| 1896 |
BHP purchases 10 hectares (24 acres) of land fronting the Hunter River in Newcastle from the Waratah Coal Company. |
| 1912 |
David Baker appointed first manager of the works |
| 1913 |
Preliminary work begins on the site; 600ft Ore Wharf and Yard; DC Power Plant; Blast Furnace ready for lining. |
| 1915 |
18 March - 350 ton Blast Furnace "blown in'. |
| 1915 |
April - First steel tapped from No 1 Open Hearth, one of three 65 ton Open Hearth Furnaces; First ingot poured and rolled (9 April); First rails produced (24 April). |
| 1915 |
2 June - Official opening of Steelworks. |
| 1915 |
No 3 Open Hearth Furnace. |
| 1916 |
£500,000 was allocated to four more open hearth furnaces, by-product coke ovens and other essential plant; Engine Drivers and Firemen at Steelworks dispute. |
| 1917 |
Union unrest concerning Sunday work; Award for BHP Steelworks issued; 18' Structural Mill, 12" and 8" Merchant Mills, Steel Foundry with Acid Open Hearth Furnace; Commonwealth Steel Co Ltd formed; Steelworks Union calls members out; Works brought to standstill for 3 months. |
| 1918 |
100 ton Blast Furnace; 33 Ovens of No 2 Battery Semet Solvay Coke Ovens; Steel Foundry Furnace; Single Strand Rod Mill; No 2 Blast Furnace (450 ton). |
| 1919 |
Iron and Steel Workers Union formed; Austral Nail Company begins production. |
| 1921 |
Administration Building occupied; NSW Labour Government introduces a 40 hour week; Essington Lewis replaces Delprat as General Manager of BHP. |
| 1924 |
David Baker retires and is succeeded by Leslie Bradford. |
| 1925 |
Australian Wire Rope Works commences adjoining steelworks. |
| 1927 |
Titan Nail Wire Pty. Ltd. taken over by BHP. |
| 1929 |
6% interest acquired Vickers-Commonwealth Steel; major shareholding acquired in John Lysaghts Bros & Co. |
| 1930 |
Open Hearth extended. |
| 1932 |
About 10,500 tons of steel supplied for Sydney Harbour Bridge; 18' Continuous Mill scrapped; Billet and Sheet Bar Mill established; No.5 Soaking Pit. |
| 1933 |
80" Plate Mill and 18' Bar Mill commences; 8' Merchant Mill scrapped; Master Mechanics Office built. |
| 1934 |
No I Blast Furnace capacity increased by 40%; extensive extensions throughout the plant. |
| 1935 |
Merger with Australian Iron & Steel Ltd; Shareholding increased in Australian Wire Rope Works (to 91%) and Commonwealth Steel (59%); No 10 Open Heath Furnace first tap; extensions to Alloy Steel and Cold Rolling Building; new Benzol Plant; new Incline Trestle to Blast Furnace; No 2 Blast Furnace 18'T Hearth blown in for fifth campaign; Cold Rolling Mill commences operations; Steckel Mill installed. |
| 1936 |
Rotary Shears at Plate Finishing Mill; new 10 ton Ore Bridge; Fabricating Shop extensions; Steel Foundry extensions; No 11 Open Hearth Furnace; No 5 A.C. Boiler; extensions to DC substation. |
| 1937 |
Titan Nail & Wire taken over; 2million cubic feet Coke Ovens Gasholder. |
| 1938 |
First tap No 13 Open Hearth Furnace; 3million cubic feet Blast Furnace Gasholder. |
| 1939 |
Newcastle Steelworks, with I million tons a year capacity, is the biggest integrated steelworks in the British Empire; BHP ceases mining at Broken Hill; World War II begins. |
| 1940 |
Essington Lewis appointed Director General of Munitions; Newcastle metallurgists discover ways of making bullet proof steel plate from local raw materials: No 3 Blast Furnace (l6'3" hearth blown in for 4th campaign); No 1 and 2 Ferro Alloy furnaces. |
| 1941 |
Extensions to chemical laboratory; magnesium plant; Tool Room; Ferro Alloy plant; Cold Rolling Mill; Coke loading plant; tungsten carbide first produced; Steel Foundry extended; second hand sintering machine bought. |
| 1942 |
Magnesium plant; 2 munition annexes; Open Hearth Mould Conditioning building; Sinter Plant Pilot (Folly Park); Japanese submarine shells Newcastle (June). |
| 1943 |
Keith Butler appointed Manager. |
| 1944 |
Cold rolling Mill Skin Pass Mill; Shortland Central Research building; Coal Cleaning Plant; No 1 Sinter Plant. |
| 1945 |
World War II ends August 14. |
| 1947 |
Wagon Repair building completed. |
| 1950 |
Two wharf luffing cranes installed; reclamation work begins on Platts Channel, Hunter River realigned. |
| 1952 |
Basic Oxygen Steel making (BOS) process developed in Austria; John Norgard takes over as Manager of the Steelworks. |
| 1954 |
Steam locos start to be replaced by diesel electric; new No 2 Ore Bridge completed; No 1 pig casting machine installed; No 4 Coke Ovens battery (Otto-Wilputte) starts production. |
| 1956 |
George Bishop becomes Manager: two additional wharf luffing cranes installed; No 2 stockyard built. |
| 1957 |
Central Research Laboratories Shortland open. |
| 1958 |
18" continuous skelp mill starts operation; new coal cleaning plant opens. |
| 1959 |
Steelmaking plant - new building erected over existing OH building using unique way of erecting roof trusses developed by Newcastle engineers; No 6 power plant boilers start operation; eight open hearth furnaces demolished to make way for BOS plant. |
| 1961 |
Apprentice Training Centre opens; Central Control Laboratory opens; Central Roll Shops begin operation; conversion of steam locomotives to diesel electric (begun 1954) completed. |
| 1962 |
First BOS furnace commissioned; new Rod Mill built on reclaimed Platts Channel. |
| 1963 |
Employees' credit union formed. |
| 1964 |
Robert Coulton appointed Steelworks General Manager; No 2 Coke Ovens battery rebuilt; By-product and hot mix asphalt plant completed; BHP News newspaper introduced. |
| 1965 |
First Apprentice of the Year Award presented; 50th anniversary of Steelworks; Olympic Swimming Pool at Mayfield donated to city; Employees Retirement Plan announced; Last open hearth heat tapped (December 2). |
| 1966 |
General Office Building completed; Steel Strapping Line installed. |
| 1968 |
William Burgess, Steelworks General Manager; Continuous billet casting machine commissioned; Tourle Street Bridge built; No I Ore Bridge demolished. |
| 1969 |
Murray Dwyer Orphanage purchased. |
| 1970 |
Brian Loton, General Manager; BOS plant -larger oxygen lances; partial reline No 4 Blast Furnace; new computer centre completed; last heat tapped at steel foundry open hearth (October 21); No 2 Merchant Mill - billet reconditioning. |
| 1971 |
No 5A Coke Ovens Battery (Otto) starts; general store building completed; last plate rolled at Plate Mill. |
| 1973 |
Cecil Hall, General Manager; Lysaghts property purchased. |
| 1974 |
Australian Industrial Refractories acquired; Main Gate Clock Race building finished; No 2 Rotary Lime Kiln. |
| 1975 |
Decommissioning of Ferro Alloy Plant and continuous casting machine; No.2 Merchant Mill double stranding equipment; No.2 Bloom Mill cold Commissioned |
| 1977 |
Rodney Harden, General Manager |
| 1979 |
Bloom Mill pulpit automation; No.5 B Coke Ovens battery commissioned; No.2 bloom mill starts production; 60 tonne BOS vessel produces special steels |
| 1980 |
John Risby, General Manager; Leaded steels facilities at Caster |
| 1982 |
Closure of No 1 Blast Furnace; No I Coke Ovens battery; brick plant; brass foundry; No I Bloom; continuous mill and 60 tonne BOS furnace. |
| 1983 |
Production of Tempcore started; centrifugal casting facilities commission; natural gas introduced. |
| 1984 |
Five-year Steel Plan begins. |
| 1985 |
Newcastle Steelworks becomes head of Rod and Bar Products Division; BHP celebrates centenary. |
| 1986 |
Bill Farrands, General Manager. |
| 1987 |
Continuous Bloom Caster commissioned. |
| 1989 |
Rob Chenery, General Manager; Newcastle earthquake (December 28) |
| 1990 |
Skelp mill closes; health and fitness centre established. |
| 1991 |
Paul Jeans Group General Manager. |
| 1992 |
Tonnage Oxygen Plant commissioned; Stage 1 Sydney Steel Mill commissioned; Future Directions. |
| 1993 |
Bob Kirkby, Group General Manager |
| 1994 |
Single logo unites BHP. |
| 1995 |
Coke Ovens biological treatment plant. |
| 1997 |
Front end closure announced. |
| 1998 |
Lance Hockridge, Group General Manager. |
| 1999 |
Newcastle Steelworks close, Rod & Bar mills continue as Onesteel. |
