Illawarra Coke Company - Coalcliff Coke Works

It’s been awhile that I’ve wanted to write this piece. I daresay most of you too are curious as to this most incongruous of industrial plants perched in the hidden valley behind Coalcliff. Visible only from the train line or above on the escarpment track, and with its vaulting steel structures set amongst the lush forest surroundings, it feels like you’re looking at some blockbuster hollywood set for Jurassic Park or Jumanji. In fact just recently the Planet of the Apes was filmed there. Many people might consider it an eyesore and look forward to the day the forest replaces it back to the way the valley once was. Many would see it as a symbol of the errors we have made on this planet by exhuming its fossil fuels and burning them for our convenience. I’m not one of those. I think it is one of the unique parts of our landscape that not only connects the area to its industrial past, but also lends a distinct character to the Northern Illawarra. Since the closure of the coking plant though, it makes me feel somewhat despondent that the owner is letting it fall into a state of disrepair and neglect.

Believe it or not, I actually visited the coking plant when it was in operation. Prior to me picking up the architecture bug, I was an environmental consultant and one of my specialties was testing stacks (industry speak for the big chimneys belching out pollution). The only reason it became my specialty was that my boss was afraid of heights and so he would send the young recruit up the big smelly pipes. Out of the blue, we were commissioned to test the off-gassing from the coking ovens, by an engineering company interested in purchasing some premium coking coal. Assembling my gear, I jumped in the A-team van with my offsider and drove down to the Illawarra for a weekend of testing coke. Sounds hollywood doesn’t it! Well, it wasn’t. We had to be on site checking the equipment every 3 hours for a 48 hour period which meant we hardly ever got even a decent power nap in before we had to get back to the plant. The closest accommodation was the Thirroul Motel and I swear by the end of it I was seeing Brett Whitely’s ghost in my room every time I got my alarm went off (the then proprietor had told me that the room I was in was the favourite one of the famous artist when he would sojourn down this way). 

On first entering onto the site I was completely dumbfounded that some idiot had built a coking plant in the middle of paradise! At the end of the 48 hours I was even more dumbfounded, but the adventure had left an indelible mark on my memory. What was the story behind this place? How did it come to be here? Of course I know all the answers to that now that I live here. And of course, I am fond of the ol coking plant but like many others, I fear for its future. 

Some of you may recall the community consultation that the current owners of the cokeworks undertook back in 2017. Most of the concern raised by locals was fear of an application for a large housing estate to be built on the site. But not much was said for the conservation of the existing structures, or for that matter for the entire working site. The owner’s representative was quick to allay peoples fear of large tracts of housing being developed, but where is the masterplan of the site. So far their only comment has been that most of the site will be left over for so called “bio-banking” and only some suitable areas developed for housing. Well, where’s the conservation? Sadly the only conservation seems to be the odd bit of graffiti removal and graffiti prevention infrastructure. Am I the only one that watches this infrastructure fall apart with dismay? Who else sees the amazing opportunity here to connect the sea bridge and the coke plant and solve the dangerous car parking at the Southern End of the bridge. We can’t stop people from coming to our amazing coastline, so I say embrace it. The coking plant and its remaining infrastructure should be converted into a recreational park - and I don’t believe I’m the only one to share this vision!

There are excellent precedents for this over the world and even more closely in Sydney. Think Sydney park in Alexandria, or Ballast Point in Birchgrove. My favourite however is in Germany. Zollverein Park near Essen in the Ruhr district of Germany was a massive industrial site in its day. Whilst its infrastructure is much larger and better preserved, its a provocative precedent as to what the Coalcliff site could become. The once contaminated and lifeless site is now home to a thriving ecosystem, arts infrastructure and recreational facility. The masterplan for the site was drawn up in 2002 by world renowned architect Rem Koolhaas. Since then it has gone on to win numerous architecture and public space awards and is even listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. You can take a look at its website at https://www.zollverein.de (and yes it has a swimming pool for the kids). What I like about the park is that it has kept all of the old infrastructure, preserved it and allowed the public to access it. You can walk up the old ladders and bridges or you can jump on a bike and ride around them. I’m pretty sure those old coking ovens would make a mean sourdough or wood fired pizza! With the renovation of the Imperial (not that any of us has been able to enjoy it yet) and the popularity of the sea bridge, I say we go for the Trifecta and make this a truly remarkable park in a truly remarkable place. Oh, and can we make the housing affordable. Call it a pipe dream…