The dredging vessel spitting sand onto Stockton beach on October 16 was a welcome and long-awaited sight for Stockton locals.
The first 100,000 cubic metres of sand started hitting the eroded coastline on the weekend.
The 75-metre dredging vessel will extract sand from an outer shipping channel in Newcastle Harbour and complete up to 10 trips per day for several weeks.
Minister for Regional NSW Tara Moriarty said about 16,000 cubic metres of sand had been placed by Monday morning.
The sand is a dark colour, but Ms Moriarty said that should be no cause for concern.
"People might be looking at the color, but that's because it's been under the water for a period of time," she said.
"Nature will do its thing, the tide will wash it up onto the beach to replenish the beach and it will match the sand that's here.
"It is the right quality, that's what the experts have advised."
The spectacle attracted dozens of onlookers on Monday morning, including Stockton Surf Lifesaving Club director of lifesaving Brendon Ryman said.
"We're finally seeing something done for once," he said. "You see a lot of Band-aid things done and not a lot of action, but now we can actually see it happening. So it's really good.
Erosion has taken a heavy toll on the club over the years, Mr Ryman said.
"It's been pretty bad actually, two years ago we couldn't get access to the beach," he said.
"None of our rescue gear could get on the beach, we couldn't do any callouts, nippers had to be transferred to the grass areas and the pool.
"It was a danger to get down onto the beach and at times the beach was actually closed.
"We couldn't operate at all, so a lot of our patrols were done from the shed - we had to turn up but we just couldn't get to the beach. That went on for a full season."
The initial 100,000 cubic metres of sand will be followed by another 200,000 in the next stages. However 2.4 million cubic metres is needed to properly replenish the beach.
Mr Ryman said he felt the dredge work was a great "building block" towards that long-term goal.
"It's a positive step forward, instead of just procrastinating on it," he said.
When asked how long the initial sand nourishment was expected to last on the shore before it washed away again, Ms Moriarity answered: "This is stage one of a longer term process, so 100,000 cubic metres over the next couple of weeks. Then we'll do the next 200,000 cubic meters and then we'll continue our planning for the long term solution."
Minister for the Hunter Yasmin Catley said the government was working on a plan for the coastline.
"We will continue to make sure solutions here at Stockton are addressed," she said.
"Obviously through the [Stockton Beach] Taskforce, we've got a blueprint underway.
"We'll have more to say on that by the end of the year, but that will give us a roadmap on what we're going to do to address coastal erosion here at Stockton."
Newcastle lord mayor Nuatali Nelmes described the start of the dredge work as a "watershed moment".
"It really is a fantastic day for Stockton and for the City of Newcastle," she said. "This is what real action looks like."
Newcastle MP Tim Crakanthorp said it was "a huge win for the Stockton community".
"The initial dredging will get the ball rolling towards the NSW government's $21 million commitment to a long-term solution to the erosion and I am keen to continue working with the Stockton community to replenish the beach," he said.
The initial supply of sand is funded by a joint $6.2 million grant between the federal government and Newcastle council. The state government has also committed $21 million for mass sand nourishment.
A 200-metre exclusion zone will be in place around the dredger while it is working, and sections of the beach might be closed intermittently.
Information about exclusion zones will be available via temporary signage at the beach and on the City of Newcastle website.
Community members are invited to a drop-in session at Stockton Surf Lifesaving Club between 2pm-7pm on October 24 to learn more about the project.
