Historical Waratah gasworks site
The State has appointed Property NSW as the most appropriate agency to manage the remediation of the historic Waratah Gasworks site.
Property NSW is currently reviewing all existing material and information and will work with all stakeholders, including residents, landholders, the EPA and City of Newcastle, to determine and implement the appropriate remediation strategy.
The health and safety of the residents involved is our greatest priority. Additional testing may be required to ensure the full extent of the historic gasworks’ impact on the land is understood.
Property NSW will liaise directly with residents and landholders to ensure stakeholders are kept up to date as investigations progress and consultation occurs.
Contact
- Specific health advice: Your doctor
- General health information: Hunter New England Local Health District: 1300 066 055
- Other contamination information: NSW EPA Environment Line: 13 15 55
Land contamination
Site contamination exists in most urbanised areas in the Australia, and Newcastle is no exception, particularly suburbs on or near former industrial land. Like all industrialised cities, Newcastle has contaminated sites that are the direct result of historical practices such as gasworks. Over 60 former gasworks sites have been identified in NSW, including five sites in Newcastle.
The City of Newcastle has completed an environmental investigation at the site of an historical gasworks in Waratah. We initiated the investigation in mid-2016, after advice from the NSW Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) that a former gasworks may have operated on land bounded by Ellis, Turton and Georgetown roads.
Our records did not contain evidence of any former gasworks at this location, but a review of historical sources confirmed that a gasworks operated at this site in Waratah from 1889 to 1926. The investigation aimed to better understand the nature and extent of potential gasworks related contamination present at the site, and what mitigation measures, if any, may be required to address potential risks.