Swanson Dock is an international shipping facility in

Melbourne, Victoria Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

, Australia. It was constructed between 1966 and 1972 by the

Melbourne Harbor Trust The Melbourne Harbor Trust was established in 1877 to improve and operate port facilities for the growing city of Melbourne. It was superseded by the Port of Melbourne Authority in 1978 and later by the Port of Melbourne Corporation. Creation ...

, leading off the north bank of the

Yarra River The Yarra River or historically, the Yarra Yarra River, ( Kulin languages: ''Berrern'', ''Birr-arrung'', ''Bay-ray-rung'', ''Birarang'', ''Birrarung'', and ''Wongete'') is a perennial river in south-central Victoria, Australia. The lower s ...

, to alleviate congestion in the port and provide the first container shipping terminal in Melbourne. It is located about 2 km downstream from the Melbourne CBD and was named after Victor Swanson, chairman of the Melbourne Harbor Trust from 1960 to 1972.

History

The construction of Spencer Street bridge over the

in 1929 reduced the capacity of the riverside wharves, and led to expansion downstream of port facilities initially with

Appleton Dock Appleton Dock is an international shipping facility in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It was opened in about 1956 by the Melbourne Harbor Trust, and is named after MHT commissioner William Thomas Appleton (1859-1930), who was a staunch advocate ...

. Swanson Dock was constructed in 1968 on the former

Coode Island Coode Island is a former island at the convergence of the Yarra and Maribyrnong Rivers, 4 km west of central Melbourne, Australia. The island was formed by the excavation of the Coode Canal in 1887, and became connected to the mainlan ...

as Melbourne's first all-container shipping terminal, reflecting the rapid world-wide change at the beginning of the 1960s, from unit cargo where each product was loaded in different forms of packaging, to shipping cargo in uniform sized containers. Swanson Dock was officially opened on 7 March 1969, by the

Governor of Victoria The governor of Victoria is the representative of the monarch, King Charles III, in the Australian state of Victoria. The governor is one of seven viceregal representatives in the country, analogous to the governors of the other states, and t ...

, Sir

Rohan Delacombe Major General Sir Rohan Delacombe, (25 October 1906 – 10 November 1991) was a senior British Army officer. He was the last British Governor of Victoria, Australia from 1963 to 1974. Early life Delacombe was born in St. Julian's, Malta, on 25 ...

, during the 6th biennial conference of the

International Association of Ports and Harbors The International Association of Ports and Harbors (IAPH) is the global trade association for seaports worldwide. It is headquarters, headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. Formed in 1955, it is now recognised as the NGO representing ports worldwide. With ...

, which was hosted by the Melbourne Harbor Trust. The first international ship to dock (at No 1 West Berth) was the ''Encounter Bay''. Port-of-melbourne-freight-train

Operation

Swanson Dock East has a berth length of serviced by six container cranes with of container storage and roadways and rail siding. Swanson Dock West has of wharves with seven container cranes and of space, with the potential to expand as trade grows. Swanson Dock East and West can accommodate the largest container ships trading with Australia. Railway goods sidings serve both Swanson Dock East and West, permitting the transfer of shipping containers between sea and rail transport. Originally provided in the 1960s with the development of the port, they were later removed. Rail facilities were restored between 2002 and 2003 with a new 1500 metre long siding and overpasses to separate road traffic. Swanson dock picket 19980420 pan

Swanson Dock was one site of the

1998 Australian waterfront dispute The Australian waterfront dispute of 1998 was an event in Australian industrial relations history, in which the Patrick Corporation undertook a restructuring of their operations for the purpose of dismissing their workforce. The restructuring by ...

when dockworkers were locked out by

Patrick Stevedores Patrick Corporation is an Australian seaport operator with operations in Brisbane, Fremantle, Melbourne and Sydney. Formerly listed on the Australian Securities Exchange, it is owned by Brookfield Asset Management and Qube Holdings. History P ...

, and replaced with non-union labour. The

Maritime Union of Australia The Maritime Union of Australia (MUA) was a union which covered waterside workers, seafarers, port workers, professional divers, and office workers associated with Australian ports. The MUA was formed in 1993 with merger of the Seamen's Unio ...

workers picketing East Swanson dock invited

Wendy Lowenstein Wendy Lowenstein (born Katherin Wendy Robertson Lowenstein; 1927—2006) was an Australian historian, author, and teacher notable for her recording of people's everyday experiences and her advocacy of social activism. She pioneered oral history ...

to record them "making history", which was incorporated into a second edition of her book ''Under the Hook''.

History

Operation

See also

References

Further reading