West Melbourne Gasworks

The West Melbourne Gasworks was a coal gasification plant in West Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.[1]

History

Melbourne was settled in 1835, and by the early 1850s the gold-rushes had led to rapid population growth. The City of Melbourne Gas and Coke Company leased five acres (2 hectares) of Crown Land in 1854, to construct a plant for the gasification of black coal. The works operated until 1962, importing coal via a dedicated wharf and a system of narrow gauge tracks drawn by steam locomotives.[2] Several of these locomotives have been preserved and are now used on the Puffing Billy Railway.

In 1962, the works was upgraded to incorporate a catalytic oil gas facility, but this was shiort-lived, and in 1970 the works was closed down, and the remaining structures demolished by 1974.[3]

Site extent

The works was gradually expanded between 1900 and 1910, eventually covering 8 hectares in an area now extending from Waterview Walk to the Yarra River, with the new Collins Street extension and Harbour Esplanade running through the site.

References

  1. ↑ Circle of Influence – A History of the Gas Industry in Victoria Ray Proudley 1987, Hargreen Publishing Company in Association with the Gas and Fuel Corporation of Victoria
  2. ↑ Light Railways No.136 April 1997, Light Railways Research Society of Australia
  3. ↑ Dames & Moore, 'Report, Environmental Audit Area A West Melbourne Gasworks Site,' 2002, Docklands Authority
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