Port of Clarence
Coastal shipping was vitally important to the European settlers in the transport of goods and people along the coastline of New South Wales and between the colonies.
While inland river transport rapidly declined after completion of the trunk railway lines in the 1880s the coastal rivers remained vital to commerce for almost another half-century.
Coastal engineering works were essential to the efficiency of this trade and involved improving the entrances to the rivers through training, establishing and maintaining navigable channels by dredging, and erecting lighthouses and signal stations at dangerous points along the coastline.
The Port of Clarence was constructed over 109 years – from 1862 to 1971, with different construction techniques used over that period. Construction works used locally quarried rock for training walls and breakwater construction, and towards the end, 40 tonne concrete blocks for the breakwaters.
While the works authorised by the Clarence Harbour Works Act and constructed from 1950 to 1971 partly implemented the proposal for a ‘Deep sea’ export port, development of the port of Newcastle for wheat export in the 1960s effectively ended that proposal.
The Port of Clarence demonstrates the evolution of both coastal engineering design and engineering construction techniques between the mid-19th century and the mid-20th century, and the implementation of hydraulic modelling techniques for NSW.
Engineering Heritage Recognition Program
| Marker Type | Engineering Heritage Marker (EHM) |
| Award Date | 1 December 2012 |
| Heritage Significance | The Port of Clarence was significant in the development of coastal engineering knowledge and practice in NSW. Prior to the development of scientific hydraulic modelling techniques, it was the test location to determine what could be done in providing safe passage to the entrances of the rivers. |
| Nomination Document | Available here. |
| Ceremony Booklet Ceremony Report |
Not available |
| Plaque/Interpretation Panel Image | Draft August 2023 Available here. |
