The East Perth Power Station is a disused

power station 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 ...

East Perth East is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fact that eas ...

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

. For most of its life it was

coal-fired Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal is a type of fossi ...

, but ran on

oil An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) and lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturate ...

for six years. The site consists of a complex of industrial buildings occupying more than , bounded by East Parade, Summers Street, the Swan River and the

Graham Farmer Freeway The Graham Farmer Freeway is a inner-city freeway in Perth, Western Australia. It links the Mitchell Freeway in West Perth to Great Eastern Highway and Orrong Road in Burswood, providing an east–west bypass of the Perth central business d ...

History

The Power Station was constructed between 1913 and 1916 by the Western Australian State Government, which announced that the facility would generate all the electricity needed in the Perth Metropolitan area. The site of East Perth was chosen because

coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other Chemical element, elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal i ...

could easily be delivered there by

rail Rail or rails may refer to: Rail transport *Rail transport and related matters *Railway track or railway lines, the running surface of a railway Arts and media Film * ''Rails'' (film), a 1929 Italian film by Mario Camerini * ''Rail'' (1967 fil ...

and because the enormous quantities of cooling water required by the condensing plant could easily be drawn from the Swan River. Construction was completed at a total cost of

£A The pound (Currency symbol, sign: £, £A for distinction) was the currency of Australia from 1910 until 14 February 1966, when it was replaced by the Australian dollar. Like other £sd currencies, it was subdivided into 20 Shilling (Australian ...

538,000,East Perth Redevelopment Authority
Fact Sheet
/ref> equivalent to in . East Perth Power House 1929

In the 1920s, 1930s and 1950s new

power generators Electricity generation is the process of generating electric power from sources of primary energy. For utilities in the electric power industry, it is the stage prior to its delivery (transmission, distribution, etc.) to end users or its storag ...

were added to the facility to meet the city's growing demand for power. By 1948 the station had an array of power generating sources. In 1968 the station converted from coal to

, but six years later returned to coal firing. The station was decommissioned and closed in December 1981, as more advanced and cheaper methods of

electricity generation Electricity generation is the process of generating electric power from sources of primary energy. For electric utility, utilities in the electric power industry, it is the stage prior to its Electricity delivery, delivery (Electric power transm ...

made the facility redundant. East Perth Power Station Banner 2009

Conservation and protection

The East Perth Power Station is considered to be one of the State's most significant

industrial heritage Industrial heritage refers to the physical and intangible legacy of industrialisation, including buildings, machinery, workshops, sites, and landscapes of historical and technological significance. Stefan Berger and Steven High define industrial h ...

buildings.East Perth Redevelopment Authority
East Perth Power Station
It includes a range of remnant machinery and equipment that is believed to be unique in the world because it contains the five different stages of power generation technology that occurred in the 20th century. As early as 1993 plans were in place for conservation and protection of the site. In 2007 an oral history project was conducted of former workers at the site. The recordings are held at

Battye Library The J S Battye Library (more properly known as the J. S. Battye Library of West Australian History) is an arm of the State Library of Western Australia. It stores much of the state's historical records and original publications including books, ...

. In 2011, University of Western Australia historian Charles Fox published a history of the station ''Powering Perth''.

Proposed redevelopment

In the 2000s the East Perth Redevelopment Authority developed a draft master plan for the site's future use, which went out to the public during a three-month community consultation period (7 November 2004 – 28 February 2005). Site works commenced in July 2004 and included a general clean up, building stabilisation and weather proofing. In early 2005 the

Government of Western Australia The Government of Western Australia is the States and territories of Australia, Australian state democratic administrative authority of Western Australia. It is also commonly referred to as the WA Government or the Western Australian Governmen ...

appointed a Major Stadia Taskforce to report on the construction of a new stadium in Perth. Its final report recommended the construction of a new 60,000-seat stadium at either Kitchener Park (which adjoins

Subiaco Oval Subiaco Oval (; nicknamed Subi) was a sports stadium in Perth, Western Australia, located in the suburb of Subiaco, Western Australia, Subiaco. It was opened in 1908 and closed in 2017 after the completion of the new Perth Stadium in Burswood, ...

) or at the East Perth Power Station site. In early 2008 the Government confirmed that Subiaco Oval would be demolished for the new Perth super-stadium to be built next door at Kitchener Park.Perth to get new $1.1 billion stadium
''

The Age ''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria (Australia), Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Austral ...

'' 8 February 2008 This site was chosen ahead of the other suggested site at the Power Station, which was instead to house a new $500 million

museum A museum is an institution dedicated to displaying or Preservation (library and archive), preserving culturally or scientifically significant objects. Many museums have exhibitions of these objects on public display, and some have private colle ...

Media Release: 'New major sports stadium for Western Australia'
, 8 February 2008 Planning and design of the new museum was to begin in 2008, with construction expected to begin in 2012. The extensive fit-out required for the museum was scheduled to start in 2013, with completion of the entire project expected in late 2015.

Media Release: 'Western Australia to build a Museum for the 21st century'
, 8 February 2008 The redevelopment was to have been overseen by the Government's Office of Strategic Projects. Following the election of a new State

Liberal party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

government under

Colin Barnett Colin James Barnett (born 15 July 1950) is an Australian former politician who was the 29th Premier of Western Australia. He concurrently served as the state's Treasurer at several points during his tenure and had previously held various other ...

, the redevelopment plans were scrapped in early February 2009 as part of a response to reduce government expenditure.Sports stadium and museum plans scrapped
''

Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is Australia’s principal public service broadcaster. It is funded primarily by grants from the federal government and is administered by a government-appointed board of directors. The ABC is ...

'' 2 February 2009 In February 2015, the site was subdivided into four lots for sale to developers. The first lot offered for sale includes the power station building, which the purchaser would be required to preserve and redevelop. In 2020, Minderoo Group and

Australian Capital Equity Kerry Matthew Stokes (born John Patrick Alford on 13 September 1940) is an Australian businessman. He holds business interests in industries including electronic and print media, property, mining and construction equipment. He is most widely k ...

were nominated as preferred developers, but both companies withdrew from the joint venture in February 2023. The exclusive rights expired in March 2023 and were not renewed due to "insufficient progress" on the project.

References

{{subject bar , auto=y , portal1=Western Australia , portal2=Energy Landmarks in Perth, Western Australia State Register of Heritage Places in the City of Vincent East Perth, Western Australia Former power stations in Australia Economic history of Western Australia Coal-fired power stations in Western Australia Oil-fired power stations in Western Australia