Geelong, Cairns, Newcastle
and Hobart are among the
cities stepping up ship access,
facilities and activities for
cruise passengers.
SMALLER cities around Australia are jumping
on the cruise bandwagon with new ways to
entice world-class ships, according to Cruise
Down Under, an organisation representing
regional ports and tourism bodies.
Geelong, in Victoria, has committed $5m to
the redevelopment of Yarra Street Pier to make
the arrival and docking process safer and easier.
At present, visiting ships use a swing mooring
and have to tender passengers ashore.
The proposal provides adequate berthing for
large ships and involves dredging an approach
channel to enable access to the new pier.
The Royal Geelong Yacht Club has also
pledged $2.5 million for the project, while the
city’s council is lobbying the State and Federal
Government to fund the balance.
The City of Greater Geelong anticipates the
number of cruise ships visiting the region to
grow to 25 annually by 2025.
Cairns has also commenced a shipping
channel expansion project, which will see
shipping access to the port expanded to cater
for mega cruise ships up to Voyager Class by 2016.
The project will widen the existing 90m
channel to 140m and increase its depth from
8.3m to 9.4m, while also improving the wharf
structure.
In NSW, Newcastle Port Corporation recently
completed a dredging program that has
increased the depth of the cruise berth to
9.7m, which will allow the berth to be more
accessible to the larger cruise ships now
deployed to the Australian region.
A new ‘meet & greet’ initiative this cruise
season has also seen the introduction of an Art
Bazaar held at Newcastle Museum specifically
for cruise ship visits.
In NT, Darwin has doubled its capacity to
receive cruise ships, with a $21m
infrastructure upgrade to the Stokes Hill
Wharf, which is now able to accommodate
ships up to 30,000GT and 200 metres long.
Stokes Hill Wharf housed the original Darwin
Cruise Ship Terminal until Fort Hill Wharf was
opened in 2008.
Passengers arriving at Stokes Hill Wharf can
use a coach rank, shuttle bus pick-up and
drop-off as well as the local restaurants and
cafes.
Tourism Victoria has also put together new
itineraries in the Yarra Valley aimed at families
and in Mornington Peninsula and Daylesford
for high-end passengers.
