- Duck Reach Power Station
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Duck Reach Power Station 
Duck Reach Power Station c1930Location of Duck Reach Power Station in Tasmania
Country Australia Location South Esk River, Tasmania Coordinates 41°27′33″S 147°6′40″E / 41.45917°S 147.11111°ECoordinates: 41°27′33″S 147°6′40″E / 41.45917°S 147.11111°E Commission date 1895 Decommission date 1955 Owner(s) Hydro Tasmania Power station information Primary fuel Hydroelectric Generation units 8 then 4 then 5 Power generation information Maximum capacity 0.435 then 1.2 then 2 MW Duck Reach Power Station was the first publicly owned hydro-electric plant in the Southern Hemisphere, and provided the Tasmanian city of Launceston with hydro-electric power from its construction in 1895 to its closure in 1955.
Contents
Construction
The site was picked by a surveyor and engineer named C.St John David in 1892.
The penstock ran diagonally down the hill into the center of the rear of the power station where it channeled in to successively smaller pipes and finally to eight Siemens turbines.
Drilling the Tunnel
The tunnel was drilled to a length of 850-metres at a 1 to 110 grade. The tunnel was cut through the hill side instead of being piped around and it took 16 months to complete using pneumatic drills. Dolerite is so hard it took one week of eighteen 8-hour shifts cutting from both ends of the tunnel to cut just 2.5 metres however the average speed of the drilling was about 5 metres a week. Two men were killed in accidents.
Operational history
Duck reach generation building, now a museum and interpretive centre
The following is paraphrased from the display plaques now within the power station:
Originally the installation had a capacity of 75 kW DC, provided by five 15 kW dynamos, and 360 kW AC, provided by three 120 kW alternators. The turbines were manufactured by Gilbert Gilkes and Co., whilst the dynamos and alternators were built by Siemens and Co.. All alternating-current (AC) supply was single-phase. By 1906 demand had risen and it became necessary to upgrade the plant. This was done by removing much of the original equipment and replacing it with four 445 hp Francis turbines manufactured by Kolben and Co. of Prague, each coupled to a single 300 kW three-phase alternator again built by Siemens and Co.. This raised the AC capacity of the station to 1.2 MW. The original DC equipment remained in use.
Again by 1926, this had become inadequate, and to ease the problem a new 1,180 hp turbine coupled to an 800 kW alternator was added alongside the existing machinery. To drive this new turbine a timber flume and a masonry aqueduct was constructed, running from Deadman's Hollow around the bend in the South Esk River to the slope immediately behind the Power Station, where it was led into a new steel penstock running alongside the original one. The addition of this new turbine and alternator raised the capacity of the station to 2 MW. In the photograph above, the left-hand penstock is the newer one.
One of the original Siemens and Co. 15 kW DC dynamos, dating from 1895, is preserved and on display within the station.
See also
References
- Hydro Tasmania; South Esk Power Development, [1], Accessed June 2006.
External links
Energy in Tasmania Hydro Bastyan • Butlers Gorge • Catagunya • Cethana • Cluny • Devils Gate • Fisher • Gordon • John Butters • Lake Echo • Lemonthyme • Liapootah • Mackintosh • Meadowbank • Paloona • Poatina • Reece • Repulse • Rowallan • Tarraleah • Trevallyn • Tungatinah • Wayatinah • WilmotWind Farms Huxley Hill • Musselroe • WoolnorthGas Tamar Valley • Bell BayMisc Companies Regulators Office of the Tasmanian Energy RegulatorHistorical Duck Reach • Lake Margaret • Moorina • WaddamanaCategories:- History of Tasmania
- Visitor attractions in Tasmania
- Power stations in Tasmania
- Hydroelectric power stations in Tasmania
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