On Friday, 29 August 2025, we were excited to host the team from 97.3 ABC Illawarra for a live broadcast of their breakfast-radio show at the front of the Hot Strip Mill at our Port Kembla Steelworks in Australia. The special event was planned to coincide with the 70th anniversary celebration of the Hot Strip Mill, including dedicated interviews with leaders and current and former employees of BlueScope, while also providing a platform for members of the local community to share their memories and family stories linked to the steelworks.

This edited episode includes the full series of interviews and listener contributions from the live breakfast-radio show, all of which has been adapted specifically for the podcast experience.

Chapters

1. Introduction: 0:00
2. Welcome to ABC Illawarra Breakfast with Mel James: 1:45
3. Greg Baldock on the Hot Strip Mill: 3:26
4. Grant Neilsen on Generations of Steelmakers: 13:33
5. Craig Nealon on 100 Years of Iron- and Steelmaking in Port Kembla: 18:09
6. Listener Stories: 30:00
7. Poppy, Russell and Terry Pollock on Being a Steel Family: 31:10
8. Tony Donnelly inside the Hot Strip Mill: 38:07
9. Listener Stories: 44:35
10. Tania Archibald on BlueScope Now and in the Future: 51:22
11. Shannon Ballard on the Plate Mill Upgrade: 1:05:40
12. Michael Yiend on the Port Kembla Land Transformation: 1:11:15
13. Listener Stories: 1:21:18
14. Rebecca Shaw on Quality Control: 1:23:12
15. Listener Stories: 1:25:57
16. Justin Reed on the No. 6 Blast Furnace Reline Project: 1:26:42
17. Nikki McCarthy-Hicks on Tours with Inside Industry: 1:32:06
18. Final Listener Stories and Breakfast Outro: 1:36:29
19. Conclusion: 1:38:14

Links

• 97.3 FM Illawarra on ABC Listen
• FocusOn Hot Strip Mill video on TVBlueScope
• Photos of the opening of the Hot Strip Mill in 1955
• Photos of the live radio broadcast and 70th anniversary celebration in 2025
• Exploring Lindenfels and Port Kembla History with Craig Nealon (WIN News) on TVBlueScope
• Focus On video and accompanying photos of Poppy Pollock and her fellow UOW engineering cadets
• Tania's first interview on the podcast in episode 35 (plus a video excerpt)
• Plate Mill Modernisation Announcement in Port Kembla, NSW on TVBlueScope
• Microsite for the Port Kembla land transformation and rezoning proposal video on TVBlueScope
• No. 6 Blast Furnace Reline Updates on TVBlueScope
• Inside Industry

Connect with Us

• Website
• LinkedIn
• TVBlueScope on YouTube

Credits

• Produced and presented by the ABC Illawarra Breakfast team, including Mel James, Jen Courtney, Amy Duggan, Rory McDonald, Nick McLaren and Peter Riley
• Interviews organised by Tim Robinson
• Edited by Martin Feld

Auto-transcript on Apple Podcasts, edited PDF coming soon