Port Kembla is a suburb of

Wollongong Wollongong ( ), colloquially referred to as The Gong, is a city located in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia. The name is believed to originate from the Dharawal language, meaning either 'five islands/clouds', 'ground near wate ...

8 km south of the CBD and part of the

Illawarra The Illawarra is a coastal region in the Australian state of New South Wales, nestled between the mountains and the sea. It is situated immediately south of Sydney and north of the South Coast region. It encompasses the two cities of Wollongo ...

region 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 ...

. The suburb comprises a

seaport A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ham ...

, industrial complex (one of the largest in Australia), a small harbour foreshore

nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or ...

, and a small commercial sector. It is situated on the tip of

Red Point In rock climbing, redpointing means to free-climb a route while lead climbing, but only after having practiced the route beforehand (either by hangdogging or top roping), or after having fallen or rested on the rope, on the first attempt. Climb ...

: its first European sighting was by Captain

James Cook James Cook (7 November 1728 Old Style date: 27 October – 14 February 1779) was a British explorer, navigator, cartographer, and captain in the British Royal Navy, famous for his three voyages between 1768 and 1779 in the Pacific Ocean an ...

in 1770. The name "Kembla" is an Aboriginal word meaning "plenty fwild fowl".

History

Before Port Kembla was an

industrial suburb An industrial suburb is a community, near a large city, with an industrial economy. These communities may be established as tax havens or as places where zoning promotes industry, or they may be industrial towns that become suburbs by urban spra ...

of Wollongong, it was a town with a remarkably self-sufficient society, a growing commercial centre, and a vibrant civic life. Town subdivision began in 1908, and by 1921 there were 1622 residents. Economic expansion propelled further population growth. Port Kembla derives its name from its proximity to

Mount Kembla Mount Kembla is a suburb and a mountain in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia. The suburb, a semi-rural township of Wollongong, gets its name from the mountain, located on the Illawarra escarpment, is derived from an Aborigin ...

Industrial change

A copper smelter and refinery, the Electrolytic Refinery and Smelting Company of Australia, began production in 1908, followed by the opening of Metal Manufactures in 1917 and finally the arrival of the Hoskins Iron & Steel Works in 1927. The works became

Australian Iron & Steel Australian Iron & Steel was an Australian iron and steel manufacturer. History Public company (1928-1935) Australian Iron & Steel (AI&S) was established in 1928 to take over the business of Hoskins Iron & Steel. That company had already comme ...

the following year. By 1947 the town's population had increased to 4,960 with smaller satellite suburbs such as Cringila and Lake Heights, mushrooming on its fringes. That year, 1947, marked the climax of a local campaign for municipal autonomy which was ultimately thwarted by the creation of a Greater City of Wollongong. In the post-Second World War period there was an inexorable decline of a 'Port Kembla' society as local town boundaries were slowly but surely absorbed into a more Wollongong-focused or regional identity.

Cultural diversity

Despite the decline from the heyday of the 1920s, the town experienced major social and demographic change in the 1950s and 1960s. Waves of migrants, mostly from the United Kingdom, Italy, Macedonia and Germany, moved to the town. During this period, Port Kembla was on the cusp of changes affecting Australian society generally as new ethnic and cultural influences found a place in local society. With its long migration history accommodating waves of migrant workers and their families, Port Kembla is still one of the most culturally diverse suburbs in New South Wales.

Hill 60

Port Kembla's highest point, Hill 60, overlooks the Five Islands and Red Point. Hill 60, originally the site of an Aboriginal settlement, was used by the army during World War II to make a coastal gun emplacement known as

Illowra Battery Illowra Battery is a former Australian Army coastal-artillery artillery battery, battery located at Hill 60, Port Kembla, Hill 60, Port Kembla, New South Wales in Australia, built and in service during World War II. It was also otherwise known as ' ...

. In September 1942, Aboriginal inhabitants were forcibly evicted from the area. It has remained in the army's ownership and is now a public lookout reserve, despite a vigorous campaign to return some of the land to its Aboriginal owners. Although not technically open to tourists, the tunnels are open, and can be explored by foot. The entrance to the tunnels is located almost under the coastguard tower on Hill 60, and can be seen down the left when standing at the information board, facing southeast. File:Illowra Battery 1944 AWM 081445.jpeg, Dated: 1944 No. 2 gun

, Showing its original BL 6 inch Mk XI gun File:Illowra battery aka hill 60.jpg, Gun position No. 2 at

, which formed part of the Kembla Fortress defences in World War II

HMAS Adele loss

On 7 May 1943,

Australian steamer Adele ''Adele'' was a steel screw steamer that was built in 1906 as a yacht. She was twice commissioned into the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), firstly as HMAS ''Franklin'' and later as HMAS ''Adele''. She was wrecked at Port Kembla, New South Wales o ...

struck the breakwater at Port Kembla and was subsequently declared a total loss. The wreck of ''Adele'' is protected under the New South Wales Heritage Act, 1977.

Union Protests

Port Kembla was the site of the Dalfram Dispute in 1938, where unionised dockworkers refused to load pig iron onto a ship heading for Japan after the

Nanking Massacre The Nanjing Massacre (, ja, 南京大虐殺, Nankin Daigyakusatsu) or the Rape of Nanjing (formerly romanized as ''Nanking'') was the mass murder of Chinese civilians in Nanjing, the capital of the Republic of China, immediately after the Ba ...

. In 1974, a

green ban A green ban is a form of strike action, usually taken by a trade union or other organised labour group, which is conducted for environmentalist or conservationist purposes. They were mainly done in Australia in the 1970s, led by the Builders Labo ...

was placed by the

Builders Labourers Federation The Builders Labourers Federation (BLF) was an Australian trade union that existed from 1911 until 1972, and from 1976 until 1986, when it was permanently deregistered in various Australian states by the federal Hawke Labor government and some ...

against high rise development and for the reclamation of the beach to be made a parkland.

Heritage listings

Port Kembla has a number of heritage-listed sites, including: * Military Road: Hill 60

Population

According to the 2016 census of Population, there were 5,014 people in Port Kembla. * Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up 3.7% of the population. * 66.6% of people were born in Australia. The next most common countries of birth were Macedonia 9.0%, Italy 2.9% and England 2.0%. * 66.3% of people spoke only English at home. Other languages spoken at home included Macedonian 14.7% and Italian 3.9%. * The most common responses for religion were Catholic 26.8%, No Religion 21.5%, Eastern Orthodox 14.9% and Anglican 10.4%.

Climate

Port Kembla has a warm

oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate, is the humid temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring cool summers and mild winters ( ...

(''Cfb'') with humid summers and mild, crisp winters. The suburb enjoys abundant sunshine, getting 111.4 clear days, annually.

Industry and Infrastructure

Port Kembla is known for the

BlueScope BlueScope Steel Limited is an Australian flat product steel producer that was spun-off from BHP Billiton in 2002. History BlueScope was formed when BHP Billiton spun-off its steel assets on 15 July 2002 as BHP Steel. It was renamed BlueScope ...

steelworks operations on Springhill Road and throughout North Port Kembla. Other notable industrial operations in the suburb are: Port Kembla Coal Terminal, Port Kembla Copper, Incitec, Adstream Services, Port Kembla Gateway and GrainCorp.

Rail

Port Kembla has a railway station on the Port Kembla branch of the

Illawarra railway line The South Coast Railway (also known as the Illawarra Railway) is a commuter and goods railway line from Sydney to Wollongong and Bomaderry in New South Wales, Australia. Beginning at the Illawarra Junction, the line services the Illawarra an ...

. It is the terminus of the branch line, and serves the residential area of the suburb of the same name. The station has one side platform, used for terminating trains. It is served by approximately one train per hour, usually a local service to Thirroul and Waterfall, but extra direct trains to and from Sydney are provided in the peak hours.

Pacific National Pacific National is one of Australia's largest rail freight businesses. History In February 2002, National Rail Corporation, National Rail's freight operations and rollingstock (owned by the Government of Australia, Federal, Government of New ...

operates daily coal trains to the Inner Harbour section of the port, and into the blast furnace section of the steelworks.

Downer Rail Downer Rail is a business unit within the Downer Group. As well as manufacturing and maintaining railway rolling stock it holds maintenance contracts to maintain rail infrastructure. The head office is located in North Ryde. History The EDI ...

has a workshop opposite the station that services diesel powered locomotives for

Port

Port Kembla harbour is a major export location for coal mined in the southern and western regions of New South Wales. As part of the state governments plan to divert ships containing auto mobiles, the port has received significant upgrades and infrastructure including a new Maritime Office and many jobs have been created as the need for port logistics grows.

Patrick Corporation Patrick Corporation is an Australian seaport operator with operations in Brisbane, Fremantle, Melbourne and Sydney. Formerly listed on the Australian Securities Exchange, it is owned by Brookfield Asset Management and Qube Holdings. History ...

holds a contract for integrated port services in the harbour and transports goods by road or rail through its parent company

. The port has a range of berths for loading coal, grain, shipping containers and other goods. As of 2020, a gas export terminal is also under development. Ptkembla

Sports and leisure

Sporting teams

Port Kembla has both junior and senior teams in local popular sporting leagues such as: * Port Kembla Rugby League in the Illawarra Division

Rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

Home grounds are Noel Mulligan Oval * Port Kembla

Cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

Club in the Cricket Illawarra Competition Home grounds are King George V Park * Port Kembla

Soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

Club in the Illawarra Football Association Home grounds are Darcy Wentworth Park
Port Kembla AFL Club
plays in South Coast

AFL AFL may refer to: Sports * American Football League (AFL), a name shared by several separate and unrelated professional American football leagues: ** American Football League (1926) (a.k.a. "AFL I"), first rival of the National Football Leagu ...

and AFL Illawarra Home grounds ar
Kully Bay Park
Port Kembla

, Port Kembla

Soccer Club In Association football, a football club (or association football club, alternatively soccer club) is a sports club that acts as an entity through which association football teams organise their sporting activities. The club can exist either as a ...

and Port Kembla

home grounds are not located in Port Kembla, they all play in parks across

Warrawong Warrawong is a suburb of Wollongong in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia. It is situated on the northeast corner of Lake Illawarra. Warrawong is 74 kilometers from Sydney CBD. Warrawong is home to Warrawong Plaza, one of thre ...

Parks and beaches

Port Kembla has a number of parks, nature reserves, beaches and a Saltwater Olympic pool: * King George V Park A foreshore park located in walking distance from Port Kembla Beach. Used in summer for Port Kembla Cricket Club home games. * Hill 60 Park A popular take off area for hang gliders and para gliders, Hill 60 Park has BBQ facilities as well as picnic shelters, seats and tables positioned to enjoy the scenic views. *Port Kembla Beach (Or Perkins Beach) An award winning beach, seasonally patrolled from September to April and home to the Port Kembla Surf Life Saving Club. It's beach code is nsw379A and it has a

Surf Life Saving Australia Surf Life Saving Australia (SLSA) is an Australian not-for-profit community organisation that promotes water safety and provides surf rescue services. SLSA strives to create a safe environment on Australia's beaches and coastline through patro ...

general hazard rating of 7/10 *Fishermans Beach A small sheltered beach at the bottom of Hill 60's eastern side facing the

Five Islands Nature Reserve The Five Islands Nature Reserve is a protected nature reserve located in the Tasman Sea, off the Illawarra east coast of the state of New South Wales, Australia. The reserve comprises five continental islands that are situated between east of ...

. *North Port Kembla Beach Also known by locals as MM Beach for its close proximity to the Metal Manufacturers site on Gloucester Boulevard. Remnants of a tidal rock pool are still standing near the southern end of the beach below the headland. Three people died after being washed into rough surf at the popular rock fishing spot on Friday 22 January 2021.

Public transport

Train

Port Kembla has two railway stations on the Port Kembla branch of the

NSW TrainLink NSW TrainLink is a train and coach operator in Australia, providing services throughout New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory, along with limited interstate services into Victoria, Queensland and South Australia. Its primary interc ...

South Coast Line The South Coast Line is an intercity rail service operated by NSW TrainLink that services the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia. The service runs from , and runs the entire length of the eponymous South Coast railway line to . Th ...

Port Kembla railway station Port Kembla is a single-platform intercity train terminal located in Port Kembla, Australia, on the South Coast railway line's Port Kembla branch. The station serves NSW TrainLink trains traveling north to Wollongong and Sydney. The station al ...

is the terminus of the branch line, and serves the residential area of Port Kembla. Port Kembla North serves the industrial area of the suburb. The station is the nearest to the

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 ...

site in the area. Both stations have a one sided platform, with the platform at

Port Kembla A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ha ...

used for terminating trains. The stations are served by approximately one train per hour, usually a local service to

Thirroul Thirroul () is a northern seaside suburb of the city of Wollongong, Australia. Situated between Austinmer and Bulli, it is approximately 13 kilometres north of Wollongong, and 73 km south of Sydney. It lies between the Pacific Ocean and ...

, but extra direct trains to and 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 ...

are provided in the peak hours. File:Port Kembla station 2.jpg, Port Kembla station File:Port Kembla North station.jpg, Port Kembla North station

Bus

Premier Illawarra runs three routes to and from Port Kembla railway station: * 34 – to

via

Berkeley Berkeley most often refers to: *Berkeley, California, a city in the United States **University of California, Berkeley, a public university in Berkeley, California * George Berkeley (1685–1753), Anglo-Irish philosopher Berkeley may also refer ...

* 43 – to

Dapto Dapto is a suburb of Wollongong in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia, located on the western side of Lake Illawarra and covering an area 7.15 square kilometres in size. As at the , the suburb had a population of 10,730. History ...

* 65 – to North Beach

Health and environmental issues

Port Kembla chimney stack

Port Kembla was home to one of Australia's tallest industrial chimneys, a 198 metre tall chimney built in 1965. Port Kembla Primary School was once located adjacent to it but was closed down due to pollution problems from the chimney including lead contaminated soil,

acid rain Acid rain is rain or any other form of precipitation that is unusually acidic, meaning that it has elevated levels of hydrogen ions (low pH). Most water, including drinking water, has a neutral pH that exists between 6.5 and 8.5, but acid ...

and soot. A warning alarm was fitted to warn of high toxin levels. In November 2008, the Port Kembla stack was inspected and confirmed to have

concrete cancer Concrete is a composite material composed of fine and coarse construction aggregate, aggregate bonded together with a fluid cement (cement paste) that hardens (cures) over time. Concrete is the second-most-used substance in the world after wa ...

. The stack was planned to be demolished in early 2010 at a cost of A$10 million. By 6 September 2010, plans to knock down the stack had been revised by the NSW Department of Planning. These plans included demolition of the existing Port Kembla Copper structures surrounding the chimney, excluding the locally heritage listed Precious Metals Mill Chimney and the Assay Offices. The work was due to start in the middle of 2011 with a team of 30 workers, under supervision by NSW Police, NSW WorkCover and relevant emergency services at a cost of A$8 million with an expected time frame of 16 months. On 2 August 2013, it was announced that the stack would be demolished on Friday 6 September 2013. Due to asbestos concerns, the demolition was delayed. After no signs of danger were found, a new date was announced for the demolition: 20 February 2014. On 20 February 2014, the copper stack was demolished.

Industrial pollution

In the past, Port Kembla's industrial heart was associated with significant industrial pollution including emissions of

nitrogen oxide Nitrogen oxide may refer to a binary compound of oxygen and nitrogen, or a mixture of such compounds: Charge-neutral *Nitric oxide (NO), nitrogen(II) oxide, or nitrogen monoxide *Nitrogen dioxide (), nitrogen(IV) oxide * Nitrogen trioxide (), or n ...

s and other dangerous gases. However, the air quality around Port Kembla has improved dramatically over the past decade. At nearby Kembla Grange the average concentration of

nitrogen dioxide Nitrogen dioxide is a chemical compound with the formula . It is one of several nitrogen oxides. is an intermediate in the industrial synthesis of nitric acid, millions of tons of which are produced each year for use primarily in the producti ...

(NO₂) measured by the NSW Department of Environment Climate Change halved between 2002 and 2014. Back in the 1990s health problems were associated with noxious gases. One 1998 study of the industrial areas of Newcastle and Port Kembla found 'an important association between relatively low levels of particulate air pollution and respiratory symptoms' among primary school children. Fallout has also introduced elevated levels of lead and other heavy metals to the soil around Port Kembla and has formed thick deposits in many buildings and industrial structures.

References

External links

Australia's Tallest Industrial Chimney – Sightseeing with Google Satellite Maps

PKC Stack Felling
{{Authority control Suburbs of Wollongong Port cities in New South Wales Green bans