Electricity in Port Adelaide
In March 1895, the South Australian Electric Light and Motive Power Company was registered. It supplied power from its Port Adelaide generator in Nile Street, to Port Adelaide from 1 January 1899.
The Nile Street Generator Building, Port Adelaide
The Nile Street generator was not considered to be reliable because the contract work for the cabling had been “pretty badly bungled” as the single, lead sheathed, steel armoured, cable was laid in swampy silt and leaked at every joint. However, it did provide electric street lighting in Port Adelaide well before the City of Adelaide.
One of the challenges at the time was that someone had to walk the streets twice-nightly with a long rod to flick a switch high on each light pole to turn the lights on and off.
The power station was closed in 1907.
Electricity in the City of Adelaide
The English Brush Electrical Engineering Company Ltd bought out the South Australian Electric Light and Motive Power Company in September 1899. This company was quickly bought out by the Electric Light and Traction Company which saw the potential to develop the Australian electricity supply industry privately.
In 1900, the City of Adelaide signed a contract with the company to provide the power for lighting in King William Street. The agreement also enabled the provision of electricity to private customers which the Adelaide storekeepers eagerly took up.
In time, there was pressure to supply electricity at a higher voltage for the outlying areas of Adelaide. The decision was made to create a new generating plant within the city and that the new powerhouse would be built at the intersection of Grenfell Street and East Terrace.
While this plant was under construction, Adelaide was supplied with electricity from a temporary generating plant (a galvanised iron shed) at the corner of Tam O’Shanter Place and Devonshire Place in the City of Adelaide. This enabled the company to meet its contract obligations with the City of Adelaide to supply electricity.
Building of the Grenfell Street powerhouse proceeded rapidly and it was opened on 19 November 1901. Soon afterwards, the temporary powerhouse closed.
The Grenfell Street powerhouse was operated by the South Australia Electric Light and Motive Power Company between 1901 and 1904. It was designed by South Australian architect Alfred Wells in a single-storey design. It was driven by coal-fired boilers and steam generators and generated a direct current (DC) electric generator able to distribute 400 kilowatts.
Underground and overhead cables were used to supply its customers. City streets were soon lined with timber posts topped with a maze of cables supporting the new technologies – telegraphy and electricity. In fact, the invention and use of the Stobie pole contributed to the success of the rollout by the company.
The company supplied North Adelaide by 1902. Norwood, Unley, Hindmarsh and Thebarton were supplied with electricity over the next ten years.
The original supply of DC electricity began to be replaced by Alternating Current (AC), because of the ability to use transformers to raise the voltage to the levels which were needed for the transmission of electricity over longer distances. Customer demand grew so rapidly that in most cases, the lines to the suburbs had to double the voltage of transmission.
On 31 August 1904, the South Australia Electric Light and Motive Power Company was purchased by the Adelaide Electric Supply Company Ltd (AESCo).
A memento of days gone by at the back of Tandanya on East Terrace – January 2023
Over time, the company extended electricity supply via a network of substations to most of the suburbs and other settled areas of the state, as well as the electric tramway system in Adelaide, by 1926.
In 1912, the original building was substantially remodelled into a double-storey building that included offices, a laboratory, a room for testing the various instruments, and the company’s switchboard and other communications systems. Two tall brick chimneys stood parallel to Grenfell Street behind the main building (demolished in 1926), and some of the buildings’ entrances opened onto East Terrace.
Grenfell Street Power Station Tandanya, January 2023
In August 1923, AESCo opened the Osborne ‘A’ Power Station near Port Adelaide on an 84-year term lease, and two years later, the Grenfell Street Power Station closed down.
The main building of the old power station remained in the ownership of the company, being leased out for use as a TAFE college for some time. The building was heritage-listed on the South Australian Heritage Register in November 1984. In 1989, the building was acquired by the state and federal governments for the creation of the Tandanya National Aboriginal Cultural Institute.
Electricity in Norwood and Kent Town
The Express & Telegraph newspaper dated 19 June 1906, on page 4 indicated that the “work in connection with the extension of the electric mains in the eastern suburbs has been progressing rapidly, and it appears that the light and power will be available in all the principal thoroughfares of Norwood, Kent Town, East/Adelaide and St. Peters very shortly.
“The secretary of the Electric Light Company (Mr. H. Ashworth) and the engineer (Mr. W.H. Wheadon) state that the mains are of a heavy type, and will be capable of carrying all the electricity needed in the district for many years to come. The work has given employment to large gangs of men.”
The first trial run of an electric tram through Kent Town and Norwood to Kensington was on 30 November 1908 after the Municipal Tramways Trust began to electrify the horse-drawn tram system from 21 May 1908. During this electrification process (1906-1908), it is likely that during the construction of the powerline to Norwood, many residents of Kent Town took advantage of the poles going through the suburb and electrified their homes and shops.
The Kensington & Norwood Council was reluctant to change from gas to electricity for lighting on The Parade as it was getting a very good deal on the price of gas. As such, the Council persisted with gas for longer than was entirely necessary. It was not until 1 January 1920 that the streetlights on The Parade were electrified.
The Mail reported on Saturday 3 January 1920, “that a very enjoyable ceremony to celebrate the lighting of the town [Norwood] with electricity was held at the Norwood Town Hall on New Years Eve 31 December 1919. Just before midnight, the Mayor and Mayoress (Mr and Mrs Solomons) and members of the Council and their families, went onto the balcony and were greeted by a large crowd of people. The Mayor wished everyone a Happy and Prosperous New Year and at midnight, the Mayoress switched on the electric lights, and Norwood Parade was brilliantly lit from end to end. The assemblage then sang God Save the King accompanied by the Salvation Army Band and the Norwood Mission Band. The members of the bands were entertained afterwards in the hall by the Mayor”.
Photos courtesy of the State Library of South Australia.
Reference:
PATHWAYS FOR POWER : THE STORY OF ELECTRANET SA / ROB LINN
