Shaky Future For Jetty Awash With Memories
Newcastle Herald
Friday March 9, 2007
THE historic Catherine Hill Bay jetty holds precious memories for many locals, who believe it is a heritage icon that should be preserved. The jetty will be demolished unless money can be found to retain it. The maintenance bill has been estimated at about $150,000 a year, but to demolish it would cost millions. Surfer Mick McCall is one of many who feel that the bay would not be the same without the jetty. As Mr McCall points out, it would take many years of maintenance to equal the cost of demolition. Mr McCall, president of Catherine Hill Bay Boardriders Club, was the last person to surf a left-handed break under the jetty before it crumpled during the Sygna storm in 1974. He was 22 years old at the time. Now aged 54, he remembers surfing alone in a four-foot swell with no idea of what was coming that night. He returned the next morning to the biggest seas he had ever seen and a collapsed jetty. In its coal-loading days, the jetty had lights that illuminated the ocean. It allowed surfers like Mr McCall to use the lights to surf until late into the night. Like many locals, Mr McCall loves "Catho" the way it is and believes the jetty is synonymous with the place. He isn't the only one who holds the jetty dear to his heart. Catherine Hill Bay Progress Association president Sue Whyte has studied the jetty's history. Her records show that a coal-loading jetty was first built at the bay in 1873. Horses were used to cart coal along it to waiting ships. Its poor construction led to some horses and carts falling into the sea. It eventually burnt down in 1880. Another jetty was built in 1889, which Ms Whyte described as being beautiful and having a remarkable history. The Wallarah Coal Mining Company used the jetty to work through strikes. Strike-breakers would be brought in by sea; they would land on the jetty and police would guard them as they were taken in coal carts to a camp. Some revolutionary locals reacted angrily and tried to blow up the jetty with dynamite. Its collapse in the Sygna storm led to another jetty being built with tougher materials, which stands today as a relic of the town's mining industry. The association wants to preserve the jetty, but does not want it used as a bargaining chip over Sydney developer Rosecorp's plan to build 600 houses in the suburb. Rosecorp says the jetty, which adjoins its land, is not its concern. The jetty is presently part of a mining lease held by LakeCoal. Rosecorp's land is part of the same lease. LakeCoal is finalising a plan to relinquish the lease and says the jetty will have to go unless someone agrees to take it over. Quotes have been obtained for its demolition and a decision is expected to be made on its future soon. Authorities and locals have discussed building a restaurant on the jetty, but many believe it would be too difficult to make such an operation profitable. Mr McCall, along with many locals, opposes Rosecorp's housing plans. He says the town's bush and ocean setting help create a unique place that should be protected from overwhelming development. He believes hundreds of houses would shatter the mystique that attracts people to the bay. If Rosecorp's plan is approved, Mr McCall reckons the developer should pay to maintain the jetty. Many locals would agree with him, but it seems some parties have other ideas. At a recent independent panel hearing to consider Rosecorp's plan, the panel's chairwoman, Gabrielle Kibble who was hand-picked by the State Government asked whether Lake Macquarie City Council intended to take over care and control of the jetty. Council officer Sharon Pope responded by saying there was not enough information available to make a decision on the matter. The council should resist any attempt by the Government to further shift costs on to it. Planning Minister Frank Sartor has decreed that the jetty should be discussed in the context of any infrastructure contribution that Rosecorp makes with its development. The Government owns the jetty and should do everything it can to devise a way to keep it. Removing the jetty would strip the town of its heart and tourist dollars. Damon Cronshaw is The Herald's Lake Macquarie reporter.
© 2007 Newcastle Herald