Town Beach Project under construction

Construction is underway on the first sub-project in a range of exciting upgrades coming to Broome’s popular Town Beach area.

The first stage of the Town Beach Project is the construction of a new rock revetment seawall to address the significant environmental and safety threat posed by the eroding pindan cliffs that run from the Town Beach groyne to Catalinas.

The $4.5 million sub-project is funded by the State Government’s Royalties for Regions program and the Shire of Broome, and with heritage and environmental approvals in place construction is scheduled to start in September after Council awarded the contract to local firm Roadline in a welcome boost for Broome’s economy.

Construction is expected to take four months and will involve placing 12,000 tonnes of locally sourced Kimberley quartzite armour rock and a 1.2m-thick layer of smaller bedding rock.

The project will incorporate grassed terraces at the southern end for viewing the Staircase to the Moon, a coastal walkway overlooking Roebuck Bay, and three sets of stairs to maintain beach access at low tide and provide fishing platforms at high tide.

Once this project is completed work can begin on rolling out other sub-projects including expanding the parkland through to Catalinas to include new nature play, youth, heritage and markets precincts, expanding the existing water park, and connecting Hamersley St to Robinson St.

Broome Shire President, Harold Tracey, said the Town Beach Project would greatly enhance what was already a significant and popular location for residents and visitors with a unique mix of history, heritage and recreation.

“Viewing the Staircase to the Moon draws thousands of visitors each year, the children’s water park and playground are very popular, night markets attract big crowds, and we have the heritage and history of Indigenous culture, the Pioneer Cemetery, old jetty site, Catalina Flying Boat wrecks and the Broome Museum,” Cr Tracey said.

“The Town Beach Project is building on all these existing strengths and attractions with a range of sub-projects to enhance the experience for everybody and is part of Council’s vision to link Town Beach to Chinatown through the Jetty to Jetty coastal walk.”

Research shows the pindan cliffs are eroding at a rate of 0.3m per year and will impact the Pioneer Cemetery and Aboriginal middens as well as posing a threat to community safety from the crumbling cliff edge.

The sub-projects in the overall Town Beach Project are drawn from the Old Broome Development Strategy that was adopted by Council in 2014 after extensive consultation with the community and cooperation from key stakeholders including Kimberley Ports, Yawuru Traditional Owners, the Broome Historical Society Museum, Water Corporation and others.

Once construction gets underway access to parts of the Town Beach precinct will be restricted, but the impact on events such as Staircase to the Moon and Night Markets, and the existing playground and water park will be minimised.