New South Wales · Attraction
Newcastle Memorial Walk
Cliff-top tribute in steel
schedule 1 min read / Updated Jun 2026
Opened in 2015 to mark the centenary of the ANZAC landing at Gallipoli and the beginning of steelmaking in Newcastle, the Memorial Walk is a 450-metre cliff-top walkway and 160-metre bridge adorned with steel silhouettes of soldiers and the inscribed names of nearly 11,000 Hunter Valley men and women who enlisted in World War I. Built from 64 tonnes of stainless steel as a deliberate nod to Newcastle's industrial heritage, the walk offers dramatic views of the coastline and is illuminated after dark, remaining open 24 hours a day.
The walk begins at Strzelecki Lookout on Memorial Drive and runs along the clifftop above Bathers Way, with the bridge section spanning a dramatic gap in the sandstone headland. Steel silhouettes of servicemen and women are positioned at intervals along the bridge, and the handrails are etched with thousands of family name groups representing the almost 11,000 known Hunter Valley people who served. The second section of the walk drops via a stairway to connect directly with the Bathers Way coastal track.
The design deliberately links the two defining moments of 1915 for the Hunter region: the Gallipoli campaign and the lighting of the first furnace at the Newcastle steelworks. The use of stainless steel as the primary construction material honours both of those histories simultaneously. Disability access is available on the upper bridge section.
The walk is free to visit at any hour and is a popular spot for sunset and twilight photography, when the steel silhouettes catch the last light above the ocean. It connects seamlessly with the broader Bathers Way route, making it a natural inclusion on a half-day walk of Newcastle's coastline.
Scenic views
