Prime Minister Hawke and Chinese delegation at the Whyalla Airport, May 1985, Whyalla News

After the Shipyards: Whyalla in the 1980s

When the BHP Whyalla Shipyards closed permanently in 1978, it led to an exodus of some of the skilled workers and their families. As Whyalla was built around heavy industries, the story of the city has been described as being continually in decline since. Was that notion correct? This is the 1980s.

Presented by Whyalla Maritime Museum