Gasworks Brisbane, Australia
The Gasworks site in Brisbane Australia has been a stalwart of the river’s edge since its development in 1863. By 1890, the Works were supplying gas to Brisbane streets from Toowong to Hamilton (Hackner, D. Ed. (1996) p. 7) and over the next 100 years, it would grow to supply Brisbane city with the latest in gas technology until it was decommissioned in 1996.
In March 1866, the Queensland Defence Force placed an official request for town gas connection, evidence of the vital role the Gasworks played in the economic development of colonial Brisbane (Lambert, J.T 1996. p9). In fact, the Gasworks were considered to be of such importance, that during World War II, genuine fears of attack from Japanese air raids motivated the installation of anti aircraft guns which vigilantly watched over the plant and its employees throughout the war (Lambert, J.T 1996. p10).
The site itself has been synonymous with economic growth and benefit to Brisbane and Queensland with the success of the Gasworks facilitating further development of the Newstead/Teneriffe area to include the James Hardie fibro-cement manufacturing plant, Shell Oil plant, Brisbane Water and Sewerage Depot and even the “Brisbane Gas Company Cookery School” which operated in the 1940s. In 1954, a carbonizing plant was built, giving Brisbane the “most modern gas producing plant in Australia” (Lambert, J.T 1996. p10), consuming 100 tonnes of coal every eight hours.
During its golden years in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the site also played a vital role in providing employment to Aboriginal Australians and many migrant workers arriving here from Europe after the second World War.
The fine tradition of the Brisbane Gasworks economic and employment-based successes will not be lost or forgotten with the Teneriffe Gasworks Village Development paying homage to the sites history and integrity in its pending urban development.
The Gasholder structure at this site is set to become a hub of a new property development on the site – keeping the structural integrity of the pig iron structure. It will be a true reflection of urban renewal embracing its industrial past.
Read more about this topic: Gasworks, Gasworks Being Operated As Industrial Museums
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