Queens Wharf

What it is

Queens Wharf is a precinct on the Newcastle harbour foreshore comprising two separate buildings (the western building, vacant since 2020, and the Queens Wharf Hotel), two car parks, a public promenade, and a ferry wharf owned by Transport for NSW. It was constructed as a Bicentennial project and officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II in 1988. The redevelopment covers the western building only: City of Newcastle says the Queens Wharf Hotel will continue trading under its current lease until 2033.

Entries

• Oct 2026City of Newcastle’s project page, read on 15 October, lists the demolition as underway, expected to take up to six months from July depending on weather and site conditions, and the search for a development partner as still active.
• Sep 2026City of Newcastle reports the internal strip-out finished, with about 98 per cent of the material removed so far recycled, and the main structure due to start coming down the following week (release of 9 September). The council now expects the decision on the site’s future in 2027. Our story.
• Jul 2026Demolition of the western building begins, following the relocation of Keolis Downer ferry staff to Stockton. Method: two excavators, west to east, top to bottom, down to the ground slab; about six months of work. Wharf Road and the ferry keep operating; the western car park is fenced off. Our story.
• May 2026Preparatory work begins beneath the wharf: building inspections, then a small boat and a floating pontoon to isolate and relocate the utilities connected to the western building, about two months of work before the demolition site is set up (release of 15 May).
• Dec 2025The development application to demolish the western building, lodged in late August 2025, is approved.
• Nov 2025Submissions close on 7 November in the expression of interest process, opened in October, to select a development partner for the site. The same month the council awards the tender to design and build a new ferry staff office at Stockton.
• Aug 2025Community engagement on the precinct’s future runs from 7 August to 3 September. City of Newcastle later reports almost 1,800 comments and suggestions, with 97 per cent endorsing the overall vision.
• May 2020Fire damages the western building; it remains vacant from then on.
• 1988Queens Wharf opens, a Bicentennial project opened by Queen Elizabeth II.

What we don’t know yet

What gets built on the cleared site. City of Newcastle said in June that the Council would make that decision in the 2026/27 financial year; in September it said the decision is expected in 2027. The project page lists the expression of interest for a development partner as active, with no partner named as at 15 October. This page will record the options and the decision as they become public.

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