on the north of Sy ...

, Waverton. The ferries ''Freshwater'' and ''Collaroy'' continue to operate for

Transdev Sydney Ferries Transdev Sydney Ferries, formerly Harbour City Ferries, is a subsidiary of Transdev Australasia, and is the operator of ferry services in the Sydney Ferries network since July 2012. It currently operates the ferry network under a contract unt ...

. ''Narrabeen'' is in storage awaiting new engines. It is unknown if it will ever return to active service. ''Queenscliff'' was decommissioned on October 13 and has been stored ever since. Former Sydney Harbour ferries ''Lady Cutler'' and ''Lady McKell'' operate as cruise boats on

Port Phillip Port Phillip ( Kulin: ''Narm-Narm'') or Port Phillip Bay is a horsehead-shaped enclosed bay on the central coast of southern Victoria, Australia. The bay opens into the Bass Strait via a short, narrow channel known as The Rip, and is com ...

. Lady Herron and Lady Northcott are in store at Transdev Sydney Ferries facility at Balmain. Lady Woodward has been converted to a private houseboat and is located at Tin Can Bay.

References

External links

Miramar Ship Index - fuller, though incomplete, production list (subscription required)

Flickr gallery
{{Hunter Region places and items of interest History of Newcastle, New South Wales Shipbuilding companies of Australia 1942 establishments in Australia 1987 disestablishments in Australia Shipyards of New South Wales