Power For The People: Brisbane's Electrical Heritage 1880s-1950s. Dr. J. King.

The development of the electricity supply industry in Queensland was complex, and continues to be so. From the late nineteenth century to the 1950s, local electricity authorities and private companies were in competition in the Brisbane and surrounding areas. There are many interesting aspects of Brisbane’s electrical heritage, some of which are included in this publication.

A major heritage discovery of significance was the location and subsequent retrieval of sections of nineteenth century Edison Street Tubes, one of the earliest successful forms of underground power cables, from William Street, Brisbane, in 1992. The two different types of street tubes were the only ones to be found in Australia. Brisbane can also claim to be the first city in the Southern Hemisphere to provide the public with a supply of electricity.

This publication is intended to highlight the major developments in Brisbane’s electrical history from the 1870s to the late1950s. The various sections include the endeavours and problems faced by the electricity authorities through the early years, and the Second World War, to more complete State involvement in the electricity supply industry in the 1950s. The evolution of Brisbane’s electricity generating stations meant planning and building programs to supply the continuous growth of the industrial, commercial, rural and domestic market, and to keep up with the needs of the people of Brisbane and surrounding areas.

A considerable amount has been included in this publication, using mainly the photographs and documents from Queensland Energy Museum’s (QEM) Archives as primary sources. However, the author records that there are some aspects of Brisbane’s electrical history, which, due to restrictions of space, cannot be fully examined.

Mention should be made of a change in the terminology used from ‘powerhouse’ to ‘power station’. The term ‘powerhouse’ was, and still is used for the smaller generating stations, whereas ‘power station’ became the common terminology for the ones with a larger installed capacity constructed after 1950. Additionally, since it was not intended to proceed beyond the end of the 1950s in this publication, subsequent developments and extensions at Bulimba ‘B’ and Tennyson Power Stations have not been covered.