It's the Illawarra's dirty little secret, a diamond in the rough. From industrial hub to tourist destination, could Port Kembla be the next Bondi?
Port Kembla has endured a tainted past from excessive pollution to prostitution, though people’s fascination with the industrial suburb on the Illawarra coast has not waned.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
From books, to television projects, art and tourism surrounding the suburb, many believe it is on the cusp of a boom.
A resurgence in love for the port in recent years has made its similarities to Sydney’s “it suburb” Bondi – where tens of thousands of people flock to every weekend – more apparent.
Bondi Beach was a working class suburb through most of the last century with immigrants comprising the majority of the local population. It still has a large number of residents from New Zealand, Asia and Pacific Island backgrounds.
Migration funded and drove the growth of the suburb throughout the ‘90s into the turn of the century, according to Waverley Council.
Between 1993-97, around 40 per cent of their residents were born overseas, while around 25 per cent were born in non-English speaking countries.
The population growth and coveted coastline steadily pushed Bondi from working class roots towards to an upper/middle class enclave. Now it’s one of the most visited tourist sites in Australia.
Both suburbs also share ties to World War II history, surf life saving, coastal activities and a booming property sector.
Author of the recently released Port Kembla: A Memoir, Pam Menzies, left Port Kembla with her family as teenager during the 1960s.
They left due to the pollution from the Electrolytic Refining and Smelting plant, and at the time she couldn’t wait to get away.
“A lot of people left then,” she said. “It was killing us, really, and it gave everybody bronchitis and asthma and it was making everybody sick ... the sulphuric acid, we just don’t talk about it any more.
“I’ve had this strange rejection [but] now I’m falling in love again with this little town.”
The author said since the smelting plant closed and pollution eased, renewed faith was put back into the town.
“They built a beautiful new school and they built a beautiful new pool, so the government has heard them [the residents] and realised this poor neglected little place does need some new clothes,” Mrs Menzies said.
In 2013 the median house price for Port Kembla was $349,500, according to Australian Property Monitors. It has since more than doubled to $755,000 in 2019 – though some properties with beach views have sold well in excess of $1,500,000.
“You stand up the top of Wentworth Street and the smoke belters out of the coke ovens … it’s like some really weird monster, then you look the other way and you see the sea and the sky,” Mrs Menzies said.
“It’s this incredible contrast between this old, almost dinosaur-like industry and incredibly natural beauty. It’s a really interesting place.”
As heavy labour and manufacturing cease or move out of the area, the NSW Government and Wollongong City Council are trying to be proactive in revitalising the suburb through the Port Kembla Community Investment Fund.
Funding has already been granted for upgrades to sporting facilities, history projects, rehabilitation of the wetlands and exploring tourism opportunities.
Tourism to the area has already been boosted with the advent of cruise ships regularly visiting the port and most recently the introduction of guided tours of the BlueScope steelworks.
The suburb could soon be home to new initiatives such as a an ocean crossing zip-line between the mainland (at Hill 60) and one of the adjacent islands, plus a recreational marine hub for divers and boaters.
The recommendations are two of several opportunities suggested in the recently released Port Kembla Destination Development Plan, by Destination Wollongong and Cardno.
“Transformation projects are visionary (sometimes a little scary), but aim to break the perceived glass ceiling and accelerate change,” DW general manager Mark Sleigh said.
Other initiatives suggested in the report include: a surf based eco tourism resort around the Coomadtichie lagoon; the World War II Illowra battery tunnels and bunkers at Hill 60 repurposed into a regional arts and education museum; and converting warehouse space into a digital film studio.
“Port Kembla’s rich and vibrant history – reserved Indigenous heritage, embraced multiculturalism, a dynamic creative community and local passion like nowhere else in the region, not to mention one of the most stunning community pool and beach precincts in the country – all of these unique characteristics, visitors love to embrace and experience,” Mr Sleigh said.
Bulli film-maker, writer and musician Greg Appel is currently working on a half-hour documentary about Wentworth Street and its people, similar to a previous project he’d worked on about King Street in Newtown.
This February the Wonderwalls Festival which celebrates street art will be relocated to Port Kembla from Wollongong, with Australian and International artists installing 10 giant murals.
Organisers have told the Mercury they hope brighten up the industrial suburb and give people a reason to visit.
Colin Blake, managing director of Verb Syndicate who run Wonderwalls, said they wanted to take part in the “momentum for change” in the port community.
“I love the idea there is cruise ships and tourism being driven directly into the Illawarra and Port Kembla being that first point of call and first image international tourists can have,” he said.
“If what we do can play a role and help leave an amazing first impression, then that’s pretty exciting.”
Anne-Louise Rentell has long had a love for Port Kembla, stemming back to 2004 when she began organising The Vault Cabaret.
Her devotion resulted in the Where Lies Beauty website, collating the findings of a research project into the people of Port Kembla plus the history and stories of Wentworth Street.
Ms Rentell believes the suburb holds fascination for people because it is so unique.
“It’s a distinctive place, an identity embedded in the natural beauty of its beaches, and its particular history of colonisation and industrialisation evident in the architectural eclecticism of the main street,” she said.
“It’s also a very artistic community I don’t think I’ve met people more connected and committed to the development and betterment of the place they live through grass roots projects and creativity.
“I can only hope that any ongoing development of the suburb enhances, grows and supports these qualities, it’s what makes the place special.”
Bondi may have never housed a copper stack or coke oven, but its grassroots were similar to its southerly neighbour. It could be only a matter of time until Port Kembla becomes one of Australia’s most sought after destinations.