The Coal Loader – post industrial parklands on Sydney Harbour

Abstract

Twenty years ago, a rare opportunity arose to create a dramatic new public space on the harbour foreshores of Cammeraygal country in North Sydney. The Coal Loader parklands on the Waverton Peninsular have become a public recreation landmark with immense cultural and natural qualities.

About the Authors

Crosbie Lorimer is the Managing Director of CLOUSTON Associates, and has played a major role in the Coal Loader’s masterplan from inception to delivery (Contact: cl@clouston.com.au). Katherine Webster is a Landscape Architect at CLOUSTON Associates who has worked in landscapes at all scales, from private gardens to the wider public realm (Contact: kw@clouston.com.au). Sara Curukovska is a student at CLOUSTON Associates who is currently completing her Bachelor of Landscape Architecture at the University of New South Wales.

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Article

In the mid-1990s, post-industrial sites lining the foreshores of Sydney Harbour were at the centre of heated debate. There was community outcry at residential development proposals on many of these sites. In response, new environmental planning policies were announced to enable public access to the land. It was a rare opportunity to reinvigorate Sydney’s working waterfront.

One of these post-industrial sites is the Coal Loader on the Waverton Peninsula. It once played an instrumental role in powering Australia’s coal trade. Commencing its operations in 1920, the Coal Loader primarily functioned as a depot to transfer coal from bulk carriers to smaller coal-fired vessels. After operating for over 70 years, the site was decommissioned in October 1992.

The site celebrates the Cammeraygal people who lived on the peninsula for thousands of years. An ancient rock carving of a whale was unearthed during the parkland restorations. The engraving is now protected as a significant marker of the physical and spiritual connection to Country. A community garden has an indigenous nursery with bush foods.

Since ceasing its operations, the site has been transformed from abandoned industrial waterfront to 2.8 ha of public parkland  It’s been guided for over 20 years by the Waverton Peninsula Strategic Master Plan, prepared by CLOUSTON Associates for North Sydney Council.

The design of The Coal Loader draws upon its significance in Sydney’s maritime and industrial history. This is most evident in a series of underground tunnels that can be explored to reveal the historic coal loading system. As Australia’s largest publicly accessible green rooftop the Coal Loader exhibits a suite of sustainability ‘wins’. Materials have been salvaged, recycled and reclaimed. Existing built form has been retrofitted.

The site has been designed to be self-sustaining. Storm-water and rain-water are harvested, stored and reused on site. Modular urban harvest plots and green-roof plantings are underlain by an innovative soil, storm-water and irrigation profile. Plants are fed by a 275,000 litre water harvesting facility, using the old coal chutes as bio-filters and the tunnel beneath as storage).

The parklands have become a community meeting point. They are a place to showcase the local council’s extensive range of environmental and sustainability programs. It is also a place at which community members can volunteer, and an inspirational location for art and cultural events.

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The Coal Loader reconciles the disparate cultural, social, and environmental values of its past with the experience of its future. In Sydney Harbour’s story it is more an episode than a finale. It is a fitting tribute to the community who fought for their right to access these landscapes from the outset.

Acknowledgements

The successful delivery of the Waverton Peninsula Master Plan is the story of a 20-year vision shared across the landscape architecture profession. Collaboration with North Sydney Council, Hassell, McGregor Coxall, CAB Consulting and Glascott Landscape has made the vision a reality. Hassell were responsible for the conservation design and work relating to the underground tunnels.

This project has won the following awards: Australian Institute of Landscape Architecture NSW Cultural Heritage Award of Excellence (2018); Parks and Leisure Association Park of the Year (2018); and, Australian Institute of Landscape Architects NSW Land Management Award for 20-Year Delivery of the Waverton Peninsula Master Plan (2019).