The State Dockyard was a ship building and maintenance facility operated by the Government of New South Wales in

Carrington Carrington and Carington are surnames originating from one of the Carringtons in England, or from the town of Carentan in Normandy, France. It is also rarely a given name. Surname Scientists * Alan Carrington (1934–2013), British chemist *Benj ...

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

, Australia between 1942 and 1987.

History

In 1942, the State Dockyard opened on the site of the Government Dockyard at Dyke Point in

that had closed in 1933. Officially the New South Wales Government Engineering & Shipbuilding Undertaking, it was universally referred to as the State Dockyard. The dockyard facility was located at

on Newcastle Harbour, on of land in addition to the ship repairs site on . The dockyard launched its first vessel in July 1943. By the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, it had launched two ships for the

Royal Australian Navy The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the principal naval force of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (CN) Vice Admiral Mark Hammond AM, RAN. CN is also jointly responsible to the Minister of ...

and 22 vessels for the United States and had repaired six hundred ships. With the cessation of large scale shipbuilding, in the 1970s it diversified into other engineering disciplines. In November 1986 a team of apprentices from the Hunter Valley Training Company completed a three-year overhaul of steam locomotive

3801 3801 (pronounced Thirty-eight o-one) is a 4-6-2 steam locomotive operated by the New South Wales Government Railways between 1943 and 1974. It is arguably Australia's most famous steam locomotive, being the only one to have visited all mainla ...

at the dockyard. The dockyard closed on 3 March 1987. A 15,000 ton floating dock was located at Carrington in 1943 to repair damaged ships during World War II. The floating dock was scrapped in 1977 and replaced with a new one built in Japan called Muloobinba, which was eventually sold overseas in 2012.

Ships built

After closure

In 2007 the outline of the painted "STATE DOCKYARD" sign on southern roof of the former dockyard building could still be viewed from above.

Surviving ships

As of 2014, the surviving State Dockyard built ships are ''Cape Don'', a

lighthouse tender A lighthouse tender is a ship specifically designed to maintain, support, or tend to lighthouses or lightvessels, providing supplies, fuel, mail, and transportation. In the United States, these ships originally served as part of the Lightho ...

built in 1962 for the Commonwealth Lighthouse Service which is now a museum ship at Balls Head Bay, Waverton. The ferries ''Freshwater'' and ''Collaroy'' continue to operate for Transdev Sydney Ferries. ''Narrabeen'' is in storage awaiting new engines. It is unknown if it will ever return to active service. ''Queenscliff'' was decommissioned on October 13 and has been stored ever since. Former Sydney Harbour ferries ''Lady Cutler'' and ''Lady McKell'' operate as cruise boats on

Port Phillip Port Phillip (Kulin: ''Narm-Narm'') or Port Phillip Bay is a horsehead-shaped enclosed bay on the central coast of southern Victoria, Australia. The bay opens into the Bass Strait via a short, narrow channel known as The Rip, and is completel ...

. Lady Herron and Lady Northcott are in store at Transdev Sydney Ferries facility at Balmain. Lady Woodward has been converted to a private houseboat and is located at Tin Can Bay.

References

External links

Miramar Ship Index - fuller, though incomplete, production list (subscription required)

Flickr gallery
{{Hunter Region places and items of interest History of Newcastle, New South Wales Shipbuilding companies of Australia 1942 establishments in Australia 1987 disestablishments in Australia Shipyards of New South Wales