Authors: Dr Sue Rosen and Dr Sid French

Client: National Parks and Wildlife Service

A small portion of the wharf broaches Goat Island proper, it is for the most part adjacent to the state listed Lot 3  DP 837195 comprising Goat Island. The wharf is now structurally unsound and a marine hazard. The 2007 Goat island Wharves Conservation Management Strategy concluded that Wharf 52A and B were of medium or local significance, stating:

This [Wharf 52 A and B] is the second major wharf in this location, built as a free standing broadside wharf. It is of typical mid-century construction, forms part of the continuous wharfage at the northern end of the island and has some visual value as part of the northern wharf group. It also continues to have some operational value as part of the NPWS operation of the island.

Wharf 52 A is, in fact, only half of the original wharf constructed in 1942-1944, the other half, Wharf 52B, was demolished in 2008.  By 2011, the Goat Island CMP found that wharf 52A was not significant. The fabric’s structural integrity has further deteriorated since that assessment.