Conference Paper

Author

Evans, Peter S.

Title

Water turbines of the Woods Point goldfield 1866-1867

In

19th Australasian engineering heritage conference: putting water to work: steam power, river navigation and water supply

Editors

Engineers Australia and Engineering Heritage Australia

Imprint

Engineering Heritage Australia, Barton, Australian Capital Territory, 2017, pp. 76-89

ISBN/ISSN

9781922107923

Url

https://search.informit.org/doi/10.3316/informit.384074194580739

Subject

Chronological Classification 1788-1900 Applied Sciences Engineering and Technology

Abstract

Water turbine technology was still relatively young when it was first introduced to the predominantly-dry continent of Australia. Some of the earliest examples of Australian water turbines were installed in Victoria during the mid- 1860s in a relatively concentrated area of the remote Woods Point goldfield, situated on the upper reaches of the Goulburn River in the Great Dividing Range. This paper will outline of the development of water turbine technology up until its introduction at Woods Point and discuss the early history of that goldfield and initial choices of power technology. A short history of each of the mining sites at which the Woods Point water turbines were installed will follow, along with an explanation as to why mid nineteenth century transport difficulties over the recently-opened Yarra Track made water turbines the favoured technology. The majority of the Woods Point turbines were installed under the supervision of Richard Jenkin Polglase, a somewhat tragic, frequently insolvent, and almost-forgotten Cornish engineer. The paper will also discuss some of the reasons why the installation of turbines ceased after such a short period of operation. The paper will conclude with a comparative analysis of other early water turbine installations in Victoria and demonstrate that Woods Point pioneered the use of this technology in Victoria.

Source

cohn 2018

Related Published resources

isPartOf

• 19th Australasian engineering heritage conference: putting water to work: steam power, river navigation and water supply edited by Engineers Australia and Engineering Heritage Australia (Barton, Australian Capital Territory: Engineers Australia, 2017), 536 pp. Details