Stockyards take shape in 'like for like' restoration at Tathra Wharf

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The old stockyards of the wharf have had a like for like restoration according to Project Manager David Buckley, who has been impressed with the work of the construction crew so far.

The project begun in October 2022, and is scheduled to be completed by October 2023.

The like-for-like restoration has brought some challenges said Mr Buckley, such as long wait times and difficult-to-source materials like turpentine piles, overlaying the technical aspects of the project.

"On a project like this there are numerous challenges.

"Unlike a normal project, in-water marine construction has got it's own technical challenges anyway and so we've got on board a specialist marine engineer as our structural design consultant for the wharf itself," he said.

"There's a quite unique, specialised and technical component to this project, then on top of that, the heritage component."

The final component of stage one to be complete is the stock race going down to the wharf deck, which will ensure continued public access to the wharf for fishers and visitors during later stages of restoration.

The following stages will see the construction crew make their way out onto the wharf, fixing and replacing parts of the substructure when needed.

The in-water piles pose the biggest challenge according to Mr Buckley, a lot of which are in varied levels of deterioration.

"As we start unpicking this wharf to remove the piles underneath we're going to discover things - like what we thought might be a sound timber beam might need to be replaced and visa-versa."

"If they pull clean, great we've got a hole and we can auger that out and slot the new pile straight into it. We're certainly expecting that they're not all going to pull clean, in which case we can core the remaining timber out," Mr Buckley said.

"There's going to be constant adjustment the whole way through."

There are 72 piles beneath Tathra Wharf, two thirds of which are will be replaced and wrapped to combat deterioration during the later stages of the project.

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