Volunteers restore the old Dunkirk jetty ahead of summer

On a grey Saturday morning in early October, the car park at the end of the Esplanade was full by 7 am. Utes loaded with sanders, tins of decking oil and eskies of sandwiches lined the kerb as the Friends of Dunkirk Jetty began the biggest working bee the group has run since it formed in 2019.

The timber jetty, built in 1926 and heritage-listed by council in 2004, had been closed at its far end since last winter’s storms lifted three sections of decking. Council engineers repaired the piles in August; the volunteers took on everything above the waterline.

Two weekends, 1,400 volunteer hours

Across two weekends, volunteers replaced 212 deck boards with recycled spotted gum donated by a local builder, oiled the full 180-metre length and repainted the handrails in the jetty’s original heritage green.

How you can help

• Join the next working bee on Saturday 7 November.

• Donate to the jetty maintenance fund — every A$25 buys a new deck board.

• Report loose boards or damage to council through the Snap Send Solve app.