Catherine Hill Bay Coal Loader Jetty
This was an interesting visit I saw the jetty from above and below. Also had a quick look at the Catherine Hill Bay Surf Life Saving Club and the old anchor out the back
and finished off with a drive past the Catho Pub.
YouTube Video
Ship wrecks Catherine Hill Bay & Naming of the Bay
“On Friday 21st June 1867 the ship Catherine Hill ran aground on a beach between Bird Island Point and Lake Macquarie, during a fierce gale. The beach and bay where the shipwreck occurred was later named Catherine Hill Bay in commemoration of the wreck.” Source Facebook group see link below.
Note this group has a good history of all the shipwrecks on this link/page if you are interested, it is definitely worth a read.
Images & Links for Coal Loader
https://livinghistories.newcastle.edu.au/nodes/view/10022
https://livinghistories.newcastle.edu.au/nodes/view/45099
History of Lake Mac Site – Loading Ship Conara
Loading the ship, Conara at the Catherine Hill Bay Jetty. The third jetty was replaced within a year of the 1974 cyclone that destroyed the second jetty. The third jetty was a steel and concrete structure with the piles on the far side being raked for extra strength. Ships did not tie up at the jetty but were held off by a series of chains picked up on the sea bed by the ship’s anchor.
History.lakemac.com.au – see link below
https://history.lakemac.com.au/page-local-history.aspx?pid=1085&vid=20&tmpt=showmedia&objid=25441
Catherine Hill Bay Surf Life Saving Club Sign
