Coal Loader Strategic Management Plan

The Coal Loader is a unique heritage-listed 2.8ha public parkland site on Cammeraygal Country, Waverton Peninsula. It is surrounded by Balls Head Bay on the western side, Balls Head Reserve to the south and Berrys Bay to the east and has unparalleled views of Sydney Harbour.

Only a 10-minute walk from Waverton Station, this peninsula is a haven for wildlife and communities, where many paths of history intersect.

Before colonial dispossession of their ancestral lands, the Cammeraygal people lived on the peninsula for thousands of years, cared for Country, and practised their culture. The area and its waterways have remained significant for Aboriginal people of the Sydney coastal region.

From the early 1920s to 1992, the site operated as a coal transfer depot, moving coal from bulk carriers to smaller coal-fired vessels and later for export, before being decommissioned. The community strongly advocated for the site to become public parkland. In 1997, the NSW Government declared the Coal Loader public open space. Now managed by North Sydney Council, the Coal Loader is enjoyed by locals, Sydneysiders and international visitors around the clock.

Council planners worked to redesign the site into a place where the community could gather, enjoy nature, and celebrate the site's cultural and working harbour values. Sustainability is a big focus of the site’s redesign, with solar and water-saving technologies and sustainable building materials showcased. The vision for the Coal Loader is to operate a high-quality facility that will educate and inspire the wider community to put sustainable living ideas into practice

The Coal Loader Centre for Sustainability is an ongoing Council service providing educational activities, tours, events and on-ground facilities to support and lead the way towards a more sustainable future.

The site also includes hireable spaces, a café, The Sydney Library of Things, an Artists Studio, and SES premises.

The site and surrounding harbour are also home to diverse wildlife, including one of Sydney’s largest populations of microbats.

Visit The Coal Loader – North Sydney Council

The Coal Loader Strategic Management Plan will cover the entire approximately 2.8-hectare Coal Loader site, which borders HMAS Waterhen, Balls Head Reserve and Berry's Bay. The site includes all public parklands, buildings and tenants (including the café and SES), tunnels, the platform, the Aboriginal rock engraving, and the Aboriginal bushfoods garden. Council’s Centre for Sustainability is also included in the consultation.

The consultation scope does not include the Cape Don boat moored next to the Platform, or the roads surrounding the site. There is limited ability to influence the wharf, as NSW Transport manages it and develops its own consultations and plans.

Following site investigations and approval from the Heritage Council of NSW in 2026, Transport for NSW is carrying out retrieval work at the Balls Head Coal Loader site. 

Work includes removing sections of the deteriorated timber deck and associated structures located above and below the deck.

More information: https://www.transport.nsw.gov.au/projects/current-projects/coal-loader-wharf

There are no current plans to restore the wharf.

The Coal Loader Strategic Management Plan will help the Coal Loader consider the wider Peninsula. This includes how the site can increase support for local nature, including the health of the surrounding harbour. The Plan will also explore how the site can strengthen community enjoyment and highlight the rich Aboriginal, industrial, and community values associated with the Peninsula as a destination.

No, the Coal Loader parklands will remain open to the public 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

The Coal Loader site does not currently have a strategic business plan aligned with the Community Strategic Plan.

The Strategic Management Plan 2028-2032 will set a clear vision, priorities, and an implementation pathway to guide service delivery, partnerships, future capital works, asset management, and climate resilience.

The Strategic Management Plan will need to align with any future Plan of Management that is developed for the site.

Council wants to hear your ideas on how the Coal Loader can evolve to:

• Strengthen Aboriginal culture, caring for Country and harbour health
• Recognise industrial history, Sydney’s working harbour
• Improve access, enjoyment, inclusion and community experience of the site and its contribution to the broader Peninsular as a destination
• Increase environment leadership and participation in Coal Loader events, learning, sustainability programs and activation
• Enhance buildings, infrastructure and assets performance, public domain, climate resilience, capital works and financial sustainability. 

NSW Crown Lands owns the Coal Loader site, and North Sydney Council manages it under a lease agreement.

The Crown Land Management Act 2016 requires Crown Land to be managed for the benefit of people of New South Wales and establishes principles related to environmental protection, public use and enjoyment, cultural heritage and sustainable management.  

Not necessarily.

Council will consider all feedback received; however, final decisions will balance community priorities with statutory/legislative and operational requirements, budget, safety, technical requirements, site constraints, maintenance and resilience considerations, and accessibility obligations.

Yes, the draft Coal Loader Strategic Management Plan will be on public exhibition for at least 28 days later in 2027. Council will consider this feedback when finalising the Plan.

The project team will review and consider all feedback received during the consultation period.

Feedback will help inform the development of the Coal Loader Strategic Management Plan, including:

• Vision, Strategic Directions and Actions.
• highlighted accessibility needs.
• future capital works.
• ways to increase participation and enjoyment of the site.
• approaches to help the Coal Loader site evolve as a thriving cultural, environmental and community destination that strengthens the health, resilience and vitality of the site, the Waverton Peninsula and Sydney Harbour, and its Aboriginal, industrial and community values.