Maleny and Landsborough Shire
Here
are a few snippets of information relating to the electricity
supply in Landsborough Shire
The
City Electric Light Company Ltd. (CEL) was granted an extension
of its franchise in 1936. Maleny received its first reticulated
supply in 1940. The early Butter Factory, the saw mill and
the hotel in Maleny used electricity from the installed industrial
generating plant at each site before a reticulated supply
was available.
A Construction
Gang, commonly called a ‘Con Gang' in the electricity industry,
camped in the Maleny Show Grounds while erecting the 33,000
volt transmission line from Woodford to Nambour. A 33,000/240
volt transformer was positioned on a two-pole sub-station
outside the Maleny Butter Factory. It was the first electric
transformer station on CEL's North Coast feeder.
MALENY ELECTRICITY
DEPOT
Land
for an electricity sub-station was bought for one hundred
pounds in 1940. Another resident sold a garage and property
to CEL in 1949 for use as an office and Depot. The old Depot
continued to be used until the Southern Electric Authority
(SEA), which succeeded CEL in 1953, built a new Depot complex
on the site in 1973. The new depot cost of $96,000.
SEA's
new Maleny Depot, on the corner of Bunya and Cudgerie Streets
was officially opened on 22 June 1973. The region attended
by the new Maleny Depot stretched east to the main railway
line, west to the top of the range, south as far as Beerburrum
and north to the Maroochy Shire border. Around 1,750 customers
were served by the Depot, although the actual number of people
who benefited from the reticulated supply to the area was
much higher.
During
preparations for the Opening Ceremony, it was suggested that
the opening was timed for 2.15 pm. The reason for the earlier
time was that some of the guests and afternoon tea helpers
would be involved in milking operations. The official opening
was performed by Mr MJ Ahern, MLA for Landsborough. More than
100 official attended the Opening Ceremony, including the
Chairman of Landsborough Shire Council, Councillor J Beausang.
At the Opening Ceremony,
Councillor J. Beausang spoke of the impact that electricity
had on every-day life:
‘Electric
power has spread its mantle over city and country
to play
a vital role in the economic development of our state.
Electricity
has undoubtedly taken the drudgery out of many
tasks
on the farm and in the home. It saves us time and labour
and increases
productivity and thus our standard of living'.
The
Chairman of the SEA, Mr. I. Davies, acknowledged the concern
of many people regarding the environmental impact of transmission
lines in rural and rainforest areas.
He
stated that an Environmental Commission for Transmission Works
had been established to investigate appropriate methods to
site, design and construct transmission lines and sub-stations.
The aim of the Commission, he emphasised, was to minimise
adverse environmental impact.
(Sources : City Electric
Light Co Annual Reports and the Nambour Chronicle
28 June 1973.)
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