Webb Dock
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Webb Dock is a port facility at
Fishermans Bend Fishermans Bend (formerly Fishermen's Bend) is a precinct within the City of Port Phillip and the City of Melbourne. It is located on the south of the Yarra River in the suburb of Port Melbourne and opposite Coode Island, close to the Melbourne ...
in
Melbourne, Victoria Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung–Taungurung language, Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the St ...
constructed progressively from 1960, by dredging and land fill at the mouth of the
Yarra River The Yarra River or historically, the Yarra Yarra River, (Kulin languages: ''Berrern'', ''Birr-arrung'', ''Bay-ray-rung'', ''Birarang'', ''Birrarung'', and ''Wongete'') is a perennial river in south-central Victoria, Australia. The lower stre ...
. It includes
roll-on/roll-off Roll-on/roll-off (RORO or ro-ro) ships are cargo ships designed to carry wheeled cargo, such as cars, motorcycles, trucks, semi-trailer trucks, buses, trailers, and railroad cars, that are driven on and off the ship on their own wheels or using ...
facilities handling motor vehicle import and export and break bulk commodities and a container terminal. The dock is named after John Percival Webb OBE, a former Melbourne Harbor Trust commissioner.


History

Shipping in Melbourne was initially accommodated at wharves on the Yarra River downstream of Queen Street, and for ships of deeper draught, at anchorages in
Port Phillip Bay 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 completel ...
. The
Melbourne Harbor Trust The Melbourne Harbor Trust was established in 1877 to improve and operate port facilities for the growing city of Melbourne. It was superseded by the Port of Melbourne Authority in 1978 and later by the Port of Melbourne Corporation. Creation ...
acted on plans that had been developed in the immediate post war period, to construct a new dock at the mouth of the Yarra, which would reduce the turn-around time for shipping by avoiding the difficult route up to the river wharves. The shore at the head of
Port Phillip Bay 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 completel ...
once accommodated fishermen's shacks, the last of which was demolished in the 1970s to expand the dock. No.1 "roll‐on roll‐off" berth was completed and opened in 1959 with a road ramp and land area for the ''
Princess of Tasmania MS ''Princess of Tasmania'' was an Australian-built roll-on/roll-off passenger ship. She was built by the State Dockyard in Newcastle, New South Wales for the Australian National Line. Laid down on 15 November 1957, she was launched on 15 December ...
'' passenger and vehicle ferry service. The ''Princess of Tasmania'' used Webb Dock from about 1959. This was the first berth of its type in Australia. No. 2 berth was completed in 1961 to accommodate the roll‐on roll‐off cargo vessel '' Bass Trader''. No. 3 berth was built between 1967 and 1969, while No. 4 Berth was opened in 1975, and No. 5 in 1982. The Webb Dock railway line and a rail terminal north of the dock were constructed in 1984-86 to link the dock with the West Melbourne rail yards but decommissioned in 1992 due to its impractically sharp bends and to enable the development of Docklands. The Yarra River crossing on the rail link was reused as a pedestrian bridge as part of Docklands precinct.


Operation

The dock comprises 8 berths including a dedicated
roll-on roll-off Roll-on/roll-off (RORO or ro-ro) ships are cargo ships designed to carry wheeled cargo, such as cars, motorcycles, trucks, semi-trailer trucks, buses, trailers, and railroad cars, that are driven on and off the ship on their own wheels or using ...
cargo terminal operated by Toll Shipping. It handles both container traffic and automobile imports. The Philippine company International Container Terminal Services Inc. "won a 40 year concession to operate the Webb Dock container terminal in May 2014, amidst opposition from unions." Webb Dock East has five berths and 40 hectares of container stacking area. Berths 1 and 2 serve the Tasmanian coastal trade and three multi‐purpose general cargo berths and an automotive terminal accommodate cars, trucks, buses and other wheeled machinery, as well as bulk break commodities such as timber, wood pulp and newsprint. The ship loading installed in the 1980s were removed in mid 2014. Webb Dock West is Australia’s main terminal for motor vehicle imports and exports with over 370,000 new vehicles pass shipped in 2012‐13. It comprises “roll‐on roll‐off” ramps with a 19‐hectare automotive terminal with storage for 7000 vehicles.


Redevelopment

Expansion of the container facilities was undertaken from 2014, to accommodate increased import trade and increase capacity to one million standard containers per year. This included reinstating container cranes, land fill north of the dock for container storage, expanded automotive terminal and new access roads.Media release The Hon David Hodgett MP Minister for Ports, Friday 2 May 2014, Visit www.premier.vic.gov.au
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References


Further reading

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Kim Dovey Kim Dovey is an Australian architectural and urban critic and Professor of Architecture and Urban Design at the University of Melbourne, Australia, teaching and researching urban design. He received degrees from Curtin University and the Univ ...
: ''Fluid City: Transforming Melbourne's Urban Waterfront'', London: Routledge, 2005 {{coord, display=title, -37.843158, 144.905959, format=dms, type:landmark_region:AU-VIC Geography of Melbourne Docks (maritime) Yarra River Port of Melbourne