For 84 years, the BHP steelworks played such an important role in Newcastle’s development, they were seen as inseparable.
Two decades on, we take a look back at how the closure affected the former Steel City, and how an immense challenge was turned into opportunity.
And while the region has largely moved on, in the second part of our special series – we meet a committed group determined to keep the flame of the city’s industrial past burning.
At its peak, Newcastle’s BHP steelworks employed more than 11,000 people… by the time it closed that number had dwindled to less than 2,000.
While some workers called time after the last whistle, tonight – in part three of our special series – we meet others who found ways to turn skills forged in steel, into new careers.
From apprentice fitters to boiler makers – Newcastle’s BHP steelworks were a training ground for generations.
Tonight, in the fourth part of our special series, we meet a man – who like many – learnt his trade in the place which gave Newcastle the tag, Steel City.
September 30, 1999 will forever be remembered as an important milestone in Newcastle’s history, the day when the furnaces were switched off at the BHP Steelworks.
In the final part of our special series, we take a look at some of the lighter times from the glory days of steel, as the city prepares to mark two decades since the last whistle.
This BHP series was written and produced by NBN News’s Jack Antcliff, assisted by news cameramen Ryan Cox, Ryan Grimshaw and David Threlfo.
