Speculation continues to surround the new Bombo Headland walking track staircase which is yet to be officially opened.

Kiama Council announced delays in opening the stairs to the public and to any official opening without any explanation or new opening date.

A Kiama Council spokesperson told The Bugle that contractors are working through the final stage of compliance and will hand ownership back to Council once completed. Council will announce an opening date once this happens.

Council’s Director of Infrastructure and Liveability Michael Malone said: “The series of high impact delays on the stair project have been very frustrating to all of us that have been involved.” 

“We are working with the contractor to manage the final compliance issues so the stairs can be handed over to council -- we want the community and our visitors to be able to use the stairs so they can more easily access this magnificent part of our foreshore.” 

The stairs will link the Kiama walking track from Minamurra into the Bombo Headland where walkers can rejoin the main walking track at the northern end of Bombo beach.

The $500,000 project received funding in 2018 through the Regional Growth Environment and Tourism Fund.

Councillor Warren Steel told The Bugle that the staircase has been of personal interest to him for the past decade. He is still keen for the side track to be called “Thunder Track” as a translation of the local Indigenous Bombo. The name change was accepted by Council in 2014 but rejected by the NSW Government’s Geographical Names Board in 2015.

Another suggested Indigenous name is Muru Bombo, which is Bombo Track in the local language. The current name is the Bombo Headland Eco Walk.

“Thunder Track” and Muru Bombo are two suggested names for the side track.  

One of the walking track’s features is that it allows access to the World Geological Heritage site at Bombo Headland. It was proclaimed as such in 1999.

One feature of the walking track is it allows access to the World Geological Heritage site at Bombo Headland. The World Geological Heritage Site was proclaimed in 1999 as an acknowledgement that the discovery that the Earth’s Magnetic Poles actually reversed was captured in the cooling lava of one of the dykes in the quarry. 

This period is named the Kiaman Reversed Polarity SuperChron. The World Geological Heritage Site proclamation is why no development can occur at Bombo Headland. The rocks reversed their magnetic polarity as they cooled, an extremely rare geological event. A Permanent Conservation Order was placed over the site in 1983. 

The walking track was opened in 1989 by then Sports and Recreation Minister Robert Smith in acknowledgement of the important local heritage value of the blue metal quarry that occupied the site for many decades. 

It’s not just popular for the metals, though. The waves striking the tall basalt columns of the Headland can reach great heights and are very popular with photographers worldwide. 

Bombo Headland was a major basalt quarry for many years with the crushed metal taken by train for construction material. The entire Headland was hollowed out when it was an active quarry site and employed hundreds of workers.  

The quarry served as a setting for The Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers.

The quarry was also a location site for the movie Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers in 1994 and was featured as the backdrop for the absolutely iconic opening and closing scenes of the beloved ABC TV comedy series Aunty Jack which was produced in 1972. Many other music clips, TV ads, and TV series such as Neighbours have used the quarry backdrop as a filming location.

This article was updated 12:48PM 27 July 2023 to include comments from Kiama Council.