| Historical notes: | Statement of Country:
The Gayamaygal Aboriginal clan are traditional owners of the Country around Manly Cove (Ka-ye-my, Kai'ymay) and hinterland and have lived in the area for thousands of years, caring for the land, hunting and gathering, passing down stories, songs and dances. Areas where freshwater and saltwater meet are often of particular significance. Pre-contact, the landscape was a vegetated coastal environment, with a variety of ecological communities influenced by factors such as soil type, aspect and altitude but also managed by the Aboriginal use of fire. The ridge tops included areas of heath which produced nectar-bearing and other food plants. (Curby 2001: 11, 19)
Early records of the first European contact with Aboriginal people near present-day Manly attest that they were numerous and well settled. (Macleod 2008: 3). Many petroglyphs depicting sea and land creatures, canoes and other Aboriginal equipment, in cultural sites around demonstrate their cultural advance. Curby (2001: 19) records an encounter between Phillip and the Kay-ye-my on 28 May 1788, where one man took back a crawfish to "the hut", indicating that huts, and shelters, were built for accommodation.
In less than a year of European arrival over half the indigenous population in the Sydney Basin had died from smallpox... Those not ravaged by disease were displaced when land was cleared for settlements and farms. Dispossessed, the Aboriginal people became dependent on white food and clothing. Alcohol, used as a means of trade by the British, served to further shatter traditional social and family structures and traditional use of the land and water.
MANLY AND BALGOWLAH:
Speculator Henry Gilbert Smith promoted Manly as a resort. His improvements included the Pier Hotel (1855). People began coming from all parts of the colony to holiday here. Manly Municipal Council was incorporated in 1877. Sydney's urban boom (1870s-90s) had a marked effect ... Two sorts of residents moved in: wealthy professionals and a variety from the 'lower orders' catering to their needs and those of holidaymakers. More extensive development was not to occur until after the 1890s depression (Ashton 1986: 82).
Balgowlah was one of the first of ten villages established in the County of Cumberland: its name (Balgowlah, or Bulgowlah) is an Aboriginal word meaning 'north harbour'. Many referred to it in its early days as Little Manly. William Govett surveyed the area as part of Pittwater in the 1830s. There were already several farms in the area (Pollon and Healy 1988: 14).
Prior to 1928 the site was in agricultural use (Heritage Division report, 9/11/2016)
EARLY ELECTRICITY NETWORKS IN NSW
Prior to the introduction of electricity in NSW, streets were lit with gas lamps and houses used gas lamps, kerosene lamps, candles and fat-oil lamps. Mid to late 19th century transport and industry in NSW utilised steam power. Technological advances in the 1870s and 1880s made electricity production a feasible lighting and power alternative to gas and steam. Early supply was from small generators and early providers of electricity networks were principally municipal Councils.
The first instance of NSW's municipal electric power supply was streetlighting pioneered in regional centres experiencing major growth in the 1880s. Tamworth was the first town to receive this in 1888, after the 1878 rail connection to Sydney accelerated the grain and wool trade. Young, a town which grew after a gold rush into a larger stable agricultural centre, received electric streetlighting soon after in 1889. A suburb of Sydney, Penrith was the next to receive municipal streetlighting in 1890 (Penrith City Council 2021).
ELECTRIFICATION OF SYDNEY
The first public demonstration of electric light in Sydney was in 1863 when the city was illuminated in honour of the marriage of the Prince of Wales (Australian Energy Regulator 2007: 2). Early supply of electricity in Sydney was from small generators scattered throughout the city for specific buildings or events. Large-scale electric production was still in its infancy in NSW in the 1890s, and the number of electrical works was relatively insignificant compared to the number of municipal gas works established in that decade. Local municipalities pushed for legislation which allowed them to generate electricity, build infrastructure, light the streets and supply power for public and private places. The first Sydney council to generate and supply electricity to private homes, businesses and street lights was Penrith in 1890, from their electric light station (now demolished) (Nepean Times 1957: 1). Another electric light station was built closer to the city at Redfern in 1891 which remains (now adaptively reused).
By far the biggest municipality was the Municipal Council of Sydney (MCS) which was given the power to establish its own networks and supply private clients by the NSW Government under the Municipal Council of Sydney Electric Lighting Act 1896. The Electric Lighting Committee was established in 1898 to bring the electrical network to the MCS area reaching from Millers Point and Circular Quay to Chippendale, Surry Hills and Moore Park (City of Sydney n.d.). While it originally supplied electricity to the MCS area only, it soon became the biggest municipal supplier of electricity in NSW . British electrical engineers Preece and Cardew were engaged and in 1902 Thomas Rooke was appointed Resident Electrical Engineer, marking the beginnings of its behemoth Electricity Department (originally known as the Electric Lighting Department and City Electrical Engineer's) Department.
The first major central power station in Sydney was Ultimo Powerhouse which was built in 1899 by the NSW Department of Public Works to supply power for the electric tram network. Construction of the White Bay Powerhouse followed in 1913 by the NSW Railway Commissioners to cope with the extension of the electric tramway system and anticipated electrification of the city railway (Dunn, 2008). Trams were central to Sydney's growing population and economy, and the electrification of steam tram lines occupied much of the period from 1900 to 1910. Electric tramways expanded rapidly and became the predominant means of daily transport from suburbs to the city workplaces with new lines built to previously unsettled areas, supporting development.
MCS's first power station to provide electricity for street lighting and private use was at Pyrmont and opened in 1904. While the earlier 'electric light stations' were small power stations to provide electricity for a small area, these large power stations required the technological development of several types of substations to convert electricity to lower voltages for private use .
Substations were designed to house voltage transformers and other bulky equipment, such as AC to DC convertors, switchgear and batteries. Two types of substations emerged, the zone substation and the distribution substation. Zone substations were large complex facilities which received power from bulk supply power stations such as Pyrmont and reduced the voltage and supplied it to distribution substations. Distribution substations then reduced the voltage further and supplied it for customers' use. Zone substations could be turned into distribution substations and vice versa via the replacement of equipment, this could happen if new substations were being built in the area and the requirement for one or the other changed .
City Building Surveyor and City Architect Robert Hargreave Brodrick designed Pyrmont Power Station, and his branch designed substations. These were to be substantial, ornamental pieces of civic infrastructure (Vade Mecum 1906, p. 200). The quality of early substation design and construction was high, moving beyond functionality to produce fine civic architecture that sat comfortably in its surrounds. Land for the substations was either purchased in negotiation with the owner where possible, but the SMC was empowered to acquire land by resumption if considered necessary.
In 1904, the same year that power supply was first switched on, MCS built its first six distribution substations: Town Hall (Sydney), Lang Park (Sydney), Athlone Place (Ultimo), Pyrmont St (Pyrmont), Oxford St (Darlinghurst) and Wilson St (Woolloomooloo). No 1904 substations remain in use, and four (Town Hall, Lang Park, Athlone Place and Pyrmont St) have been demolished. Oxford St is listed as Taylor Square Substation No.6 & Underground Public Conveniences, Darlinghurst on the State Heritage Register (SHR 01700) and Wilson St is used as a private residence.
MCS first began to supply power to other areas of Sydney in 1905. A small substation was built to supply electricity to the Royal Hospital for Women in Paddington and another for Camperdown Children's Hospital (Lisa Murray, 2025). In 1910, four municipalities entered into agreements with MCS for the extension of mains into their areas, marking a rapid escalation to the extent of the electricity network in Sydney.
Smaller private companies supplying city businesses were bought by MCS from 1907-13. MCS quickly established itself as one of two primary suppliers of electricity in Sydney, the other being the Electric Light and Power Supply Corporation (ELPSC) which supplied electricity from Balmain Power Station to the inner western suburbs of Sydney from 1909 to 1956.
By 1914 MCS supply was being given to 23 municipalities outside the city and additional infrastructure was required to keep up with demand. On 25 May 1914 the decision was made to erect a 33,000 volt transmission system to supply the outer areas of Sydney including the western suburbs and north side of the harbour. Step-up transformers were installed at Pyrmont Power Station, and it was connected to Five Dock's substation via high voltage underground cables. Five Dock substation was then used as a switching station (Mackenzie 1998: 10, 12), a type of substation that connects multiple power lines and manages the flow of electricity without changing its voltage level, to supply the expansion area.
This continual expansion of the network required the construction of additional infrastructure throughout greater Sydney and a significant portion of MCS's substations were built from 1921 onwards. All stand-alone substation buildings until 1936 were designed by the MCS's City Architect & Building Surveyor but built by various parties.
By 1935, 16 Local Government Areas were being supplied with electricity from the MCS over a total of 747 square miles (193,472 ha). Control of the electricity network was subsequently removed from the MCS via the Gas and Electricity Act 1935 which reconstituted the MCS's Electricity Department as an independent entity, the Sydney County Council (SCC). On 1 January 1936, 2,394 staff and assets worth (Pounds)21.9m were transferred from MCS to SCC.
The NSW Electricity Commission became the overall State authority for the provision of electricity in NSW from 1952, and SCC's generating assets were transferred to its control in the same year. The commission remained in control of NSW's electricity until dissolved with the Sydney Electricity Act 1990. A series of private and public entities now provide electricity and its infrastructure in the Sydney area, overseen by the NSW Government. Ausgrid now owns most distribution substations and zone substations (excluding the high-voltage transmission network).
ELECTRIFYING MANLY AND BALGOWLAH:
Manly Gas Light and Coke Company formed in 1883. Gas street lighting was turned on in 1884, and supply to households. It was reconstituted as the Manly Gas Company in 1908. The district got its first electricity in 1906 from private Manly Electric Light Company (MELC), of Francis Bell. Its small generating plant supplied businesses along the Corso (Sproule 1997: 3).
MELC built premises at 34 Whistler Street in 1909 (SMH 12 May 1909) but struggled. Manly Electric Supply Company Ltd. (MESCL) took over MELC in 1911 and apparently came to an arrangement with Manly Municipal Council to light the municipality (The Sun 30 March 1911). Nevertheless, some streets were still gas lit in 1913.
MESCL immediately invested in new plant. An additional storey was constructed in brick for Whistler Street powerhouse in 1911-12. The tender was advertised by architect F. Trenchard Smith in September, with contract awarded to Campbell & Porter, builders, in November.
In mid-1915 RC Cliff, MESCL engineer, approached Council offering to hand over the undertaking for (pounds)15,000 (The Sun 14 July 1915). It prevaricated five years, buying out MESCL in 1920. Council officially took over the powerhouse on 16 November 1920 and MESCL was voluntarily dissolved. In 1920 MCC was supplying 890 customers, increasing to 11,342 by 1951. Among Manly Electric Supply Company Assets MCC acquired was the Zone substation at Whistler Street, Manly. This is still in service. (Futurepast 2011: 12-14).
Manly Municipal Council started receiving bulk electricity supply from MCS in 1922 (Murray 2025).
In 1928 MCS made large extensions to the 33kV high voltage underground cable systems. Five new zone substations (what MCS called 'step down' or '30kV substations', then) were built in the late 1920s to take supply from the new 33kV underground network. They were built at Zetland, Crow's Nest, Pymble, Mosman and Balgowlah (no. 191). These were commissioned in response to growing demand and anticipating new network supply from Bunnerong Power Station. By 1930 there were 13 30kV substations on the electricity network, each named after their district or locality (Vade Mecum 1930: 247).
Council had two options. It could inherit and run the powerhouse, generating and distributing DC or purchase AC in bulk from MCS, to distribute locally. Demand for electricity supply was rapidly growing. Transmission and distribution to outlying areas became challenging. In July 1919 MCS adopted a policy defining boundaries of supply. Areas closer than 9 miles to Sydney would receive a distributed supply. Bulk supply would be offered to shires and municipalities further afield, leaving distribution to councils (Sproule 1997: 11).
Manly decided to rely on MCS for bulk supply. Council would keep the building, sell the generating machinery and install a new transformer. This effectively forced consumers to convert to AC, impacting those with expensive machinery like elevators. 40 ratepayers initiated a court case, arguing the shift was not authorised by the state government. Meantime, Council had to run the powerhouse. The legal action lost. Council could finally sell the plant, convert powerhouse to distribution substation (estimated cost (pounds)7000) and receive bulk supply from 1922. That November, it supplied 1,419 electricity consumers.
MCS's City Building Surveyor and City Architect Robert H Brodrick not only designed Pyrmont Power Station, but he and his chief assistant James Merriman and branch were also tasked with designing (some 300) distribution substations for MCS's Electricity Department. The substations were to be substantial, ornamental pieces of civic infrastructure. Their opinion 'was also sought on questions affecting the artistic design of street lamp-posts.' (Vade Mecum 1906, p 200) The quality of early substations' design and construction was high, moving beyond functionality to produce fine civic architecture that sat comfortably within and contributed to its urban and often residential surrounds.
BALGOWLAH ZONE SUBSTATION:
MCS began planning for the new zone substation at Balgowlah in 1926. A site was bought in April 1926 (Murray 2025). Prior to this the land was vacant (Schwager Brooks 1994: volume 2: 41). Growing construction costs probably led to pragmatic simplification and standardisation of designs by 1926-30. MCS reported in 1930 'three particular designs of 30kV (zone) substations have been prepared to meet certain conditions (locality, area available, etc). Those cited were Zetland, Marricville and Crow's Nest (Vade Mecum 1930: 249-253).
Balgolwah Zone substation no. 191 has the same floor plan and profile as the 'Marrickville Substation' design template. It has a stepped-down profile, with two-storey and one-storey elements. Despite the window arrangements suggestive of multiple storeys, there are no internal floors. The two-storey height was to accommodate an overhead travelling crane to handle transformers. Two other zone substations on the State Heritage Register also demonstrate this design: Pymble (1928) and Randwick. Waverley (No. 269: aka Bondi) is also the mirror image of the "Marrickville Substation" design (Murray 2025).
Substation (Balgowlah) was approved by Manly Council in January 1928, construction started that month and it was put into service in April 1929 (Pennington 2024: 48)
Manly Municipal Council established an electricity department led by engineer A.J. Bradshaw and took loans to expand lighting and power throughout Manly. By 1935 it had 7,131 consumers.
Prior to 1951, both municipalities (Manly and Warringah) received bulk power from MCS (and after 1935, from the new Sydney County Council: Murray 2025), supplied to Warringah via its Zone substation at Balgowlah and Manly via its Whistler St. Zone substation. (Futurepast 2011: 12-14).
Sydney County Council (SCC, created in 1935) continued bulk electricity to Manly, with its council doing distribution and retail. In 1952 the NSW Electricity Commission (Elcom) became bulk supplier to all NSW power retailers. Manly and Warringah municipalities formed into MacKellar County Council (MCC) to distribute electricity (Murray 2025) through amalgamating their electricity undertakings. Prior to 1951, both received bulk MCS and SCC supply (via a diesel powerhouse at Brookvale), to Warringah via Balgowlah Zone substation and Manly via Whistler Street Zone substation. Elcom briefly took possession of substation (Balgowlah) before MCC reacquired it in 1955 and voltage standardized at 33kV. (Futurepast 2011: 12-14).
Between c.1966-68 MCC converted it into a 33/11kV Zone substation, costing $713,000. New equipment was commissioned in 1968, servicing inner Manly, parts of Queenscliff and Fairlight: c10,000 consumers.
Substantial maintenance works were undertaken in 1976 including replacement of the boundary fence, repairs to the roof, and re-painting. (Heritage Division report, 9/11/2016).
In 1979, MCC was absorbed into Sydney County Council (SCC), and thus SCC took over Balgowlah Zone Substation. The same year, SCC undertook transformer upgrade works including installing additional 11kV switchgear and replacing transformer cables. (Note: SCC would later become Sydney Electricity, which was absorbed into Energy Australia in 1996. In 2011 Energy Australia's electricity distribution network was rebranded as Ausgrid) (Heritage Division report, 9/11/2016).
In 1980, following noise complaints, brick screen walls were constructed on the northern and eastern sides of the transformer bays. Although this served to reduce high frequency noise, noise complaints continued. To further reduce reverberation the transformer bays were enclosed by masonry construction and cooling fans installed. Further switchgear and transformer upgrade works were undertaken in 1985 (Heritage Division report, 9/11/2016).
Balgowlah Zone Substation was listed on the NSW State Heritage Register in 1999.
Until it was decommissioned, the substation had had relatively little modification to its original form or design. Ausgrid built a new zone substation in 2013, making the Balgowlah Zone Substation obsolete. The large site was determined by Ausgrid to be surplus to requirements, and the substation was subsequently decommissioned. All internal equipment was removed. The site was sold. (Murray 2025)
Balgowlah Zone Substation No.191 was adapted between 2015 and 2019 for reuse as a 140 place childcare centre for the Giraffe Childcare Group. (Murray 2025), combined with new construction on an adjoining property (Pennington 2024: 48). |