Whyalla City Council has announced an extension of its well-known and popular steelworks tours.
The tours, run by Council and OneSteel Manufacturing Pty Limited (Administrators Appointed), operate from the Whyalla Visitor Centre. They have been impressing tourists over two decades and last year took more than 3,000 visitors around Whyalla’s main industrial operation.
Previously unseen additions to the tours include spectacular views of the Whyalla Port, a stop at the top of the last remaining ship-building slipway and a visit to the settling ponds and mangrove environment that are benefiting from the steelworks’ water remediation process.
To further enhance the experience, a range of videos, accessed via a QR code, have been produced for visitors to see exactly what happens inside key areas of the steelworks.
City of Whyalla Visitor Experience Coordinator, Ali Sanders said the new tour route and narrative was an informative refresh and would be especially exciting during History Month in May, when the spectacular night tours kicked off again.
“Council has been proud to conduct the steelworks tours for many years and they have proved to be a real tourist drawcard for the city,” said Ms Sanders.
“We get amazing demand for this experience which gives visitors, and locals, a unique opportunity to see behind the fence and inside the works of our main industry in Whyalla.
“This revamped tour with more to see, including the videos, will give tour-goers an even closer look and understanding of how our steelmaking facility ticks. It is a fascinating insight into one of the major manufacturing facilities in our country.”
OneSteel Manufacturing Head of Sustainability and Community, Chris Smyth, thanked Council for its efforts in running the tours and cooperation in putting together the revamped tour narrative that outlines the future transformation to low-carbon emission iron and steel.
He said it was especially pleasing to add the settling ponds and mangrove areas of the plant, as it showcased some of the outstanding rejuvenation work being done to protect and enhance the local marine environment.
“Working on-site every day, we take the steelworks for granted a bit and these tours are a good reminder of how fascinating the facility and the environment that we work in really is,” said Mr Smyth.
“It is an eye-opener for tour participants and fantastic to see the reaction of people when they see how the steelworks actually functions with all the various pieces and processes that combine to produce iron and steel.
“It is far more than just the big factory buildings they see from the highway, as visitors witness the intricacies of the operation while we describe efforts to look after the environment and can now give a further preview of our plans for low-emission iron and steel.”
Conducted from the Whyalla Visitor Information Centre, the 90-minute tours run every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 9.30am, except for public holidays. Bookings are essential, with closed-in footwear required. Eight twilight tours are scheduled for various dates in May, for all bookings and enquiries phone (08) 8645 7900 or toll free 1800 088 589 Or book online here.
