NEWS - Cunninghame Quay Jetty open

A new large jetty system for use by recreational boat owners and charter-boat operators has been completed at Lakes Entrance, on Victoria’s Gippsland Lakes.

“Cunninghame Quay is an important addition to the facilities for pleasure and commercial boaters at Lakes Entrance,” said Nick Murray, Gippsland Ports CEO.

Features of the jetty include an entry pavilion providing sheltered seating for the public and office space for the charter operators working from the jetty, and a public gazebo at the outer end, providing a focal point of the structure.

The eastern side of the jetty is for general boating public, with 10 pontoon berths for short-term moorings for boats up to 15m in length. The fixed-head section of the jetty has serviced mooring berths for larger vessels for up to 48-hour stays. Boat services on the jetty include reticulated water, fire-fighting equipment, power and lighting.

Commercial charter operators are on the western side of the jetty, supported by six fully-serviced pontoon berths. Several additional berths are also available for rental by long-term visitors to the Gippsland Lakes.

Gippsland Ports said as soon as the new jetty was opened for boaters, two large motorcruisers entered from Bass Strait and headed straight to Cunninghame Quay to berth. The Queensland boats Campadre II from Mackay and Island Joy from Gladstone both sought shelter and a break at Lakes Entrance before heading across Bass Strait to Tasmania.

“Nowhere to date have we found a service so good,” said Mal Draper of Compadre II. “Your temporary berths with access to shops etc. free of charge, was very unexpected. The friendly atmosphere and courtesy of all the business community is to be commended.”

The new jetty at Cunninghame Quay has been designed to blend a traditional piled jetty with a modern floating mooring system.
The outcome is a new facility certain to be a popular attraction along the Lakes Entrance promenade, added Gippsland Ports.

Jarvis Norwood Constructions, Swan Reach (Vic), constructed the new concrete jetty and installed the pontoons jetties for approximately $1.7 million.
Together, with ongoing upgrade works at the Post Office Jetty, Gippsland Ports’ component of the Cunninghame Quay development project is said to have cost $2.8 million.

The development and upgrade of the facilities at Cunninghame Quay carried out so far, and managed by Gippsland Ports and East Gippsland Shire, has been funded by the Australian Government Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry under their Gippsland Lakes Community Grants program.

FAST FACTS
Gippsland Ports was established in 1996 to provide a regional service to the local community, visitors and other user groups.

Gippsland Ports is the designated waterway manager of 1431km² of some of the largest and most beautiful waterways in Australia, stretching more than 720km of Victoria’s southeastern coastline, from Anderson Inlet to Mallacoota.

Photos: The new Cunninghame Quay Jetty at Lakes Entrance, Vic, has stopover facilities for Bass Strait boaters; The entry pavilion has sheltered seating for the public and office space for the jetty’s charter operators; Commercial charter operators are supported by six fully-serviced pontoon berths.