NSWRail & telegraph
Woy Woy
A mile of brick tunnel turned Webb’s Flat into the Peninsula’s railway town.
1888Railway reaches Woy Woy
WHAT STARTED IT
The town grew on Webb’s Flat, land bought by Brisbane Water’s first settler James Webb beside a deep tidal channel at the northern tip of the Peninsula. When the Sydney–Newcastle railway was pushed through here in the 1880s, the station became the landing point for the whole Peninsula.
WHAT SUSTAINED IT
About 800 men built the Woy Woy Tunnel between 1884 and 1886, and shipbuilder Rock Davis barged millions of bricks to Brick Wharf for the job. Once trains arrived in 1888, Woy Woy became a fishing and holiday resort, with at least 17 boarding houses in the district by 1911.
TURNING POINTS
1888The railway opens to Woy Woy on 16 January, with a timber platform.
1897The Woy Woy Hotel opens on the waterfront to serve visitors arriving by train.
1910The line is duplicated and a brick island platform is built for weekend crowds.
1960Electric trains reach Woy Woy as the line is electrified.
WHAT IT DOES NOW
The commercial centre and rail interchange of the Woy Woy Peninsula, with commuters travelling daily to Sydney and Newcastle. Ferries still run from the waterfront to Davistown and Empire Bay.