State Dockyard

The State Dockyard was a ship building and maintenance facility operated by the Government of New South Wales in Carrington, Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia between 1942 and 1987.

History
In 1942, the State Dockyard opened on the site of the Government Dockyard at Dyke Point in Newcastle that had closed in 1933. Officially the New South Wales Government Engineering & Shipbuilding Undertaking, it was universally referred to as the State Dockyard. The dockyard facility was located at Carrington on Newcastle Harbour, on 11 ha of land in addition to the ship repairs site on 3 ha.

The dockyard launched its first vessel in July 1943. By the end of World War II, it had launched two ships for the Royal Australian Navy and 22 vessels for the United States and had repaired six hundred ships.

With the cessation of large scale shipbuilding, in the 1970s it diversified into other engineering disciplines. In November 1986 a team of apprentices from the Hunter Valley Training Company completed a three-year overhaul of steam locomotive 3801 at the dockyard. The dockyard closed on 3 March 1987.

A 15,000 ton floating dock was located at Carrington in 1943 to repair damaged ships during World War II. The floating dock was scrapped in 1977 and replaced with a new one built in Japan called Muloobinba, which was eventually sold overseas in 2012.

Ships built
• HMAS Strahan (1943)

• HMAS Condamine (K698) (1944)

• SS Dorrigo (1946)

• SS Dubbo (1947)

• SS Delungra (1947)

• SS Denman (1949)

• MV Dongarra/Kabbarli (1950)

• SS Townsville (1952)

• MV Woomera (1952)

• MV Wangarra (1953)

• MV Warringa/Windarra (1953)

• MV Kooleen (1956)

• MV Koojarra (1956)

• MV Iranda (1957)

• MS Princess of Tasmania (1959)

• MV Bass Trader (1961)

• MV Cape Don (1962) Lighthouse supply vessel

• Dredge John Main (1962) For NSW Public Works.

• MV Cape Moreton (1963) Lighthouse supply vessel

• MV Moresby (1963) For Burns Philp to and from New Guinea

• HMAS Moresby (1963)

• MV Cape Pillar (1964) Lighthouse supply vessel

• MV Kooringa (1964)

• MT BP Endeavour (1967)

• MT BP Enterprise (1968)

• MV Australian Trader (1969)

• MV Darwin Trader (1970)

• Dredge Geopodes (1971) For a Dutch Dredging company.

• Dredge WD Resolution (1971) For Westminster Dredging company.

• MV Lysaght Endeavour (1973)

• MV Lysaght Enterprise (1973)

• MT Express (1974) For Howard Smith

• MT John Hunter (1975) For Caltex

• MV Bass Trader 11 (1976)

• MV Flinders Range (1976)

• MV Selwyn Range (1977)

• MV Freshwater (1982 Yard no. 105)

• MV Queenscliff (1983) (1983 Yard no. 106 and the final vessel built)

• Lady-class ferries

• * MV Lady Cutler (1968)

• * MV Lady Woodward (1970)

• * MV Lady McKell (1970)

• * MV Lady Street (1979)

• * MV Lady Herron (1979)

After closure
In 2007 the outline of the painted "STATE DOCKYARD" sign on southern roof of the former dockyard building could still be viewed from above.

Surviving ships
As of December 2023, the surviving State Dockyard built ships still in service are the Manly ferries MV Freshwater and MV Queenscliff (1983), which are operated by the Sydney Ferries franchisee Transdev Sydney Ferries. Former Sydney Harbour ferries Lady Cutler and Lady McKell operate as cruise boats on Port Phillip.

Surviving non-operating or stored ships built by State Dockyard, are Cape Don, a lighthouse tender built in 1962 for the Commonwealth Lighthouse Service which is now a museum ship at Balls Head Bay, Waverton and the ex-Sydney Inner-harbour ferry Lady Herron, which is currently laid up in Newcastle.