Port of Geelong

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The Bulk Grain Pier and grain elevator at North Geelong
The Bulk Grain Pier and grain elevator at North Geelong

The Port of Geelong is located on the shores of Corio Bay in Geelong, Victoria, Australia. The port is the sixth-largest in Australia by tonnage.[1]

Major commodities handled by the port include crude oil and petroleum products, export grain and woodchips, alumina imports, and fertiliser.[2] Major port industries include Alcoa's Point Henry smelter, AWB Limited's grain elevator, and Shell Australia's Corio oil refinery.

The Port of Geelong handled $5.6 billion worth of bulk cargo in 2004-05, made up of 12 million tonnes of cargo from 543 ship visits.[2]

Contents

[edit] History

The steamboat Edina leaving Geelong on its final journey on 21 June 1938.
The steamboat Edina leaving Geelong on its final journey on 21 June 1938.
Cunningham Pier has been refurbished for tourists.
Cunningham Pier has been refurbished for tourists.

Before the initial settlement of Geelong, a sandbar across the bay from Point Lilias to Point Henry prevented ships from entering the inner harbour. Ships were required to drop anchor in the bay, and cargo was brought into Geelong on small barges. At times it was possible to walk across the bay on the sandbar at low tide.[3]

The first channel through the sandbar was started in 1853, providing less than 4 metres draught for ships. This channel was straightened out and dredged at a depth of 6 metres in the 1860s. In 1881 a new channel started that took 12 years to complete. It was named the Hopetoun Channel after Lord Hopetoun who opened it on December 20, 1893.[4]

By the early 1900s shipping traffic has increased and the existing piers in the city area were inadequate. As a result new port developments were started in the North Geelong area.

[edit] Management

Management of the channels and port of Geelong was the responsibility of the Geelong Harbour Trust that was formed in December 1905.[5] In addition, the Authority was responsible for the associated ports at Queenscliff, Barwon Heads, Lorne and Apollo Bay.

In 1981, the trust was reconstituted as the Port of Geelong Authority as an attempt to follow modern practice with the naming of organisations responsible for ports operation throughout the world.[5] The authority was privatised by the State Government, being sold to TNT Logistics for $49.6 million on 1 July 1996.[6] The port was later rebranded as Toll GeelongPort after the acquition of TNT by Toll Holdings. Today the port is now branded as GeelongPort, a part of Asciano Limited after the demerger from Toll Holdings.

In 2008 the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission(ACCC) revoked Asciano's exclusive equipment contract with the Port of Geelong. The ACCC found that the compulsory use of Asciano cranes for dry bulk and fertiliser unloading was anti-competitive, and that the negative effects of the arrangement outweighed any productivity improvements derived from use of a single equipment type.[7]

[edit] Facilities

Woodchipping plant at North Shore
Woodchipping plant at North Shore
The wharf and unloader at Point Henry
The wharf and unloader at Point Henry

Major piers in the Port of Geelong include:

  • Cunningham Pier: opened as the Railway Pier in the mid 1850s.[8] Disused by the 1980s, currently occupied by a Smorgy's restaurant.
  • Moorabool Street Wharf: located at the end of the street of the same name. Main terminal for bay cruises until demolished in the 1950s.
  • Yarra Street Pier. Demolished in the 1980s after falling into disrepair.

By the early 1900s shipping traffic has increased and the existing piers in the city area were inadequate. As a result new port developments were started in the North Geelong area.

  • Corio Quay. Construction started in the 1900s, and the wharfs are still in use today for woodchip and bulk cargoes.[9]
  • Grain Pier. Built to export grain from the adjacent grain elevators in 1937.[6] Replaced by a newer pier to the north in the 1990s.
  • Lascelles Wharf. Caters for general cargo, as well as minerals and fertiliser for the adjacent phosphate works.
  • Refinery Pier. Opened by Shell in 1953 to cater for their nearby oil refinery.[6]

There are also a number of special purpose piers on Corio Bay:

[edit] References

  1. ^ City of Greater Geelong:Transportation - Sea. City of Greater Geelong (2006). Retrieved on 2008-02-08.
  2. ^ a b The Age: Geelong port contributes $500mn a year to Victoria - September 12, 2005
  3. ^ The History of the Bellarine Peninsula. Retrieved on 2007-08-02.
  4. ^ Begg, Peter (1990). Geelong - The First 150 Years. Globe Press. ISBN 0-9592863-5-7. 
  5. ^ a b Public Record Office Victoria - Agency VA 1425
  6. ^ a b c DoI - THE REVIEW OF PORT REFORM IN VICTORIA. Retrieved on 2007-08-02.
  7. ^ "ACCC seeks to revoke dictated Geelong Port equipment use", Lloyd's List Daily Commercial News, 2008-02-08. Retrieved on 2008-02-08. 
  8. ^ Rail Geelong: Cunningham Pier Line. Retrieved on 2007-08-02.
  9. ^ Rail Geelong: Harbour Trust Sidings. Retrieved on 2007-08-02.
  10. ^ REPORT relating to the proposed EAST COAST ARMAMENT COMPLEX POINT WILSON, VIC. Retrieved on 2007-07-26.

[edit] External links