The Melbourne Hydraulic Power Company and public hydraulic power systems in Australia

Abstract

This paper begins by briefly outlining the origin and development of hydraulic power equipment and systems in Britain that led to the public utility manifestations in Hull, London and Liverpool in 1876-1885. The entrepreneurial formation of the Melbourne Hydraulic Power Company in 1888 and its early success as a public utility for motive power applications for the City of Melbourne is then described. From enjoying an initial virtual monopoly as a motive power utility, the company faced increasing competition from the development of electricity distribution for both light and power from 1900, but continued to operate profitably. In 1925, in accordance with the original enabling legislation, the assets and business of the company reverted to the City Corporation. With some restructuring of the central plant, the Council continued to operate the hydraulic power service until 1967. A brief description of the ultimately longer-lived sister system in Sydney follows, plus mention of the attempts by the same promoters to establish a scheme for the City of Brisbane. The concluding section reflects on the brief “window of opportunity” for the establishment of public hydraulic power utilities, but once established the schemes, including those in Melbourne and Sydney, continued in service well into the third quarter of the 20^th Century.

Keywords:

• Engineering heritage
• public hydraulic power
• Melbourne hydraulic power

Additional information

Notes on contributors

M Pierce

Miles Pierce (FIEAust, CPEng) graduated with a Bachelor of Engineering degree from the University of Melbourne in 1965, having previously obtained a Diploma of Engineering at the Gordon Institute of Technology in Geelong. The majority of his professional career has been with consulting engineers GHD P/L – formerly Gutteridge Haskins and Davey – and for many years he was principal electrical engineer in the Melbourne-based Victorian practice. His experience covers electricity supply infrastructure, industrial and commercial/institutional power systems, process control and instrumentation and illumination engineering.

Miles has had a long-term interest in engineering and industrial heritage with a particular focus on mechanical and electrical engineering heritage. He is a long serving committee member for Engineers Australia’s Victoria Division Engineering Heritage Group – Engineering Heritage Victoria – and is currently deputy chairman of EHV.