Program

Discover Sydney’s rich electrical history with a guided walking tour.  Sydney was the first city in Australia to have electricity. Sydney's early adoption of electric power played a crucial role in the city's development and modernisation, paving the way for other cities across Australia to follow suit.

We’ll begin the tour with a stop at Ausgrid’s Head Office - Roden Cutler House, where a light lunch will be provided at 12.30 pm. After lunch, we will enjoy a 45-minute presentation on the evolution of the Ausgrid system. Once the presentation concludes, we will embark on a walking tour of Sydney’s historical electricity network, returning to the Sheraton Hotel around 4.30 pm.

Some highlights of the tours include:

• Novotel Hotel - No. 1 Hydraulic Pumping Station. In 1889 before electricity was readily available (1904), the Sydney and Suburban Hydraulic Power Company was formed to provide an economic source of power to the business and warehouse areas of Sydney. The company piped high pressure water at 700 pounds per square inch throughout the city to power lifts, hoists, cranes, wool presses and even heavy bank doors. By 1894 two hundred ‘engines’ including one hundred and fifty lifts were connected to the mains. Parts of the system were in existence until 1975.
• City Central Sub - The ‘triplex’ system of distribution substations adopted for the Sydney CBD is copied from that of London, and effectively provides an N-2 reliability for the city. There are no HV circuit breakers in these substations – only load break isolating and earthing switches that can be opened by a ‘wire’ from the hatchways.
• Pyrmont Bridge - At 54ft (15.5m) wide, Pyrmont was by far the widest of the over 400 timber truss road bridges built in NSW between 1856 and 1936. Its swing span was among the largest in the world and one of the earliest to be powered by electricity. The power came from the nearby Ultimo (tramways) Powerhouse and the motors were of the tramway type, which ensured duplicate parts being readily available, and speedy replacement or repairs.
• Sub 164 Clarence Street - In 1904, the City of Sydney opted to use DC power, and Substation No. 164 was one of five converter stations built to convert the AC power being generated at Pyrmont Power Station into DC power for the city’s lights and lifts. Substation No. 164 here in Clarence Street was the final survivor of the diminishing DC network until it was finally switched off in 1985.

Add this tour to your EECON registration through the conference registration portal.