We've got a 5 day weekend (Easter and ANZAC day fall together), and have been through some miserable weather...however, this weekend has had some glorious days so far (touch wood). So we took the children to the remains of the local blast furnace.
It was the first continuous operation (as opposed to batching) blast furnace in the country, commenced operation in 1907. It made the steel for the railway that linked the East and West of Oz.
Walking up to it from the south-west, the major engine house is pretty much the majority of the structure still standing...a couple of views from different angles.
Tall building had a Davey(?) vertical reciprocating steam engine that was 14m (46') high IIRC. Look at the photo at the top, and the building was crowned with a cast iron emergency water tank.
Part building at the front, and the missing buildings to the left (plinths still there) were for the later steam turbine (Parsons) installations.
Some of the remains of the blast furnace area.
The area is dotted with bee hive kilns for the production of Coke.
Limestone came from a nearby town named (guess what ???) Portland, which was the cement factory that built Sydney.
A few old boiler shells lay around the area (children loved them). Don't have too much of a snake worry this time of the year.
Area was at one time covered in blast furnace slag over 20' deep, most of which was reclaimed for roads and aggregate. The hills in the background were completely denuded in the 20s and 30s, with the fumes from the blast furnace, power station, copper smelter, and coal burning trains and populace.
In hindsight, the snake comment may have been a bit premature, this slag rock (seen in the first walking photo) was teeming with little skinks.
It was the first continuous operation (as opposed to batching) blast furnace in the country, commenced operation in 1907. It made the steel for the railway that linked the East and West of Oz.
Walking up to it from the south-west, the major engine house is pretty much the majority of the structure still standing...a couple of views from different angles.
Tall building had a Davey(?) vertical reciprocating steam engine that was 14m (46') high IIRC. Look at the photo at the top, and the building was crowned with a cast iron emergency water tank.
Part building at the front, and the missing buildings to the left (plinths still there) were for the later steam turbine (Parsons) installations.
Some of the remains of the blast furnace area.
The area is dotted with bee hive kilns for the production of Coke.
Limestone came from a nearby town named (guess what ???) Portland, which was the cement factory that built Sydney.
A few old boiler shells lay around the area (children loved them). Don't have too much of a snake worry this time of the year.
Area was at one time covered in blast furnace slag over 20' deep, most of which was reclaimed for roads and aggregate. The hills in the background were completely denuded in the 20s and 30s, with the fumes from the blast furnace, power station, copper smelter, and coal burning trains and populace.
In hindsight, the snake comment may have been a bit premature, this slag rock (seen in the first walking photo) was teeming with little skinks.
