Signs of a solid cruise port? More and more maiden calls. Such is the case in Newcastle, New South Wales, and is a direct response to commercial incentives introduced on port charges for inaugural visits, said David Brown, business development officer for the port.

“Cunard and Azamara will visit Newcastle for the first time in early 2016,” he said. “Royal Caribbean and Celebrity will return as regular visitors to the port, while P&O Australia is scheduled to make four calls. Silversea returns after several years, and the cruise season is scheduled to end with a maiden visit by Oceania’s Insignia in May 2016.”

One new piece of tourism infrastructure is the Memorial Walk, which was built to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the ANZAC landing at Gallipoli in the First World War, as well as the commencement of steel making in the port. The walk features a 160 meter cliff top bridge adorned with steel silhouettes of soldiers inscribed with close to 4,000 family names of almost 11,000 known Hunter Valley men and women who enlisted during World War I.