Bunnerong Powerhouse – Memories of a Bygone Era!
Being born in the late 1960s, I managed to catch the tail end of commercial steam operations, although I was a little too young to appreciate just how much railway history was disappearing around me. By the time I became what you might call an official railfan, opportunities to see and photograph working industrial steam locomotives were becoming rather thin on the ground. Here in New South Wales, the Richmond Vale Railway in the Hunter Region was about the only place left to get my regular steam fix.
Fortunately, I had managed to get a glimpse of another piece of industrial railway history before it disappeared into the history books: the Bunnerong Powerhouse at Matraville, in Sydney's south-eastern suburbs.
For those unfamiliar with the place, Bunnerong Powerhouse was a major coal-fired electricity generating complex developed during the 1920s, with its first generating units entering service in 1929. At its peak, it was one of the largest power stations in the Southern Hemisphere, capable of generating 375 megawatts of electricity and supplying a substantial proportion of New South Wales' power requirements.
Keeping the place running required enormous quantities of coal, delivered by rail along a dedicated branch from the Botany goods line. Naturally, where there was an industrial railway, there were locomotives to keep the coal moving — and, thankfully for a youngun like me, something worth watching go by.
As newer power stations came online, Bunnerong gradually lost its importance. The main complex was decommissioned by 1975, although some generating equipment had ceased regular operation earlier. The site was subsequently dismantled and demolished, with much of the enormous complex disappearing during the 1980s. By the time the demolition crews had finished their work, another sizeable chunk of Sydney's industrial heritage had gone, making way for the next chapter in the area's development. Like so many places we thought would always be there, Bunnerong was eventually reduced to memories, photographs and the occasional conversation between older history nerds.
My own memories of the place are rather more personal. My grandparents were locals, and my grandfather worked at the nearby paper mill. During afternoon trips to pick him up, I had the opportunity to witness the final years of Bunnerong's railway operations.
I can still remember seeing locomotives No. 6 and No. 7 busily shunting back and forth. No. 5 had already been retired by that stage, and I honestly cannot recall ever seeing locomotive 1919 in operation, I mean it was only there very briefly, so hardly surprising.
Mind you, I was only a youngster at the time, so my memory is hardly a meticulously maintained locomotive register. There is every chance I saw things that have since vanished from the memory banks, along with a few other things I would probably prefer to forget!
During the 1980s, I also took a handful of photographs on a rather grubby old Instamatic camera, recording a little of the demolition of the powerhouse and the development of the bus depot on part of the site. They were hardly award-winning photographic masterpieces, but they captured a period of change that I am now rather glad I documented. Back then, I doubt I gave much thought to how interesting those ordinary snapshots might become decades later.
Heck, never dreamed of this internet guff.
Fast-forward to more recent times, and I was extremely fortunate to be generously entrusted with the substantial photographic collection of Mr Fred Ricketts. As many of you will know, I have a longstanding interest in preserving and sharing historical photographs, particularly those depicting transport, industry and places that have disappeared or changed beyond recognition. My hope is that, in time, my own collection and other material I have been fortunate enough to receive can find a permanent home in an appropriate archive, where future generations can enjoy and learn from it.
As I slowly work my way through Fred's collection, I have discovered some absolute gems. I was already delighted to find a substantial selection of photographs documenting Bunnerong's railway operations during its final years, but the collection goes well beyond locomotives and trains. There are also some significant images recording the site and surrounding area after the powerhouse closed — precisely the sort of material that helps tell the wider story of a place, rather than simply documenting the machinery that once operated there.
The railway photographs will gradually make their way onto my railway website and into the Botany Railway Line SIG research group, where they should be of particular interest to those researching Sydney's industrial railways. There is plenty to get excited about, at least if your idea of excitement involves old locomotives, disappearing infrastructure and a healthy appreciation of industrial archaeology!
However, I thought my fellow local history enthusiasts might also appreciate seeing some of the more general photographs from the collection. After all, Bunnerong was much more than a railway branch and a collection of locomotives. It was an important part of the local landscape, employing people, supplying electricity to Sydney and shaping the development of Matraville and its surrounds.
So, while the railway enthusiasts can argue over locomotive numbers and dates — as railway enthusiasts are legally obliged to do at least once a week — I hope the wider selection will appeal to those interested in the area's history and how it has changed over the years.
A big thank you to Fred Ricketts for making this wonderful collection available to be shared. It is a privilege to help preserve and bring these photographs to a wider audience, particularly when they document places and operations that many people today would never realise existed.
And for a young fellow who only managed a few grubby Instamatic photographs back in the day, discovering all this extra material has certainly made the old memory banks work overtime!
1-8-1979
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19-8-1979
I'd be interested to know if it has been saved, or just discarded.
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Our Story: Bunnerong Powerhouse (Randwick Council)
Sydney Steam Spots - The End (1975)
Dorrigo Steam Railway & Museum (Website)
Junee Roundhouse Railway Museum (Facebook)
