Overseas Passenger Terminal
Location: West Circular Quay, Sydney
The Overseas Passenger Terminal on West Circular Quay was built in the late 1950s to service what at that time was the high volume of larger passenger vessels visiting Sydney. This increase in traffic was generated by a high influx of migrants from Europe that reach its zenith around the time that work on the terminal commenced. Ironically, the first vessel to use it was not a migrant ship but the cruise liner SS Oriana on its maiden voyage in 1960. Its visit reflected a change in direction being taken by international travel in which the airliner would replace the ocean liner, a move which saw the latter being relegated to holiday cruising. The terminal had become obsolete even as it was being brought into service.
SS Oriana, on its maiden voyage, becomes the first ship to use the newly opened Overseas Passenger Terminal in 1960
It was soon to be not only too large for its new role as host to the occasional cruise liner, it was deteriorating due to lack of use. In the late 1980s, the building was modified to reduce its mass, to make the remaining space more useable and to open up the quay in front of the terminal to the public, thereby completing an unhindered walkway which stretched from the Harbour Bridge to the Opera House. The modifications included the demolition of a third of the terminal (the southern end), glazing the downstairs and northern end to allow it to be opened up for restaurants and cafes, and remodelling the exterior to give it a more nautical appearance. Expressed in structuralist style, the finished product was seen as too austere or radical by many and was modified again prior to the Sydney 2000 Olympics to give it a more 'normal' look.
MV Dawn Princess, Sydney Cove Overseas Passenger Terminal
The extraordinary growth of the cruise industry worldwide during the last decade has brought boom times for the Overseas Passenger Terminal. Few cities can boast an international cruise terminal right on their front doorstep and that is a big reason for Sydney being voted the World's best cruise destination in 2013 for the ninth consecutive year. More than 280 cruise ship visits were scheduled for Sydney during the 2014/15 financial year, up from 261 during 2013/14 and 119 just five years ago and making cruising a significant part of the city's economy. Not only has the growth in cruising bringing morte ship to Sydney, cruise ships are doubled some even tripled - in size over those visiting Sydney just 30 years ago, meaning not only is the terminal handling more ships, but each ship brings for people. To cope with the increased load, the Terminal has recently been expanded considerably, with the quay extended in length to cope with the longer ships, and facilities upgraded so it can smoothly turn around, in a single day, ships carrying more than 4,000 passengers.
- Heritage Listing
SS Stratheden berthed at Circular Quay (c.1950) before the Overseas Passenger Terminal was built
MV Sapphire Princess berthed at Circular Quay, 2015
