14/03/2017 03:58 PM
Historic Moore’s Wharf to undergo roof restoration
Work to replace the roof of heritage-listed Moore’s Wharf at Towns Place has started. The current wood shingle roof has deteriorated and will now be replaced by a slate roof.
The historical significance of Moore’s Wharf dates back to its association with the waterside warehouse activities of the early 19th century at Walsh Bay.
Built from the 1830s to the late 1840s by Captain Robert Towns with sandstone quarried at Millers Point, Moore’s Wharf is a group of three storey sandstone walled waterfront warehouses.
Originally located in Darling Harbour for over 60 years, Moore’s Wharf was one of the busiest in the area. In 1978, redevelopment plans at Darling Harbour resulted in the building being relocated stone by stone to its current location at Town’s Place where it re-opened in 1981.
The building was the scene of many first occasions. In 1851 the clipper ‘Phoenician’ loaded the first shipment of Australian gold to England from Moore’s Wharf. In 1852 the first P&O screw steamship to arrive from England, the ‘Chusan’, berthed there with the first mails brought out under contract.
The colony’s first rail locomotive was also unloaded at Moore’s Wharf in 1855.
Moore’s Wharf is today owned by Port Authority of NSW and currently functions as a marine operations base. The roof is expected to be restored by mid-2017.