The proposed ‘Skeleton Jetty’ was constructed. The skeleton jetty was a rail link running from 166m east of the existing jetty. The rail lines were put in place for steam trains hauling loads of timber, potatoes and coal. Until this time, horse and cart were used to transport goods along the jetty. These steam trains ran until the 1960’s when they were replaced by diesel trains. This Skeleton Jetty is still standing today and is 635m in length and provided a rail link between the land and the jetty.
A further 603m was added to the length of the jetty, of this, the final 168m was constructed as a berthing head and at this point the water depth was 7.6m. In February, intensive dredging of the harbour commenced for two months resulting in the harbour being sufficiently wider and deeper to allow safer berthing of larger ships. In November, extra bollards for berthing vessels at the jetty were installed and mooring buoys placed into position to help secure ships.
The timber industry began to boom and so did the tourism sector. To cater for the jetty’s function as an attraction, social amenities were also added. A pavilion was constructed on the jetty and was used for band concerts and other activities. Sea baths were also constructed in the area of water between the original jetty and the new Viaduct. Deemed the finest bathing area in the State, it was secure against the intrusion of sharks and other ‘sea monsters’. The length of the baths along the original jetty frontage was 100m, with the piling between the two jetties were 4m deep, 150m wide. The baths also included a platform (16.6m in length and 4.3m in width) on the jetty that accommodated a number of spacious dressing compartments.
