Official Reopening of Urangan PierPrint Page

The plaque commemorates the official re-opening of the restored Urangan Pier in 1999. 

Urangan Pier is a former deep-water, cargo-handling facility originally built to facilitate the export of sugar, timber and coal. The pier, served by the extension of the railway line from Pialba, was used for the transfer of cargo between rail and ships. After the last ship docked at the Urangan pier in January 1985, Caltex Oil reversed the process of storage, replacing the system of fuel service from shipping to bulk supply by rail from the Pinkenba and Colmslie port terminals in Brisbane. This, in turn, led to the closure of the pier and the Urangan branch line, as neither had a use anymore. At this stage, the pier was in serious need of repairs. A decision was made by the Queensland Government to dismantle the entire pier. Due to large public outcry, rallying and petitions, the demolition of the pier was stopped. In late 1985, the Queensland Government handed the pier to the Hervey Bay City Council. The council pledged to restore the pier, which began in the late 1990s. Restoration included removing the rail tracks from the pier, encasing the wooden pylons with steel, repairing sleepers, repairing hand rails, and repairing lights.

In 1999, the pier was restored to a length of 868 meters. It was officially re-opened by the then-governor of Queensland and the mayor of Hervey Bay, Peter Arnison and Bill Brennan (respectively) on 27 November 1999. By 2009 the last 220-metre section of the pier had been fully restored, and the original timber pylons had been replaced with steel pylons with a plastic covering.

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