St Thomas More's Parish

Port of Brisbane

—

by

Dick Neal
in

Monday,  8 July 2024

We had a good roll up of thirty-six (36) for this event which included three (3) new members: Ken Brown, Ray Lewis & Ian Morgan – Welcome Ken, Ray & Ian. All up we had a joint roll up of Sixty-Five (65).

When we arrived at the Port, we were met by the receptionist Larrisa who arranged for us to have our joint morning tea (along with providing us with an ample supply of hot water) in the upstairs meeting room – The meeting room had an incredible view of the port facilities.

Following our morning tea, Ed (Manager Community Relations) formally welcomed & gave us an overview of the History of the Port & its current operations etc. – I for one found Ed’s talk to be very interesting & educational. Ed was then joined by Jamie Wardle & they came along in our coaches & provided us with a guided tour of the Port Precincts – Jamie was in our coach & I found his tour to be very thorough & interesting.

Following are some of the Highlights I took from Jamie’s guided tour –

  • Brisbane is the biggest port in Australia as far as land mass is concerned – The Ports of Sydney & Melbourne combined would fit into the Footprint of Brisbane Port.
  • The Port of Brisbane has quite an amazing History & has Evolved & moved Sites, as follows:
    • Started at Amity-North Stradbroke Island.
    • Moved to South Bank.
    • Moved to Howard-Smith Wharf.
    • Moved to New-Farm/Hamilton.
    • Moved to its current location of Fisherman Island in 1976.
  • The Port is made up of three (3) distinct precincts viz
    1. Bulk Precinct
      • Coal
      • Grain
      • Woodchip
      • Cement
      • Fertiliser etc.
    2. Roll On/Roll off Precinct
      • Outsize equipment & goods etc.
      • Vehicles
    3. Container Precinct
      • 20 Foot & 40 Foot Containers 
  • Whilst not in the same location, there is a Passenger (Cruise Ship) Terminal/Precinct on the other side of the river as well.
  • Three (3) separate stevedores operate out of the Port of Brisbane viz
    1. D P World – A global organisation – Currently 50% automated.
    2. Patrick – Currently 95% automated.
    3. B C T (Brisbane Container Terminal) – Currently 50% automated.
  • Wind turbines are made up of three (3) Sections with each one weighing 75t.
  • The wind-turbine blades are 87m long.
  • The wind-turbines are only transported to sites late at night when traffic is at a minimum.
  • In most years 250000 cars come through the Port of Brisbane.
  • The Port has parking for 20000 cars on site.
  • Some of the manufacturers carry out final fit-offs along with cleaning of vehicles at the Port prior to delivery to dealers.
  • The largest ships coming into the port currently are 300m long X 45m wide & have a draught of 14m.
  • Ships are getting bigger all the time necessitating almost continual dredging of the channels in & out of the Port.

On completion of our guided tour, we travelled onto Wynnum RSL for lunch.

After lunch, we acknowledged & celebrated birthdays falling in July in our usual manner (no birthday cake on this occasion as we had sweets instead) viz. Stephen Berghofer, Warren Goodhew, Norm Lovell, John O’Connor, Terry Parker, Rowdy Reid, Kelsley Schelberg, Jon Schwartz & Pat Sullivan.

We then said our goodbyes to the Tweed Group Members, packed up, & headed for home.

In closing, special thanks to those who contributed to making this another safe & enjoyable event/outing for all attendees, including:

  • Terry Williams & Peter Taylor – For organising this event.
  • Larrisa – For: her friendly welcome; setting us up in the meeting room with a great view; & finally providing us with ample hot water for our cuppas.
  • Ed – For his very interesting & informative overview.
  • Ed & Jamie – For their respective guided tours – Well received by all group members.
  • RSL Staff – For our great lunch.
  • Warwick Dingle & Tony Wind – For being on duty as our trusty First-Aid Officers.
  • Warwick Dingle & Team – For assisting the RSL Staff in delivering our lunches.
  • Warwick Dingle – For his usual gig of ensuring we were all on board before the coach departed again after each stop.
  • Peter Thompson – For his usual gig as Coach Doorman ensuring all members got on & off the coach safely at each stop.
  • Michael Bourke & Russell Mauch – For looking after our finances & name badges during this event, & Russell for the receipting & banking of our surplus cash.
  • Ron Lewis & Lindsay Reis – For looking after our hydration & hygiene needs with bottled water & hand wash respectively along with the loading & unloading of the coach as required.
  • Peter Taylor – For taking & sharing of the photos.
  • Finally, our favourite coach driver Nick Peters for transporting us to & from the Port of Brisbane safely.

Dick
12 July 2024