Port Authority of NSW acknowledges Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the traditional custodians of Australia. We acknowledge the Gadigal of the Eora Nation as the traditional custodians of the place we now call Sydney.
The history of Sydney's working harbour
Sydney's first Harbour Master was appointed in 1811, marking the start of over 200 years of evolving history of the management of Sydney Harbour's working waterfront.
The former extent of Sydney Harbour's Port and working waterfront in the mid-20th century compared to today. The blue areas denote land owned and operated by the Australian Navy.
1788
Sydney’s natural harbour and reliable water supply from the Tank Stream led Britain's Captain Arthur Phillip to anchor the First Fleet at Sydney Cove in 1788, establishing a penal settlement with a party of 1,500 people, most of whom were convicts.
The beauty and strategic potential of Sydney Harbour, also known as Port Jackson, soon attracted settlers, traders, visitors, and businesspeople whose energy, innovation, and vision contributed to the city's growth.
1811
The history of port management in New South Wales dates back as far as 1811 when the first Harbour Master was appointed to control the Port of Sydney.
Throughout the 1800s, Sydney's wharves were privately owned, and their haphazard development contributed to the outbreak of bubonic plague in 1900. In response, the Sydney Harbour Trust was formed in 1901 to take over and develop the wharves. This arrangement remained in place until 1936 when the Maritime Services Board (MSB) was established to unify all port and navigation services across NSW under a single authority, except for Port Kembla, which came under MSB control in 1948.
1960s and 1970s
During the 1960s, the MSB launched a ten-year plan to redevelop Darling Harbour. As container trade grew and placed increasing demands on wharf space and facilities, the MSB began feasibility studies for the development of Botany Bay.
Construction of Port Botany commenced in 1971, and the facility officially opened in December 1979. Today, the port houses Sydney's three major stevedoring operations and two bulk liquid facilities.
Sydney Ports Corporation
Sydney Ports Corporation was established in 1995 following a series of reforms to the MSB, enabling the new state-owned corporation to adopt a more commercial and customer-focused approach to managing international shipping.
The MSB was abolished under the Port Corporations and Waterways Management Act 1955, now known as the Ports and Maritime Administration Act 1995, marking the end of an era in the management of Sydney Harbour and other New South Wales ports. This reform led to the creation of three independent state-owned port corporations: Newcastle, Port Kembla, and Sydney (which managed Sydney Harbour and Port Botany).
As part of a broader restructure and amalgamation of the state's transport authorities in 2011—including NSW Maritime and the Roads and Traffic Authority—the Government transferred the management of the ports of Eden and Yamba to Sydney Ports Corporation on 1 December 2011.
In April 2013, after a six-month competitive bidding process, the NSW Treasurer announced a 99-year lease of state-owned land-side assets at Port Botany and Port Kembla to the NSW Ports consortium. The Port Botany transaction also included the transfer of the Enfield and Cooks River logistics sites, while Sydney Ports retained ownership of the ports of Eden and Yamba.
Port Authority of New South Wales
Port Authority of New South Wales was established in July 2014 through the amalgamation of the Sydney, Newcastle, and Port Kembla port corporations.
This consolidation followed the long-term leasing of each corporation's landside operations by the NSW Government—Sydney and Port Kembla in 2013 and Newcastle in 2014.
As a state-owned corporation, we retain key maritime responsibilities, including the Harbour Master role, management of dangerous goods, emergency response, and oversight of navigation, security, and operational safety for commercial shipping across Sydney Harbour, Port Botany, Newcastle, Port Kembla, Yamba, and Eden.
We also operate Sydney’s two international cruise terminals—the Overseas Passenger Terminal at Circular Quay and White Bay Cruise Terminal at Balmain—and manages the city’s only dry bulk facilities, located at Glebe Island.
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