TOURISTS to Salamander Bay and Corlette have long been taken by the foreshore’s beauty but it’s the area’s unlikely heritage that’s now provoking thought among walkers.
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Many of the residents aren’t even aware that the area was under development as a naval submarine base.
The Mariners Walk, which includes eight signs explaining that heritage, was opened on Friday in squally conditions.
Corlette resident Ian Pfennigwerth, a self-described naval historian in captivity, worked closely with the Port Stephens Historical Society to help tell the little known story.
“We’re standing on an archelogical site,” Dr Pfennigwerth said.
Records show there was a wharf 400 feet long off what is now Bob Cairns Reserve, along with number of buildings and roads in World War I. A sign unveiled on Friday explains some of the history and tells the story of two ill-fated submarines from the Australian fleet.
Submarine AE1 was on patrol off New Brittan in September 1914. She went missing on September 14 and there’s been no trace of the sub or the crew since.
Submarine AE2 had sailed through Gallipoli only days before she was holed by Turkish forces on April 30, 1915.
“The work at Salamander Bay was abandoned soon after,” Dr Pfennigwerth said.
“Australia’s only two subs had been lost.”
The project was an initiative of the Port Stephens Historical Society in partnership with Port Stephens Council, to install interpretative displays and signs at key locations on the 3.3km route along natural pathways around the Wanda Wanda Headland.
The Salamander Bay Soldiers Point Parks Committee, the Mambo Wetlands Parks Committee and the Lions Club of Soldiers Point were also involved in the project, with funding from the Australian National Maritime Museum and the state Government's Community Building Partnership Program.
A total of eight sites tell a range of stories, including colonial ship the Lady Nelson, which was used by Governor Lachlan Macquarie when he sailed for Newcastle and Port Stephens in January 1812 and vanished, never to be seen again, after sailing for Timor in 1825.
Mike McIntosh, the council's Group Manager Development Services, said the project was a marvelous example of a number of community groups working together in partnership with local government to achieve a shared vision.
"Port Stephens has such a rich marine history with a starring role in many events that shaped Australia, not least Captain James Cook's charting of the great southern land who named the harbour Port Stephens in May 1770," he said.
"The Mariners Walk is a fantastic way to make sure those stories are remembered, and to help locals and visitors alike appreciate not only the natural heritage of Port Stephens, but its historical and cultural importance as well.
"It's a credit to everyone involved, particularly the Port Stephens Historical Society who pushed the idea and the section 355c committees who helped to make it happen, and an example of what can be achieved in partnership with local government.
"I cannot think of a better project that sums up the meaning of Local Government Week and I encourage everyone to experience The Mariners Walk for themselves."
Port Stephens MP Kate Washington and Port councillor John Nell were among those present for the official opening.
Details on access and parking for The Mariners Walk are available on Council's website www.portstephens.nsw.gov.au.