Darwin City
engineering heritage
Laval Lungstrom type contra-rotating, radial flow turbines manufactured in Sweden. The station was poorly designed and unreliable. The heavy fuel oil burned in the boilers became prohibitively expensive and during the 1980’s the Northern Territory Government decided to build a new power station across the harbour at Channel Island. Initial plans were for a coal fired station but natural gas was eventually adopted as the fuel. Stokes Hill Power Station was decommissioned in July 1987.
Walk/Drive Tour
1 Navy Steam-driven Oil Pump House (1928)
An extensive network of oil fuel storage installations was built in Darwin from 1924. The Steam Pump House was built in 1927/1928 for steam driven pumping engines which pumped oil from tankers in the harbour into storage tanks, and from storage into vessels requiring refueling. The oil used at that time was heavy black bunker oil. The pumps were first operated in March 1928 when they pumped 7986 tons of Borneo oil from the tanker War Krishna into storage tank Number One. Despite its strategic importance the Pump House was not destroyed during Japanese bombing raids in 1942 and 1943. The pumps were in regular service until the end of World War II when they were progressively replaced by electric pumps. The steam pumps were disconnected from the oil supply lines in 1989, but the pumps and steam engines are still serviceable.
2 No.6 Oil Storage Tank (1934)
In 1924 the Australian Government committed itself to building oil storage facilities in Darwin to replace coal bunkering at Thursday Island. To secure the waters north of Australia, Darwin was to be developed as a naval base. Eleven storage tanks were actually built by 1942. The need to protect them against enemy attack was the catalyst for a dramatic escalation in Darwin’s defences in the 1930’s. However, because of an inadequate appreciation of the risk of air attack, the protection of the tanks against aerial bombing was totally inadequate. During February, March and June 1942 Japanese bombing almost totally destroyed Darwin’s oil storage capacity during a series of savage air raids. This tank (No.6) was bombed during an early air raid however the fires were put out and some of the oil salvaged. Part of the concrete shell of the tank has survived to remind us of those dramatic photographs of huge columns of dense black smoke rising above Darwin as the oil stored in the tanks burned after bombing raids. Refer also to 10 - The Boom Shed.
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The Overland Telegraph Line, the “OT Line”, stretching approximately 2000 miles (3178 km) from Port Darwin to Port Augusta in South Australia was finally linked to Java, via a submarine telegraph cable, on 22 August 1872. The OT Line provided the first permanent means of communication between Australia and the rest of the world and facilitated improved communication between the Northern Territory and its government in South Australia. The poles originally erected were of local timber but it soon became apparent that the voracious Northern Territory termites would quickly consume them. Patent metal poles manufactured by Oppenheimer in Germany were imported as replacements. These poles were successful and were still in service when the OT Line was retired in the 1970’s. The low pole now erected at the site is apparently the upper section of an Oppenheimer pole.
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7 Navy Oil Storage Installation (1928-present)
By 1936 nine above ground storage tanks had been built in a tight group around Stokes Hill. Each tank had a capacity of 8000 tons (8128 tonnes) and had a diameter of 35.36m and a height of 9.14m. Several more tanks were later built in the Doctors Gully area. The original construction was rivetted steel, self supporting with the concrete outer structure being added later to increase protection. The roof was of light steel trusses with metal cladding. After the war, with considerable damage having been inflicted on the tanks by bombing, 5 tanks (No.1,2,7,8 & 9) were repaired and called “OFI” (Oil Fuel Installation) until recent times when the official name changed. The neat and tidy Naval Fuel Installation remains in service today but the tanks no longer contain the heavy black furnace oil for which they were designed. Instead they contain light diesel fuel now used in the diesel and gas turbine powered war ships of the Royal Australian Navy and other modern navies.
8 Tunnel Oil Storage Tanks (1943-45)
The air raids of early 1942 almost totally destroyed the above ground oil storage tanks which had been constructed around Stokes Hill. The Allied response was to commission eight underground oil storage tanks which would be safe from bombing. Work began in 1943 but only five tunnels were finished when the war ended. They were never used for bulk oil storage. These tanks took advantage of the escarpment around the perimeter of the Darwin city area. Access tunnels were driven into the steep walls of the escarpment not far above high water at three locations. Further into the escarpment the tunnels were expanded in size, concrete lined then further lined with thin steel sheeting to form an oil-tight tank. The steel lining also kept the considerable flow of groundwater out of the oil tanks. These tunnels remain today penetrating deep beneath the streets of the city and need to be taken into account when planning foundations and underground car parks in buildings above.
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13 Commemorations of the Overland Telegraph
The 3178 kilometre Overland Telegraph Line from Port Darwin to Adelaide was built in less than two years and was joined on 22 August 1872. It linked Australia to an undersea cable from Indonesia that came ashore at Port Darwin and made communications between Australia and the rest of the world possible in hours rather than weeks. The project was under the direction of Sir Charles Todd, South Australian Superintendent of Posts and Telegraphs. Todd and his team overcame extraordinary challenges to complete the work, which traversed desert and tropical areas which became impassable in the Wet Season. They had to establish very long and difficult supply lines from the south, to Port Darwin, which was in itself a long sea journey from Adelaide, and via a depot established at the limit of navigation on the Roper River. These supply lines had to deliver both materials for the line and telegraph stations as well as supplies for the crews working on the project.
14 Darwin’s First Power Station (1934) 1
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3 Stokes Hill Wharf (1956)
The first jetty in Port Darwin was constructed from sandstone near Fort Hill. It was called Gulnare Wharf. In 1885-6 the Railway Jetty was completed, connecting the Port to the Palmerston and Pine Creek Railway. Within a few years, the timber wharf succumbed to the ravages of teredo worms and termites and it was closed in 1898. The Town Wharf, was completed in 1904. Its poor design, allowing only 5 railway wagons on the wharf at one time and no access for a locomotive, was criticized throughout its life. Nevertheless it survived until it was severely damaged in the Japanese bombing raids of 1942. To replace the damaged Town Wharf a new timber wharf was built at Fort Hill during World War II. It fell victim to teredo worms and some 600 feet of it collapsed. The remainder was partially reconstructed with steel piles and became Old Fort Hill Wharf (now demolished). Stokes Hill Wharf was commenced in 1953 and completed in 1956. Up until the commissioning of the New Fort Hill Wharf in 1981, it was the main general cargo wharf for the port. Its port functions have been greatly decreased in recent times with completion of the new East Arm Port.
4 “Sandfly” Locomotive (1886)
Due to corrosion The “Sandfly” was moved from the Wharf and has been relocated to the Qantas Hangar (see Heritage Driving Tour brochure Item #3). Built by Baldwin Locomotive Works, Philadelphia, USA for railway contracting firm C & E Millar Bros as an 0-4-0 shunting engine Sandfly was landed at Port Darwin in 1886 and entered service May 1887 for construction work on the Palmerston to Pine Creek Railway. The diminutive locomotive, known locally as “Sandfly” was sold to the South Australian Railways in 1890. It was transferred to Commonwealth Railways with the North Australia Railway line handover in 1911 and spent all its Commonwealth Railways working life on the North Australia Railway until being withdrawn from service in June 1950. It spent a great deal of its life doing shunting duties in the old Darwin port area. It was placed on display at the Port Augusta railway station between 1960 and 1982 before being restored for display at the Adelaide Passenger Terminal, Keswick in May 1984. It was returned to Darwin in 2004 after completion of the north south transcontinental railway.
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9 “Knight’s Folly” (1884)
John George Knight was one of the most popular figures in the Territory’s history. He was a successful engineer and architect in Victoria before coming to the Northern Territory in 1873 as Secretary to the Government Resident. Knight designed a number of Darwin’s buildings, some of which remain as testimony to his architectural and engineering skills. In 1884 Knight designed and had built a novel two storey residence in Moorish style, built of rammed earth. It’s location, on Hughes Avenue, part way up the escarpment gave it a fine view over the port. The building became known as ‘Knight’s Folly’. Knight occupied many official posts during his years in the Territory, and was Government Resident when he died in January 1892. After his death ‘Knight’s Folly’ was occupied by senior government officers and finally by Crown Law Officer, E. T. Asche and his family. In later years the building was known as the ‘Mud Hut’. Amongst other works, Knight designed Victoria’s Parliament House in Melbourne.
10 The Boom Shed (c1941)
Due to development at the Water Front the Boom Shed no longer exists and was demolished in 2006. The Boom Shed was a part of the infrastructure to support the anti-submarine boom built across the entrance to Darwin Harbour between East Point and West Point (near Mandoorah). When the first stage was completed in early 1942 the boom was 4.6km long but it was later extended to 5.59km. The boom itself consisted of a “net” of heavy steel cables supported by buoys at frequent intervals. The “net” was constructed with a 6 foot grid. The Boom Defence Yard was on a flat area of land at the base of Fort Hill (now removed), the main feature of which was a large workshop called the Boom Shed. There was a small Boom Wharf nearby where the five Boom Repair Ships docked. Repair work on the boom was constant and difficult as there was a strong current in the channel. After World War II the Boom Shed was much modified and used as an iron ore storage shed. It was demolished in early 2006. The boom was dismantled in 1945. Details can be seen at East Point Museum where there are some interpretive boards on display.
Amongst office buildings and tourist facilities in a quiet part of the Central Business District is the site of Darwin’s first public power station. Nothing of the power station remains. There is a plaque in the foyer of 75 Woods Street commemorating the site which was across Lindsay Street in the compound of the present Mirambeena Tourist Resort. There was at least one private power station in Darwin prior to 1934, which probably supplied some adjacent properties, but this plaque commemorates 50 years of public power in Darwin. No.1 Power Station commenced generation in what is now Lindsay Street in October 1934. The installed capacity was 80kW supplied by two 40kW Ruston Hornsby diesel driven alternating generators. No.1 Power Station was operated by the Darwin Town Council until 1937. All Darwin’s electricity was supplied from the Lindsay Street location until the commissioning of No.2 Power Station at Armidale Street in 1940. Darwin’s present gas-fired power station at Channel Island (south of the city on the Middle Arm of the harbour) has an installed capacity of 250,000kW.
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15 Northern End of the Stuart Highway (1942present) The Stuart Highway starts at the Daly Street McMinn Street intersection and ends at Port Augusta 2719km south. The route along which the highway now runs was approximately the route taken by John McDouall Stuart on his epic journeys of exploration in the period 185862. Within a decade of his last journey Charles Todd built the Overland Telegraph along the route. Towns developed in the vicinity of the water sources found by Stuart and Todd and near the telegraph stations of the Overland Telegraph. The Stuart Highway between Alice Springs and Darwin and the Barkly Highway between Tennant Creek and Mount Isa were constructed and sealed in great haste during World War II. More recently the Stuart Highway from Alice Springs to Port Augusta was sealed and the Territory sections were upgraded as tourist and commercial traffic increased. Stuart’s original route has become far more than an Outback Highway. Apart from the road, the “corridor” now includes a transcontinental railway, gas pipelines, water pipelines, fibre-optic communications cables, microwave towers and power lines which serve the communities along the iconic route which Territorians still call “The Track”.
16 Doctors Gully Catalina Base (1944) 3
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5 Wreck of HMAS Arrow (1974)
The Attack Class Patrol Boat HMAS Arrow, with a crew of 18 on board was driven under the Stokes Hill Wharf after breaking her moorings at the height of Cyclone Tracy in the early hours of Christmas Day 1974 and sank with the loss of two lives. HMAS Arrow (P88) was the eighth of a class of 20 boats and was commissioned on 3 July 1968. She was 32.6 metres long, 6.1 metres beam and displaced 146 tons fully loaded. Powered by two Davey-Paxman Ventura diesel engines of 3460 horsepower driving twin propellers she had a maximum speed of 24 knots. There were four Attack Class Patrol Boats in Darwin at the time of Cyclone Tracy. Arrow’s sister ship and class leader HMAS Attack was driven ashore by the sheer force of the cyclonic winds at Doctor’s Gully whilst HMAS Advance and HMAS Assail were damaged.
6 Stokes Hill Power Station Cooling Water Pump House (1962)
What is now the Jetty Restaurant was originally the Cooling Water Pump House of Stokes Hill Power Station which was located about 100m away under the lee of Stokes Hill. The oil-fired steam power station development commenced in 1962 with two 7.5MW steam turbines and was gradually expanded to eight machines with a total of 141MW by 1980. The machinery in the station was unusual as all sets were Stal
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11 Java Telegraph Cable Landing (1871)
Hibernia and Edinburgh completed the laying of 1186 nautical miles of cable from Banjowangie in Java to Darwin, and at a point about 200 metres north of the present story board the cable was brought ashore and taken up the cliff for connection to the line to southern Australia. The Hibernia was of 3000 tons with three cable tanks 30 feet in diameter and 26 feet deep capable of handling about 450 nautical miles of cable each. “The great cable was landed at 11am….great excitement with about 300 people present….when the cables reached the shore, salutes were fired by the Hibernia and the Edinburgh in honor of the great event”. The north and south ends of the telegraph wires of the Overland Telegraph were finally joined near Daly Waters on 22 August 1872 and Darwin, as a vital link in the communications chain, gained further justification for its continued existence and development as a European settlement in Australia’s north.
During World War II one of the most successful operations of the Royal Australian Air Force was the use of 168 PBY-5 Catalina long range flying boats. The Catalina was chosen “because of their potential to carry massive payloads over far greater distances than most of the RAAF’s aircraft were capable of covering”. The aircraft had a range of over 2500 nautical miles and an endurance of up to 30 hours. Experts at the time of the initial purchase in 1940 said “they were so damn slow they wouldn’t stand a chance against fighters”. However they were painted black (the men who flew them called them the Black Cats) and usually flew into enemy air space at night and at very low altitude. In practice they were close to invisible (perhaps the first stealth bombers?) and carried out important missions laying mines in Japanese controlled harbours, bombing land facilities and rescuing downed airmen and survivors of ships sunk by enemy action. 43 Squadron moved from Karumba to Doctor’s Gully in April 1944. 20 Squadron was located at Quarantine Island (now the site of Darwin’s new port) and 11 Squadron operated from Cairns, Queensland.
12 First Pole on the Overland Telegraph (1870)
The first pole of the north south Transcontinental Telegraph Line was erected on this site on 15th September 1870.
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