Urangan Pier

Urangan Pier
Urangan Pier
	Urangan Pier on Christmas 2013
Coordinates	25°16′46″S 152°54′21″E / 25.2794°S 152.9058°E
Carries	Pedestrians ; Used to carry trains & produce
Locale	Urangan, Queensland, Australia
Characteristics
Design	Pier
Material	Timber
Total length	868 metres (2,848 ft)
History
Construction start	1913
Construction end	1917
Closed	1985 (for commercial use)
Location

Urangan Pier is a historic pier in Urangan, Hervey Bay, Queensland, Australia.

It is a former deep-water, cargo-handling facility originally built to facilitate the export of sugar, timber and coal. The pier, served by the extension of the

railway line from Pialba,^[1]

was used for the transfer of cargo between rail and ships. It was built between 1913 and 1917,

Fraser Coast Regional Council).^[3]^[4]

By 2009 the last 220-metre section of the pier had been fully restored, and the original timber pylons had been replaced with steel pylons with a plastic covering.[3]

History

The original proposal to establish Urangan as a coal port for the

Wide Bay area was a chief producer of produce and freight, the Queensland Government made a decision to build a pier at Hervey Bay

.

A plaque at the Urangan Pier; placed in 1999, commemorating the re-opening of the Urangan Pier.

Construction on the Urangan Pier began in 1913. To reach the deep water channel, it was required to extend 1.1 kilometres (0.68 mi) (3690 ft) out to sea. Construction was very slow and finished in 1917. The Urangan railway line also began construction in 1913 and branched off the main railway line at

Pialba. This line was extended along the Urangan Pier as it was being constructed. Once it was completed, it served as one of the main ports of Queensland.

Urangan Pier Project Notice

Sugar was one of the main exports, however had to be transported from as far north as

Bundaberg Port

was built in 1958, it took over sugar exports and the Urangan pier ceased exporting sugar.^[5] Timber, general cargo and produce was still exported until 1960, when Caltex built an oil terminal adjacent to the Pier. Soon after this was built, freight, goods and produce exports were stopped and fuel became the only import from the pier.

After the last ship docked at the Urangan pier in January 1985, Caltex Oil reversed the process of storage, replacing the system of fuel service from Shipping to bulk supply by rail from the

Hervey Bay City Council

. The council pledged to restore the pier, which began in the late 1990s. Restoration included removing the rail tracks from the pier, encasing the wooden pylons with steel, repairing sleepers, repairing hand rails, and repairing lights.

In 1999, the pier was restored to a length of 868 meters. It was officially re-opened by the then-governor of Queensland and the mayor of Hervey Bay, Peter Arnison and Bill Brennan (respectively) on 27 November 1999.^[6]

Urangan Pier model

A model of the pier was made by Mr Harry Coxon in 1917, the same year the original pier was constructed. It is a significant artefact in the Hervey Bay Historical Village & Museum's collection. Two new models are on display in the Hervey Bay Tourism Visitor Centre and in the Hervey Bay Whale Watch office at the Boat Harbour Marina.^[7]

Urangan Pier Festival

The first Pier Festival was held in 1986 to help raise funds to save Urangan Pier. Since then it has become a popular fishing competition held annually in September.^[3]

Pier to Pub Swim

Pier to Pub Ocean Swim Classic is an annual swimming competition held in April since 1999. The 3.4-kilometre (2.1 mi) swim is from Urangan Pier to the jetty opposite the Torquay Hotel, while the 1.6-kilometre (1 mi) short swim, called Splash for Cash, is from the corner of the Esplanade and Alexander Street to the jetty opposite the Torquay Hotel.

References

^ "Hervey Bay History". Innovation Herveybay. Archived from the original on 26 September 2009. Retrieved 19 March 2010.
^ "Urangan Point State School, Block D (entry 601375)". Queensland Heritage Register. Queensland Heritage Council. Retrieved 23 March 2010.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Part of Urangan Pier to be Closed". Hervey Bay Gossip. 1 March 2009. Archived from the original on 12 March 2010. Retrieved 19 March 2010.
^ "Urangan Pier". ozimages. Archived from the original on 8 March 2009. Retrieved 19 March 2010.
^ "Millaquin Mill". Archived from the original on 12 March 2012. Retrieved 8 November 2015.
^ Pier history, Hervey Bay, Australia. Retrieved 27 June 2012.
^ "Urangan Pier Model". ABC. Retrieved 19 March 2010.

External links

[1] "Hervey Bay History". Innovation Herveybay. Archived from the original on 26 September 2009. Retrieved 19 March 2010.

[2] "Urangan Point State School, Block D (entry 601375)". Queensland Heritage Register. Queensland Heritage Council. Retrieved 23 March 2010.

[Hervey_Bay_Gossip-3] "Part of Urangan Pier to be Closed". Hervey Bay Gossip. 1 March 2009. Archived from the original on 12 March 2010. Retrieved 19 March 2010.

[4] "Urangan Pier". ozimages. Archived from the original on 8 March 2009. Retrieved 19 March 2010.

[5] "Millaquin Mill". Archived from the original on 12 March 2012. Retrieved 8 November 2015.

[Information_board_at_the_Pier-6] Pier history, Hervey Bay, Australia. Retrieved 27 June 2012.

[7] "Urangan Pier Model". ABC. Retrieved 19 March 2010.

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