A huge fire ravages the jetty despite the efforts of local emergency crews and volunteer fire-fighters to minimize the damage. The blaze broke out close to the end and destroyed 70 metres of timbers. The fire was difficult to manage and staff members were forced to chainsaw the burning section into the waters of Geographe Bay to control the flames. The cause of this fire remains a mystery, although the most commonly accepted theory is that a stray cigarette butt fell between the timbers.
As the last 150 metres of the jetty was now isolated because of the fire, the proposed plans for the construction of an Underwater Observatory at the end of the jetty were now at risk.
