Spotswood Pumping Station
Enter through Scienceworks, 2 Booker St, Spotswood, 3015, VIC
2 Booker St, Spotswood VIC 3015, Australia
Victoria
-37.83156470000001
144.89335489999996
Description
Special Programming: Join Museums Victoria's Senior Curator of Engineering and Transport, Matthew Churchward, for a specialist tour of the Pumping Station. See the heritage listed Spotswood Pumping Station's coal bunker, boiler house, engine room, and yard.
The Spotswood Pumping Station was built in the 1890s as a key component of the Melbourne Sewerage Scheme. Functioning as the heart of the system, the pumping station played a vital role in helping to overcome the city's early public health and sanitation problems. For almost 70 years from 1898, all the sewage collected in Melbourne's underground sewers passed through the pumps at Spotswood, on its way to the treatment works at Werribee. The original equipment consisted of four large pumping engines powered by steam from coal-fired boilers. By 1914, ten steam engines were in operation at Spotswood. The first electric powered pumps were installed in 1921, and by 1925 most of the daily flows were pumped by electricity. The rapid growth of Melbourne after the Second World War meant that by the 1960s, the Spotswood Pumping Station's capacity had been exceeded. Corrosion of the iron and steel rising mains from Spotswood to the outfall sewer led to a decision to build a new pumping station at Brooklyn. The Spotswood Pumping Station buildings and entire contents were classified by the National Trust of Australia (Victoria) in 1981, and the site is also listed on the Victoria Heritage Register.
Facilities: Toilets, Food and beverage available
Access: Pram accessible, Fully accessible
This listing has no upcoming events
Start:
2018-07-29T12:30:00+10:00
End:
2018-07-29T13:30:00+10:00
This listing has no upcoming events
Start:
2018-07-28T12:30:00+10:00
End:
2018-07-28T13:30:00+10:00
Category
Other
Tickets
First release
5.0
AUD
18
Second release
5.0
AUD
18
