Dawn Service attendees urged to consider public transport

BY JARROD MELMETH

If you are one of the 55-thousand people expected to attend the ANZAC Day dawn service at Nobbys Beach on Wednesday, you may want to consider public transport.

Authorities are urging people to consider the free park-and-ride service from McDonald Jones Stadium to Queens Wharf departing every five to 10 minutes return from 3:30am to 12:30pm.

President of the Newcastle RSL Sub-Branch Ken Fayle said the service will commence at 5am.

"The Lord Mayor will be lighting the ANZAC flame for 2018 at 5am and then we will proceed to our traditional service which will run through to about 6am," Mr Fayle said.

Newcastle City Police District is working closely with Council and the local Anzac Day Committee to ensure a safe, smoothly run event following the recent loss of 500 car spaces along the Harbour and in the David Jones car park.

Chief Inspector Gerard Lawson is encouraging members of the public to think about their journey in advance for the dawn service and day-time commemorations.

"Historically up to 50,000 people have attended the early morning commemoration, which leads to significant traffic congestion.

"We anticipate that the loss of Hunter Street as a traffic corridor will further impact congestion and travel times and therefore recommend that people consider using the public transport and Park and Ride options that have been planned to ensure the minimum of delay to their travel," Chief Inspector Lawson said.

The traditional Anzac Day March from the mall to Civic Park will travel along King Street and not Hunter Street, where light rail is currently being built.

Keolis Downer Hunter General Manager Mark Dunlop said Newcastle Transport would provide a number of public transport options across Anzac Day including free travel for veterans and their families.

Additional dawn service bus routes from 3:15am to 4am and 6:10am to 6:35am will also be running on the following routes:

Route 13 will depart from Glendale at 3:30am, 3:40am, 3:45am and 3:50am with departures from Queens Wharf at 6:15am, 6:20am, 6:25am and 6:35am.

Route 11 will depart from Jesmond at 3:40am, 3:45am, 3:50am, 6:35am.

Route 23 will depart from Wallsend at 3:40am, 3:45am, 3:50am and 4am with departures from Queens Wharf 6:15am, 6:20am, 6:25am, 6:35am.

A special ANZAC event route 14S service will also be operating via Belmont, Jewells, Charlestown then Adamstown to Queens Wharf.

Route 14S will be departing from Swansea at 3:20am, 3:30am, 3:40am and 6:25am with departures from Queens Wharf at 6:15am, 6:20am, 6:25am and 6:35am.

Newcastle Lord Mayor Nuatali Nelmes said she commends Keolis Downer for putting on extra services to ensure the event runs smoothly.

2017 Nobbys Dawn Service March. Photo: Newcastle Council.

Stage Two of the Nobby's Refurbishment Project ready to Get Underway

BY JESSICA ROUSE

The next stage of refurbishment works at Nobby's Beach are about to get underway.

Newcastle City Council announced Stage 2 of the works today for the Nobby's Pavilion area including an assisted-change room with a toilet, shower, basin and bench.

Among the other additions are a new lift and change amenities to better assist those with mobility challenges.

The public domain improvements include three external shower towers with 12 showers on new draining platforms, an access ramp from Bathers Way to the lower promenade and more seats and benches.

Image courtesy NCC.

The change-rooms are gone and will be replaced with more toilets and showers, which despite beachgoer uproar, council says is a better deal.

"The improvements we're seeing down there have been I think quite well accepted  by the community considering we've increased the toilet facilities, more accessible change rooms, so when the works are finished there I think people will be really please like they have been with the whole Bathers Way Project," said Lord Mayor Nuatali Nelmes.

The facilities will house seven female and five male cubicles, plus two urinals for men and two ambulant stalls and external wash basins for passers-by.

Council said they're making sure everything is built for use well into the future.

"We were always planning to make sure that the change rooms that we built met current standards and the current standards, we went over and above current standards. We've been sourcing particularly high-grade steel and metal for the disabled lift," Lord Mayor Nelmes.

It's all part of the $1.7 million improvement project funded by the NSW Government through the Newcastle Port Community Contribution fund, Nobbys Surf Life Saving Club, Newcastle City Council and NSWSLSA and Department of Family and Community Services through the SLSA NSW Community Inclusion Project. 

Image courtesy NCC.

The day Newcastle stood still.

BY JESSICA ROUSE

Mother nature is a force to be reckoned with, and it was certainly the case on this day ten years ago when the Pasha Bulker came to rest on the sand of Nobbys Beach.

Novocastrians woke on Friday June 8th 2007 to what appeared to be another common dreary day, but as the day wore on, winds picked up to 110km/hr and swells of 10 metres lashed the coastline.

The 40,000-tonne Panamanian carrier the Pasha Bulker was caught in the ferocious winds and rain along the coast. The captain ignored warnings to head back out to sea and then consequently failed to fight against the massive swells, leaving the Pasha Bulker grounded at Nobbys Beach.

Image abc.net.au

Former Nobbys Surf Life Saving President Dave Edwards saw the awesome moment the unthinkable happened to the Pasha Bulker and says any further north and the carrier would've been grounded on the rocks of the breakwater for good.

"I was going that way home so I thought I'll go and make sure everything was secure in the surf club and as I drove past Newcastle baths I saw the Pasha Bulker behind the baths there and it got pretty close but it never locked into my brain how close she was because I was more intent on getting around to the surf club to secure the surf club," said Dave.

He saw the propeller start to grab the water and move the boat, but it wasn't strong enough, "and then it started to come across the bay towards the surf club and I thought it was going to come through the doors of the surf club at one stage there. It came across the bay there and I thought oh no it's going to land right in the Southern quarter and come through the doors of the surf club, but then a couple more big waves washed it ashore where she ended up."

Every man and his dog flocked to the foreshore to see the unbelievable sight, along with a vast media contingent including former Newcastle radio journalist Loren Cousins who covered the story from the moment the Pasha Bulker hit the sand and still can't believe what she witnessed.

"It kind of just loomed up out of the waves, this huge coal ship and you just couldn't believe it was so close to the shore. It was just water and spray from the surf crashing all over it - it was actually incredible," said Loren.

"It just looked like an enormous site, this big ship just getting through across into the waves starting to break on the back of Nobbys Reef. Certainly, when you see a big red ship getting blown backwards its just I can't get it out of my brain, I'll take it to the day I die that image in my brain," said Dave.

Image Robert Rouse

The Newcastle Westpac Rescue Helicopter was called in to bring all 22 of the crew to the shore in what were almost cyclonic conditions on the deck of the carrier.

The big red ship spent 24 days grounded on the sand and it took three attempts over five nights to drag her back out to sea.

"I think I was on the phone at the time and at one stage there were a few different tries I seem to recall, but eventually you saw this tugboat going down towards Merewether Beach way and then you saw this huge coal ship just gliding along in the darkness," said Loren.

While a lot of what we remember was on Nobbys Beach that day, flooding and strong winds left much of the Hunter absolutely devastated and changed many communities lives forever.

Nine people lost their lives and the region was officially declared to be in a state of emergency.