It’s been closed for two summers, found to be home to thousands of tonnes of asbestos and beset by a very Sydney string of bad luck, but the beach at Vaucluse’s Nielsen Park is almost ready to reopen.
NSW Parks and Wildlife told residents it expects work on the seawall at Shark Beach – better known as Nielsen Park, which surrounds it – to be completed by “the end of November” and confirmed to the Herald that it will reopen the site as soon as possible once construction is finished.
Shark Beach looks finally set to reopen, just in time for summer.Credit: Flavio Brancaleone
The beach, one of Sydney’s most idyllic, has been closed since 2022 for the renovation of its concrete seawall, which was badly damaged in a 2016 storm.
It was initially scheduled to reopen for the summer of 2022–23, but a dispute about the use of reinforced concrete pylons led the government to rip up its contract with engineering company Delany Civil, stalling work for months.
Bad weather and the discovery of 3600 tonnes of asbestos on the site further extended the forecast reopening date.
But before the beach reopens, keen swimmers need to sit through one final delay. Parks and Wildlife told residents in September construction would be finished by October. However, in an update posted on its website last week, that date was pushed back to late November.
The update said issues with the surface of the beach’s concrete bleachers (the steps and seats that line the seawall) meant remedial works had “taken longer than anticipated”.
One more month: construction on Nielsen Park’s Shark Beach is nearing an end.Credit: Flavio Brancaleone
“Unfortunately, the required testing and rework has caused an additional 3-week delay to the works program,” it said.
“The completion of remedial patching works has pushed back the opening date until late November, pending weather and coastal conditions.”
The final step in the project is removing the wall that has separated the water from the construction site. That will occur via a barge over two weeks in early November, again, pending suitable conditions, the update said.
Kellie Sloane, the Liberal state MP representing the area, held an information session for locals to hear from the government department about the delays.
“We’ve missed out on two summers at Nielsen Park, but we’re all hopeful that this will be third summer lucky,” she said.
“I’ve been told major works are now complete; what we’re seeing now are the finishing touches, the landscaping, the safety rails, and then the final big piece of work will be the removal of the seawall that’s been protecting construction.”
A NSW Parks and Wildlife spokesperson did not answer questions about a specific target opening date.
“As soon as the works are completed and it is safe to do so, the beach will be reopened,” they said.
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