Newport Chimney bricks find a new home at Altona Civic Centre

History

The former Newport Railway Workshops’ Boiler Shop Chimney at 20 Champion Road Williamstown North was constructed in 1926 to take the exhaust fumes from the nearby boiler shop via an underground flue system. It was part of a major expansion program for the Workshops, which increased manufacturing facilities for the Victorian Railways after the Victorian government adopted the policy of manufacturing rolling stock instead of outsourcing it. The boiler shop was set up for the manufacture of steam locomotives, particularly the large boilers.

The chimney previously stood at Melbourne City Council’s Spencer Street Power Station, which supplied electric power to Melbourne from 1894 until 1982. It was constructed at the power station in 1892-94, as part of the original boiler house that produced the steam to generate electricity. In the early twentieth century the chimney was dismantled to make way for expansion at the Power Station. The bricks were later used in the reconstruction of the chimney at the Newport Workshops, principally to the same design.

Significance 

The chimney helps to tell the story of two of Victoria’s major publicly owned and run industrial enterprises, which provided essential services for Victorians.

Firstly, it is a reminder that electric power was once generated for Melbourne by a municipal works within the city. Its fabric is the only part of the old power station still in existence. Secondly, the chimney became part of Newport Railway Workshops, one of Victoria’s largest engineering works, and represents a period of expansion and manufacturing for the railways undertaken by that facility. It is also an example of the economic practice of re-purposing of technological assets for the public good.

Using the bricks to develop a feature within the Civic Centre in Altona is a third chapter of the chimney’s story and a clever means of keeping the industrial history alive.

Image courtesy Public Record Office Victoria, VPRS 12800P0004 RS 0316