After NYE fireworks fizzer, Council announces back-up plan for Australia Day

Following the disappointment of New Year's Eve in Wollongong when the fireworks show was abandoned, Wollongong City Council has put new plans in place to give the best possible chance for the Australia Day display to go off with a bang.

Huge seas in the hours before the 31 December display sent waves crashing over the Wollongong Harbour breakwall, the firing point for the show and the scene of several drownings in recent years.

A number of the fireworks were washed into the water and many more were waterlogged by the impact of the swell. Hours before the 9pm show was to begin, Council called it off for safety reasons. There was community criticism that there was no Plan B in place to ensure the fireworks could go ahead.

In the weeks since, Council staff have worked on logistics to prevent a repeat. Today it announced that the breakwall remained the preferred choice for the Australia Day show on 26 January – but this time there will be a back up.

In a statement Council said: “Over many years Wollongong Harbour’s southern breakwall has been assessed and identified as the most suitable firing location for fireworks displays. It offers a wide range of excellent viewing points and allows us to safely manage and implement road closures, exclusions zones and crowd control measures with minimal disruption.

“In more than 20 years of using the southern breakwall as a firing point, 31 December was the first time swells have necessitated the cancellation of a planned fireworks display.”

Council staff will have observed the big seas of the past four days which have again sent waves crashing over the same breakwall.

Despite this, Council says, “based on the long history of successful shows and the advantages it provides, the southern breakwall will remain the preferred location for the Australia Day fireworks this year.”

Council is leaving nothing to chance though and for what’s believed to be a first time, an alternative site has been chosen should the breakwall site again prove problematic.

Having assessed potential backup locations, “we’ve attained the necessary approval for Flagstaff Hill to be an alternate firing location on 26 January should the breakwall become unsuitable,” a Council spokesperson said.

“While this gives us an alternative location, it’s important to understand that Flagstaff Hill has its own constraints and considerations, including the possibility of adverse weather conditions we will be monitoring closely.

“Moving fireworks displays of this scale is a complex process. it requires considerable planning and implementation – including changes to rigging of fireworks, updates to risk assessments and licence approvals, establishment of new exclusion zones, and updated crowd management plans.

“These steps typically require 24 hours notice to be successfully and safely implemented. This means, even with an alternate location in place, it is unlikely the New Year's Eve fireworks would have proceeded given the conditions on the day and required approvals.

“Council will continue reviewing alternate fireworks locations for future events. We are also seeking independent expert advice to support the development of a more robust framework regarding weather and ocean swell forecasts to further strengthen our planning and decision making.”

Next Monday’s Australia Day fireworks show will include a small number of fireworks salvaged from the aborted New Year's show.

Footnote: Wollongong’s 2019 fireworks were cancelled due to bushfires in the region and adverse weather conditions which resulted in a total fire ban.