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1896 BHP buys 10 hectares of land fronting the Hunter River in Newcastle from the Waratah Coal Company
1912 David Baker appointed first manager of the works
1913 Preliminary work begins on the site; 600ft ore wharf and yard; blast furnace ready for lining
1915 350 tonne blast furnace blown in; first steel tapped from No 1 open hearth; first ingot poured and rolled official opening of Steelworks in June; No 3 open hearth furnace
1916 £500,000 was allocated to four more open hearth furnaces, by-product coke ovens and other essential plant
1917 Steelworks Union calls members out; works brought to standstill for 3 months
1918 100 tonne blast furnace; No 2 blast furnace
1919 Iron and Steel Workers Union formed
1921 Essington Lewis general manager of BHP
1924 David Baker retires and is succeeded by Leslie Bradford
1925 Australian Wire Rope Works commences adjoining steelworks
1927 Titan Nail Wire Pty. Ltd. taken over by BHP
1929 Major shareholding acquired in John Lysaghts Bros & Co
1932 About 10,500 tonnes of steel supplied for Sydney Harbour Bridge
1933 First skelp rolled; master mechanics Office built
1934 No 1 blast furnace capacity increased by 40%; extensions throughout plant
1935 Merger with Australian Iron & Steel Ltd; No 10 open heath furnace first tap; No 2 blast furnace blown in
1936 BHP steel lowest-priced in world; No 11 open hearth furnace
1938 First tap No 13 open hearth furnace
1939 Newcastle Steelworks, with 1 million tonnes a year capacity, is the biggest integrated steelworks in the British Empire
1940 Newcastle metallurgists discover ways of making bullet-proof steel plate; No 3 blast furnace blown in
1941 Extensions to chemical laboratory; steel foundry extended
1943 Keith Butler appointed manager
1944 Shortland Central Research building
1947 Wagon repair building completed
1950 Reclamation work begins on Platts Channel
1952 John Norgard appointed manager of the Steelworks
1954 No 4 coke ovens battery starts production
1956 George Bishop becomes manager
1957 Central Research Laboratories Shortland open
1958 New coal cleaning plant opens
1962 New rod mill built on reclaimed Platts Channel
1963 Employees’ credit union formed
1964 Robert Coulton appointed Steelworks general manager; BHP News newspaper introduced
1965 First Apprentice of the Year Award presented; 50th anniversary of Steelworks; last open hearth heat tapped
1966 General office building completed
1968 William Burgess appointed Steelworks general manager; Tourle Street Bridge built
1970 Brian Loton appointed general manager; new computer centre completed
1971 No 5A coke ovens battery starts; last plate rolled at plate mill
1973 Cecil Hall appointed general manager; Lysaghts property purchased
1974 Australian Industrial Refractories acquired; main gate clock race building finished
1975 Decommissioning of Ferroalloy plant
1977 Rodney Harden appointed general manager
1979 No.5 B coke ovens battery commissioned; No.2 bloom mill starts production
1980 John Risby appointed general manager
1982 Closure of No 1 blast furnace; Steel Division sheds 1/3 of industry jobs
1983 Production of tempcore started; natural gas introduced
1984 Five-year steel plan begins
1985 Newcastle Steelworks becomes head of Rod and Bar Products Division; BHP celebrates centenary
1986 Bill Farrands appointed general manager; BHP declares $1b profit
1987 Continuous bloom caster commissioned
1989 Rob Chenery appointed general manager
1990 Steelworks celebrates 75th birthday
1991 Paul Jeans appointed group general manager
1992 Tonnage oxygen plant commissioned
1993 Bob Kirkby appointed group general manager
1994 Single logo unites BHP
1995 Coke ovens biological treatment plant
1997 Front end closure announced
1998 Lance Hockridge appointed group general manager
1999 Newcastle Steelworks close, Rod & Bar mills continue under OneSteel brand
Source: Newcastle Industrial Heritage Association