Published Resources Details
Conference Paper
- Title
- The Great Lake (Waddamana 'A') Power Development in Tasmania 1910-1965: Origins and Working History
- In
- 9th National Conference on Engineering Heritage: Proceedings
- Imprint
- Institution of Engineers, Australia, Melbourne, Victoria, 1998, pp. 151-159
- ISBN/ISSN
- 1858256843
- Url
- https://search.informit.org/doi/10.3316/informit.546877113641335
- Abstract
The Great Lake (Waddamana 'A') Power development was originated in 1910 by a private company to supply power for a new electrolytic smelting process in Hobart. Unusually severe weather conditions in 1912 and refinancing problems forced the company into receivership in 1914. The Government took over construction to create the first complete public hydro electric supply system in Australia, opening in 1916. Remoteness of the area required transport of equipment by rail, road using steam traction engines, and a purpose built wooden railed horse drawn tramway. The Chief Engineer for both the company and the government construction (and later expansion and administration) was J.H. Butters. After opening in 1916 the scheme was expanded by 1922 with a higher dam, 7 higher capacity machines and 5 transmission lines. The plant remained in continuous and heavily loaded service till shut down in 1965. Over this period additions were made to the scheme, including a second canal, a second station a large switch yard and a further storage dam. This paper is not strictly a research paper but more a summary of the information gathered while operating, maintaining and administering the development and subsequently due to the interest generated by that experience. For details of the civil works and biographical notes of the engineers involved see Ref. 6. The Imperial units used in the design and construction and during the working life have been retained for this paper.
Related Published resources
isPartOf
- 9th National Conference on Engineering Heritage: Proceedings edited by Martin, Ray L (Melbourne, Vic.: Institution of Engineers, Australia, 1998), 213 pp, https://search.informit.org/doi/book/10.3316/informit.1858256843. Details