page_title: Finger Wharf
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Finger Wharf / History
caption_attribution_description: Woolloomooloo Wharf Dated: 1/8/1924 Digital ID: 9856_a017_A017000121 Rights: www.records.nsw.gov.au/about-us/rights-and-permissions We'd love to hear from you if you use our photos. Many other photos in our collection are available to view and browse on our website using Photo Investigator.
context_page_description: The Finger Wharf is a heritage-listed former wharf and passenger terminal and now marina, residential apartments, hotel and restaurant located at 6 Cowper Wharf Road, in the inner city Sydney suburb of Woolloomooloo in the City of Sydney local government area of New South Wales, Australia. It was designed by Henry D. Walsh and built from 1910 to 1916 by the Sydney Harbour Trust. It is also known as Woolloomooloo Finger Wharf and Woolloomooloo Wharf. The property is owned by NSW Maritime, an agency of the Government of New South Wales. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 18 April 2000. The structure is the longest timbered-piled wharf in the world.
  During its working life for around 70 years, it mainly handled the export of wool, but also acted as a staging point for troop deployment to the World Wars as well as a disembarking point for new migrants arriving in Australia. Today it has been redeveloped as a fashionable complex housing a hotel, restaurants and residential apartments.
context_section_description: The Woolloomooloo Finger Wharf appeared during an era of large finger wharf building. It was built on the site of Sydney's first fish market (1872-1910) for the Sydney Harbour Trust, which was created in 1900 to bring order to the chaotic state of the wharves throughout the harbour and began a substantial rebuilding programme. The jetty was commenced in 1910 and was largely completed by 1913. The Trust's Engineer-In-Chief, Henry D. Walsh, designed the massive waterfront building.
  The Finger Wharf was an operational working wharf for much of the 20th century. Each of the twin storey sheds was associated with a ship's berth and these berths were numbered 6 and 7 (on the east side), and 8 and 9 (on the west side). A 30-metre (98 ft) extension to the wharf was added in 1916. Further development in the form of road building, wharf and pile repair, and shed construction continued up to early 1920s, expanding on the pattern already created. It then became one of the major wool dispatch points, the site of Sydney's only wool dumps (where wool bales are compressed by hydraulic plugs) and the terminal for some of the largest ships entering Sydney Harbour.
  In 1926, the northern end shed was constructed to serve as a store and a carpenter's shop. During World War 1 and World War 2, the wharf was an embarkation point for troops boarding converted passenger liners to be transported to foreign theatres of the wars.
  The finger wharf was an operational working wharf for much of the twentieth century. For about 70 years it primarily handled the export of wool. It took overseas shipping from Europe and America, as well as from the Pacific. It also acted as a staging point for troop deployment to both World Wards, as well as a disembarkation point for new migrants arriving in Australia. Shed No. 7 was altered in 1956 when it was upgraded to a passenger terminal. This section of the wharf was one of the principal passenger wharves in Sydney and was one of the first contact points for migrants to Australia.
  By the 1970s, new container ports with larger wharfing facilities and cruise liner terminals around the city meant the usage of the wharf declined. By the 1980s, the wharf lay derelict and empty and in 1987 the NSW Government decided to demolish the Wharf.
  A new marina and resort complex was approved to replace the wharf in Woolloomooloo Bay, but when demolition work was due to begin in January 1991, locals blocked entrance to the site. Unions imposed a Green ban which stopped demolition crews from undertaking work.
  Due to such a strong public outcry, it was decided that the existing wharf would instead be renovated into a boutique hotel, featuring 104 guestrooms, loft-style suites and private residencies. Walker Corporation undertook that renovation. The hotel features several restaurants and bars, including the popular Water Bar, frequented by many visiting local and international celebrities. The hotel was officially launched as "W Sydney - Woolloomooloo" and it was W Hotels' first property to be launched outside of the United States. The hotel's licensing to Starwood Hotels & Resorts expired in 2007 and re-branded as "Blue Hotel", managed by Taj Hotels & Resorts. In more recent years the hotel complex has been leased to the Ovolo hotel group.
  Notable residents in the apartments include actor Russell Crowe, billionaire property developer Lang Walker, media personality John Laws, and Grant Barnes and Cara Doolan.
caption: Entrance to the Finger Wharf from Cowper Wharf Road, Woolloomooloo in 1924.
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