Nobbys Island was first noted in 1770, and was described by Captain James Cook as "a small clump of an island lying close to shore". Since then, Nobbys has become one of Newcastle's most prominent landmarks, and Nobbys Lighthouse is set to become an even bigger drawcard for Newcastle and the Hunter Valley over the next few years.

Click HERE to read the Recommendation Report from the Australian Government Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts - indicating that the proposal be given the green light.

INVITATION TO COMMENT ON THE PROPOSED DECISION TO REFUSE THE NOBBYS LIGHTHOUSE PROPOSAL

The Minister for the Environment, Peter Garrett, has indicated an intention to refuse the proposal for the adaptive reuse of the existing cottages at Nobbys Headland for overnight accommodation and the construction of a new single storey restaurant building incorporating a large roof-top public observation deck and interpretative material. The proposal would permanently open the site to the public for the first time in its history. Despite misinformation which has been presented, there would be no private patrons vehicles allowed on Macquarie Pier as part of this proposal. The proposal would also result in a negligible change to the view of Nobbys from most existing viewpoints.

View From Queens Wharf
Before	After
View From Stockton
Before	After

Fantastic new public views to the lighthouse building and surrounding natural and city context that do not currently exist would be created by the proposal.

The proposal has been supported in writing during previous public comment periods by many individuals within the community, as well as community representatives and organisations such as:

• the Lord Mayor of Newcastle, Councillor John Tate
  
  
• the Newcastle East Resident’s Group (the peak resident group in the direct area of the proposal)
  
  
• the Awabakal Local Aboriginal Land Council (the peak representative of the Aboriginal community in the region),
  
  
• the Nobbys Dunecare Group (which operates under the auspices of Coastcare Australia),
  
  
• the Hunter Business Chamber (the peak business body in the Hunter Region),
  
  
• the Hunter Regional Tourism Organisation (the peak tourism body in the Hunter Region),
  
  
• the Newcastle Trades Hall Council (the peak labour organisation in the region),
  
  
• the Hunter Chapter of the Property Council of Australia,
  
  
• the Newcastle Cruising Yacht Club (as a significant user of the harbour),
  
  
• and the Faculty of Science and Information Technology and the School of Environmental and Life Sciences of the University of Newcastle.

The most recent public comment period conducted as part of this Commonwealth assessment of the proposal resulted in 80% of the submissions received being strongly in support of the proposal. A December 2007 Newcastle Herald readers poll showed 81.5% public support for the proposal, while a February 2008 Herald poll showed 89.9% of the 316 votes
received in support of the proposal.

As part of the five year process of seeing this proposal happen, it has already been approved by Newcastle City Council, the NSW Department of Planning, and the NSW Heritage Council. The Commonwealth Department of Environment have considered this proposal for the last 16 months under the requirements of the Environmental Protection & Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act. The recent completion of this assessment resulted in the Department formally recommending to the Minister that the proposal should be approved, based on their assessment of the substantial benefits to the community, including the new public access provided, social benefits, and benefits to the local economy and tourism.

The Minister has used the discretion available to him under this Act to find against his departments advice and propose to reject the application. While the Minister is not required to give his reasons for his position, it can be assumed that he did not believe the expected benefits provided in the way of public access, tourism and economic impacts were sufficient to warrant the proposal being approved.

Before formalising his intended decision, the Minister has declared a 10 business day period in which he will accept written public comment on his decision. Anyone wishing to support the proposal in writing can do so to the Department in two ways:

By e-mail to: Nobbys.lighthouse@environment.gov.au

By mail to:

Comment on the proposed Nobbys Lighthouse Redevelopment
Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts
GPO Box 787
CANBERRA ACT 2601

Comments need to be received by the Department on or before Wednesday 9 April 2008 (submissions sent by mail that are postmarked on or before 9 April 2008 will be accepted).

Nobbys is currently leased to the Commonwealth Government for $1 per year for the
3 square metres needed for the lighthouse, and Peter Garrett is the only thing standing between the general public having access to one of Newcastle's favourite icons.

More details on this invitation to comment are available at the Department’s website by clicking HERE.

Whilst any submission in support would be greatly appreciated, the Department’s invitation to comment on the website above notes that while all comments will be received and noted, comments would be most helpful if they focus on the specific issues which are the subject of the Minister’s consideration such as perceived impacts on the heritage values of the site, and expected social and economic impacts through benefits to tourism, employment, and the establishment of public access
to Nobbys Headland.

To assist supporters of the proposal to prepare an email or letter to the Minister expressing their support, the following points below are all issues which would relate to issues that the Minister should consider under the EPBC legislation. Feel free to include whatever you would like in a submission, including any of these points below that you agree with, or any other points you would like to make.

The proposal will:

• satisfy a long held desire of the Hunter community to have access to Nobbys.
  
  
• provide free and safe public access to the site.
  
  
• establish managed and safe permanent public access to the site for the first time in its history.
  
  
• enhance the views of the lighthouse by allowing the public onto the site.
  
  
• include a public observation deck which will provide the best views of both the lighthouse and surrounds in the region.
  
  
• provide a spectacular, but safe, vantage point to view the city of Newcastle, the working harbour, ocean, and the lens inside the lighthouse.
  
  
• create unique public views which will be unmatched in the city.
  
  
• provide new public facilities and access to the site which currently don’t exist.
  
  
• provide toilets, seating, coffee, and light food from the takeaway which will be appreciated by the thousands of walkers on the breakwall each week.
  
  
• include minibus transport, allowing the disabled to visit the site as well as the elderly and any people who may not be able to walk to the headland.
  
  
• provide public access which will result in a greater appreciation and understanding of the lighthouse, including its history, significance and heritage values.
  
  
• provide substantial opportunities for enhanced public interpretation of the sites' Aboriginal, European and natural histories.
  
  
• provide a unique experience to both the local community and visitors.
  
  
• create a dining and overnight accommodation experience which will be unique in the region.
  
  
• service a tourism and hospitality segment which is largely unserviced in the city of Newcastle.
  
  
• assist the developing Newcastle tourism industry to attract the interstate and overseas visitors that currently bypass the city.
  
  
• result in the creation of employment opportunities in the form of a large number of direct and indirect jobs in the hospitality and associated service industries.
  
  
• result in an increase in high spend tourists visiting Newcastle, which result in significant flow-on business benefits to complementary service providers such as recreation and sports, golfing, day tours, fashion and beauty, restaurants, cafes, car hire and other transport.
  
  
• provide economic benefits to the region through increased employment and the creation of new locally-owned business activities.
  
  
• provide a means to fund the ongoing maintenance of the significant heritage fabric of the lighthouse.
  
  
• relieve taxpayers and ratepayers of responsibility for the significant maintenance costs of the Nobbys buildings by creating a sustainable commercial funding source.
  
  
• provide permanent on-site management and create constant public activity at the site which will protect it from the vandalism and malicious damage that a vacant site would be subjected to.
  
  
• replace a run down, poor quality garage which sits unsympathetically next to the lighthouse with a new, more appropriate and sympathetic building.
  
  
• position the new building further away from the lighthouse than the existing garage which it will
  replace.

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