Brett Thomas July 30, 2015
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| Sydney Harbour Control Tower will be demolished from its iconic place at Barangaroo. Source: News Corp Australia |
THE 82m-high Sydney Harbour Control Tower at Barangaroo has been consigned to the scrap yard.
The tower, which stood watch over Sydney Harbour from 1974-2011 to enable a 24-hour a day supervision of shipping movements, is now considered an eyesore as the Barangaroo development transforms the former port zone into a millionaire’s playground.
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| A recent picture of the completed Barangaroo Point reserve with the tower now considered an eyesore. Sou rce: Supplied |
The NSW Government approved a development application from the Barangaroo Delivery Authority to remove the former Harbour Control Tower today. The BDA application seeks to remove the tower in order to achieve a naturalistic form and character for the reserve that is consistent with the site’s concept plan.
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| The view from the controller’s level inside the Harbour Control Tower before it was decommissioned. Source: News Limited |
It will be replaced by “an interpretative historical display”, focusing on maritime history and Millers Point.
The approval follows a decision by the Heritage Minister to not list the tower on the State Heritage Register.
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| The view across the city towards the Opera House and beyond from the controller’s level. Source: News Limited |
The Office of Environment and Heritage had previously described the tower as being of state significance “for its pre-eminent role in the history and maritime operation of the Port of Sydney”.
“The Tower demonstrates 35 years of 24/7 operation in the Port of Sydney from 1974-2009 as the Port Operations and Communications Centre providing supervisory control over the many thousands of shipping movements in Sydney Harbour every year,” the Office said in its previous listing of the tower as a heritage site.
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The controller’s room showing the distinctive angled windows at the top of the tower. Source: News Limited
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| Even the bathroom had a view of the western side of Sydney Harbour. Source: News Limited |
The tower, at the northern end of Barangaroo, has been gathering dust since Sydney Ports relocated its harbour control operations to Port Botany in May 2011. Plans for the tower were drawn up in 1972 after two ships collided in the shipping channel near Millers Point.
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| This image taken in 2002 shows the view of the old working port area which has now been completely transformed into Barangaroo Point reserve. |
