Cockatoo Island Power House & Pump House
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| Power House & Pump House | |
|---|---|
 Power house chimney, 2013 | |
| Location | Cockatoo Island, Sydney Harbour, New South Wales, Australia |
| Coordinates | 33°50′54″S 151°10′10″E / 33.8483°S 151.1695°E |
| Official name | Power House / Pump House |
| Type | Listed place (Historic) |
| Designated | 22 June 2004 |
| Reference no. | 105265 |
  Location of Power House & Pump House in Sydney | |
Power House & Pump House is a heritage-listed power house and pumping station at Cockatoo Island, Sydney Harbour, New South Wales, Australia. It was added to the Australian Commonwealth Heritage List on 22 June 2004.[1]
Cockatoo Island became a jail in 1839, following advice from New South Wales Governor George Gipps to the British Secretary of State for the Colonies that convicts would be sent to the island after the closure of the Norfolk Island convict establishment. The convict precinct (Prison Barracks Precinct, Barracks Block, Military Guard Room, Mess Hall, and Biloela House) was built over a number of years. Quarrying of grain silos (Biloela House and Underground Grain Silos) was one of the early convict tasks. To service Royal Navy ships, Fitzroy Dock was completed in 1857. Cockatoo Island Dockyard became the major government dockyard in Australia.[1]
In 1869 prisoners were transferred from the island to Darlinghurst, and the prison buildings became an industrial school for girls and a reformatory in 1871. The dockyard area was now separated from the institutional area on the top of the island by a fence. Following the departure of the females in 1888, prisoners were again sent to the island, and the jail function continued until about 1909. Meanwhile, the dockyard function expanded, and the Sutherland Dock was built in 1890. The NSW Public Works Department declared Cockatoo Island the state dockyard.[1]
In 1913 Cockatoo became the Commonwealth Dockyard, and the island, both through ship-building and servicing, played an important role both in the development of the Royal Australian Navy and during the First World War. The former prison buildings were now used as offices. From 1933 the dockyard was leased from the Commonwealth by Cockatoo Docks and Engineering Co Ltd and the island played a very significant role during the Second World War. After the war the dockyard (now known as Vickers) continued, and submarine facilities were introduced. The dockyard closed in 1992, and there was some demolition. Sale of the island was proposed. The island is now vested in the Sydney Harbour Federation Trust.[1]
The powerhouse was constructed in 1918 to replace the 1884 pump house which had been built for Sutherland Dock. The new building was erected on the same site at the western end of the island, and was built to supply not just the electricity for the dock pumps but all of the island's electrical power. Electricity was supplied at 240 volts DC from two steam turbine-driven generators. The boilers were located in an adjacent building to the north which, along with its contents, was removed after the Second World War. A very large chimney was also built.[1]
As well as playing a crucial role in all of Cockatoo Island's operations from 1918 onwards, the powerhouse was the largest DC generating plant in Australia.[1]
