The Balmain Power Station was located at

Iron Cove Iron Cove is a bay on the Parramatta River, in the inner-west of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is approximately due west of Sydney's central business district. It is surrounded by the suburbs of Birchgrove, Balmain ...

, from

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

, Australia. The station no longer exists and residential properties now occupy the site. This plant is often confused with the

White Bay Power Station The 'White Bay Power Station'' is a heritage listed former coal-fired power station on a site in White Bay, New South Wales, White Bay, in the suburb of Rozelle, from Sydney in New South Wales, Australia. The remains of the plant can be clea ...

, which still stands in

Rozelle Rozelle is a suburb in the inner west of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located 4 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the Inner West Council. Location Rozelle s ...

History

In 1903, the Public Health Department directed Balmain Council to find alternatives to the open tip dumping of local rubbish. The council invited tenders for a combined garbage destructor and

power plant A power station, also referred to as a power plant and sometimes generating station or generating plant, is an industrial facility for the electricity generation, generation of electric power. Power stations are generally connected to an electr ...

and on 30 September 1909, the newly constructed power station 'A' commenced operation. Power came from 2

Belliss and Morcom Belliss and Morcom is a manufacturer and supplier of oil-free reciprocating compressors, technologies and services. Founded in 1852 in Birmingham, West Midlands, it is now a division of Ingersoll Rand based in Redditch, Worcestershire, England. ...

high-speed engines coupled to 5000-volt BTH generators. The output was 500 kW from one machine and 250 kW from the other. Steam came from two Babcock & Wilcox chain grate coal-fired boilers plus the destructor boiler. In 1913 two

Willans & Robinson Willans & Robinson Limited manufacturing engineers of Thames Ditton, Surrey. Later, from 1896, at Victoria Works, Rugby, Warwickshire, England. They were manufacturers of stationary reciprocating steam engines then steam turbines, diesel motors an ...

900 kW turbo generators were added. These were further accompanied by a Curtis-BTH 2.5 MW turbine (Number 1) in 1914. A Curtis-BTH 3 MW machine (Number 2) was added in 1922. A 7.5 MW Fraser & Chalmers machine was added in 1923. Steam came from additional Babcock & Wilcox chain grate boilers. This brought "A" Station capacity to 15 MW. In 1928 a 10 MW Curtis - BTH machine (Number 3) was installed, and in 1935 an 18.75 MW AEG turbine (Number 4) was added, bringing total capacity to 41 MW. In 1947 and 1953 the first two Babcock & Wilcox boilers were transferred to Muswellbrook power station. 'B' Station:- A second phase of construction took place between 1940 and 1950. A 9.4 MW English Electric back pressure turbine (Number 5) was installed. This was a high-pressure turbine that sent its exhaust steam to the "A" Station lower-pressure turbines. 1952 saw the addition of a 25 MW Parsons steam turbine (Number 6). Two more Parsons 25 MW machines (Number 7 and Number 8) were added by 1956. Steam for machines 5–8 was supplied by four high-pressure Babcock & Wilcox pulverized coal boilers. This doubled the generation capacity of the plant, bringing it to 126.2 MW. The original station was a private facility, owned by the Electric Light and Power Supply Corporation (EL&PSC), which supplied electricity to consumers and businesses in Balmain, Leichhardt, Ashfield, Newtown and Petersham. It also supplied power to large enterprises in the local area including Mort's Dock and the Balmain Colliery. The ''Balmain Electric Light Company Purchase Act 1950'' (NSW) enabled the acquisition of the plant by the

Electricity Commission of New South Wales The Electricity Commission of New South Wales, sometimes called Elcom, was a statutory authority responsible for electricity generation and its bulk transmission throughout New South Wales, Australia. The commission was established on 22 May 1950 ...

. A legal dispute over the valuation of the power station then ensued which delayed the sale until January 1957 when the plant changed hands for £600,000. The plant continued to supply power until 1976 when it was decommissioned.

Today

The power station was demolished in 1998, and the ''Balmain Shores'' apartment complex was built on the site. Prior to its demolition, the 'B' Station was used as the set of an episode of the ABC program ''Police Rescue''. Only two of the original buildings remain as part of the new development: * Power Station 'A' pump house — This 1934 building is located on the foreshore and was used to house the generators powering the electric pumps taking cold water from the river to the station. The water was used to cool condensers before being pumped back to the river. :None of the original machinery exists in the well-preserved red brick building. However, the original

copper Copper is a chemical element; it has symbol Cu (from Latin ) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkish-orang ...

letters spelling the words "Power Station" were salvaged from the main building prior to demolition and are hung at the eastern end of the pump house. * Administration block — The former administration block was built in the 1930s and housed offices for the EL&PSC. The building has been renamed ''The Villa'' and forms part of the ''Balmain Shores'' complex. It was declared a heritage building prior to the official re-opening in March 2003.

Notes

* State Records NSW, Electricity Commission of New South Wales
Agency Detail
* Solling, M; Reynolds, P; ''Leichhardt: On the margins of the city'', Allen & Unwin, 1997, . * Pacific Power, ''Demolition of Balmain Power Station, Rozelle. Statement of Environmental Effects'', Pacific Power Services, October 1994. * The Balmain Association, ''Peninsula Observer'', Volume 28, Number 6, Issue 226, December 1993. * NSW Government - Department of Planning
''Harbour Circle Walk - Loop and Alternate Walks''
* On-site Information Plaques, Balmain Shores Apartment Complex, Rozelle, NSW.

External links

Local Images at InnerWest ImageBank

Local History Collection, Leichhardt Council
* C-By-SA {{EnergyNSW Buildings and structures demolished in 1998 Former buildings and structures in Sydney Coal-fired power stations in New South Wales Demolished buildings and structures in Sydney Demolished power stations Decommissioned power stations in New South Wales Rozelle, New South Wales 1909 establishments in Australia Energy infrastructure completed in 1909

History

Today

See also

Notes

External links