No. 6 Steam Pumping Station (fmr), Ghooli

Parent Place or Precinct

16610 Goldfields Water Supply Scheme

Values

No 6 Steam Pumping Station (fmr), Ghooli was a key element in the first phase of operations of the Goldfields
Water Supply Scheme, one of the greatest engineering and infrastructure schemes of the late nineteenth century;
the place, as part of the Goldfields Water Supply Scheme, is directly associated with the highly original Western Australian technological innovations in design, engineering and construction which made the Goldfields Water Supply Scheme possible, and so represents a triumph of applied science;
the establishment and operation of the place played a key role in the development of the Wheatbelt region. The supply of water to the Goldfields and the Wheatbelt regions dramatically changed lifestyles and patterns of social, demographic and economic development in Western Australia;
as an industrial building of considerable architectural refinement, the design of the place, as one of the eight similarly designed pumping stations along the Mundaring to Kalgoorlie Pipeline, demonstrates the cultural importance of public engineering works at the time of its construction in reflecting political imagination and ambition;
the place has significant links to engineer Charles Yelverton O'Connor, politician and Premier Sir John Forrest and architect George Temple Poole, who were instrumental in the design and implementation of the construction of the No. 6 Steam Pumping Station at Ghooli and the Mundaring to Kalgoorlie Pipeline;
the place symbolises the scale of the project undertaken by Charles Yelverton O’Connor and the Public Works Department in addressing the critical issue of water supply to the Goldfields, reflecting the importance of gold and the goldfields to the State and national economy at the time;
the place has aesthetic significance as a landmark due to the proximity of the prominent 27 metre tall chimney to the Great Eastern Highway between Perth and Kalgoorlie; and
the place has archaeological potential to inform and communicate its significance and thus improve public understanding of many aspects of the Goldfields Water Supply Scheme, including the construction and operation of the station as well as the lives of the people who lived and worked within the surrounding community.

Physical Description

No.6 Pumping Station (fmr), Ghooli is one of eight original pumping stations located along the Goldfields Water Supply Scheme that pumped water from Mundaring Weir to Kalgoorlie. Constructed between 1901 and 1902, it is of brickwork masonry construction with a pitched roof of corrugated iron sheeting. There is an adjacent coal bin shelter structure with a railway formation to the south and a dominant tall steel chimney to the west. The building is a simple functional structure designed by the Public Works Department with the involvement of architect George Temple Poole.

History

Mundaring Weir represents the start of the Mundaring to Kalgoorlie Pipeline. Water was pumped via a 560 kilometre-long pipeline from Mundaring in the Darling Range to Mount Charlotte Reservoir in Kalgoorlie via a series of pumping stations and reservoirs. The original eight steam pump stations used the water in the storage tanks to generate steam to power the engines to further pump water along the pipeline. The pumping of water along the pipeline began at the No. 1 station in Mundaring on 31 March 1902, with water reaching Northam on 18 April. It progressively moved through Cunderdin, Merredin, Yerbillon and Southern Cross, reaching No. 6 Steam Pumping Station (fmr), Ghooli in November 1902. Once operational, No. 6 Steam Pumping Station (fmr), Ghooli required constant upgrades and maintenance. General inspections were carried out each year and major inspections every seven or ten years. Inspections required the large scale removal of elements, including—in the case of the boilers—portions of internal brick walls. Removed items were then reused or replaced, with the defunct materials dumped on the rubbish tip across the Great Eastern Highway. The original bricklined steel chimney was replaced by the existing structure between 1913 and 1914 due to internal corrosion. During World War II, the importance of maintaining the supply of water to the Eastern Goldfields and the Wheatbelt was such that the pump stations were guarded from potential attack. In Ghooli, this role was undertaken by locals from the nearby town of Southern Cross. In April 1953, electricity was installed at the No. 6 Steam Pumping Station (fmr), Ghooli. Following the conversion from steam power to electricity the station continued operation until 1969 when it was replaced by the pump station constructed to the north nearer to the pipeline conduit. When No. 6 Steam Pumping Station (fmr), Ghooli closed, all machinery and equipment was left in situ. However due to theft, vandalism and repeated flooding, by 1999 the original boilers, economizers, and air pumps were no longer completely intact and most exhibited signs of damage and corrosion.

Condition

No.6 Pumping Station (fmr), Ghooli is in very poor condition. Damage is largely due to water ingress through failure of the roof sheeting and the inherent design of the building where the sub-floor of the engine (pump) room is lower than the external ground level. The roof covering to both the pump station building and coal bin structure is showing signs of extreme wear and tear due to severe corrosion, and missing and lifting sheets. Although some of the original machinery and equipment still remain, many parts are missing, and the fabric has deteriorated. Externally, the brickwork is failing in places with fretting mortar joints and erosion of the brick face, particularly near to ground level. Exposed timber components of bargeboards, fascia and gutter brackets all show signs of decay, damage and are missing in parts. Internal brickwork is suffering from severe erosion and salt attack.

Uses

Historic Themes

Creation Date

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