Catherine Hill Bay is a heritage coastal village on the southern Lake Macquarie coast, and this job was a steel fence on the headland there. It is about as exposed a position as fencing gets: open to the wind off the water and the salt that comes with it.
What a headland fence has to handle
The location sets the specification. On an exposed coastal headland the constant is salt-laden wind, and bare steel does not last long in it. That is why coastal steel gets hot-dip galvanised, and often marine-grade treatment on top, so the zinc coating takes the salt rather than the steel underneath. Posts have to be set to carry wind load in an open position, not just the weight of the fence itself, and the finishes are chosen for corrosion resistance first.
Get those right and a steel fence in a spot like this holds its line and its finish for the long term. Get them wrong and the coast finds every shortcut within a couple of seasons. A headland fence is a good reminder that where a fence stands matters as much as what it is made of.