East Perth Power Station facts for kids
Quick facts for kids East Perth Power Station |
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East Perth Power Station at the centre of this 1930 photograph: Bunbury Bridge crosses the river and East Perth Gasometer is in the top right
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| General information | |
| Type | Power Station |
| Location | East Perth, Western Australia |
| Coordinates | 31°56′46″S 115°52′50″E / 31.94624°S 115.88047°E |
| Type | State Registered Place |
| Designated | 8 January 2016 |
| Reference no. | 3318 |
The East Perth Power Station is an old, unused power station in East Perth, Western Australia. For most of its working life, it burned coal to make electricity. For six years, it used oil instead. This large site has many industrial buildings. It covers more than 8.5 hectares (about 21 acres). It is located near East Parade, Summers Street, the Swan River, and the Graham Farmer Freeway.
History of the East Perth Power Station
The Western Australian State Government built the Power Station between 1913 and 1916. They planned for it to create all the electricity needed for the Perth area. East Perth was chosen because coal could easily arrive by train. Also, the huge amount of cooling water needed could be taken from the Swan River. Building the station cost about £A538,000. This would be like A$27.3 million today.
In the 1920s, 1930s, and 1950s, new power generators were added. This helped meet the city's growing need for power. By 1948, the station had many ways to make electricity.
In 1968, the station switched from burning coal to burning oil. However, six years later, it went back to using coal. The station was closed down in December 1981. This happened because newer, cheaper ways to make electricity became available.
Protecting a Historic Building
The East Perth Power Station is a very important industrial heritage building in Western Australia. It still has many old machines and equipment. Experts believe this equipment is special because it shows five different stages of power generation technology from the 20th century.
Plans to protect and save the site began as early as 1993. In 2007, people recorded stories from former workers at the station. These recordings are kept at the Battye Library. In 2011, a historian from the University of Western Australia, Charles Fox, wrote a book about the station called Powering Perth.
Plans for the Future of the Site
In the 2000s, the East Perth Redevelopment Authority made a plan for what to do with the site. They asked the public for their ideas between November 2004 and February 2005. Work started in July 2004 to clean up the site and make the buildings stable and waterproof.
In 2005, the Government of Western Australia looked into building a new sports stadium in Perth. They suggested two places: Kitchener Park or the East Perth Power Station site. In 2008, the government decided to build the new stadium at Kitchener Park. The Power Station site was then planned to become a new $500 million museum. Design work for the museum was set to begin in 2008. Construction was expected to start in 2012 and finish by late 2015.
However, after a new State Liberal party government was elected in 2008, these plans were cancelled in February 2009. This was part of an effort to reduce government spending.
In February 2015, the site was divided into four parts to be sold to developers. The first part included the power station building itself. The buyer would need to keep and redevelop this historic building.
In 2020, two companies, Minderoo Group and Australian Capital Equity, were chosen to develop the site. But both companies pulled out of the project in February 2023. Their special rights to develop the site ended in March 2023. They were not renewed because there had not been "insufficient progress" on the project.
