Novocastrians can now commemorate the sacrifices made by the Australian and New Zealand armed forces along their brand new ‘Memorial Walk’, designed by EJE Architecture and built by Waeger Constructions to remember the ANZACs and as a pedestrian link for the Newcastle coastline.

Connecting Strzelecki Lookout to Sheppard’s Hill Reservoir at Bar Beach, NSW the 450-metre raised walkway was opened on April 24 in time for the 100th Anniversary of the ANZAC landing at Gallipoli on ANZAC day 2015.

The steel-framed bridge wraps along the cliffs of Newcastle’s beaches and, in sections, hovers over nine metres above the ground. It is laid with enduring composite fibre decking but it’s the sinusoid stainless steel balustrades that rise up and down along the length of the bridge that are the most striking architectural feature. Both of the bridge’s ends feature referential artwork cutouts and the bridge itself is scattered with silhouettes of ANZAC soldiers which are engraved with the family names of 3,860 soldiers.

Because of its long and high span above the Newcastle cliffs, the entire bridge is footed by seven massive Y-shaped precast concrete pylons which were fabricated offsite and erected in just two nights in late January.

The pylons were manufactured with custom steel moulds and reach up to 8.8 metres high with a width at the top of 3.4 metres. They were manufactured by Waeger Precast who used a coloured mix containing limestone aggregate, with quite a heavy sandblasted finish to accentuate the aggregate.

The bridge’s three viewing platforms also feature precast concrete seating, also constructed by Waeger using the same aggregate mixture. The seats are fitted with linear LED strip lighting installed by Hunter Prolec.

Picture: Dean Osland. Source: Herald Sun

The entire project cost $4.5 million and was jointly funded by Newcastle Council and BHP Billiton who contributed $1.5 million and $3 million respectively. As Newcastle’s biggest steel producers, BHP’s contribution comes with a special link to the project as 2015 also marks 100 years of steel making in Newcastle.

KEY PROJECT INFO

Client: BHP Billiton, Newcastle Council

Cost: $4.5 million

Completed: April, 2015

PEOPLE

ARCHITECT
EJE Architecture

BUILDER
Waeger Constructions

BALUSTRADE AND STEEL MANUFACTURING
SGM Fabrication

HANDRAIL MANUFACTURING
Quality Sheet Metal

LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT
Terrace Architecture

LANDSCAPE
Duracon

LIGHTING
Hunter Prolec

PHOTGRAPHY
Supplied

Nathan Johnson

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