The powerhouse in Sunbury began generating electricity for the town in 1908 after the Shire of Bulla saw the benefits of the town having electricity. It functioned until 1924 until the State Electricity Commission took over the project. The post card was written on 21 June 1910 and sent to a Miss Hillary who was living in Benalla. It was from her cousin Mr. Gregor who was a Sunbury resident. From the date on the card, the photograph must have been taken shortly after the powerhouse began operating. An engineer's cottage was built at the rear of the main building and it is still standing on its original site in Jackson Street,The establishment of an electricity supply for the town of Sunbury by the Shire of Bulla in the early decades of the twentieth century was a very advanced decision and brought lots of benefits to the town.A non-digital sepia photograph in post card format of the former Electric Powerhouse at Sunbury with a short message and address written on the back of the photograph To H.Hillary at Benalla from M.J.Gregor in Sunbury ELECTRIC POWERHOUSE/SUNBURY.electricity supplies., gregor, a., sunbury powerhouse

This is a photograph of the former power house and the engineer's cottage which was on the corner of Jackson and Shields Street. In 1910, the electric power generating station started operating, supplying the town with its own electricity supply until 1926 when the State Electricity Commission took over the distribution of the district's power supply. The powerhouse was demolished but the cottage became a private house.In the early years of the 20th century, small country towns needed their own power supply to provide electric light for the main town centres while others continued to rely on gas lamps, which were hand lit.A coloured photograph of a weatherboard cottage with a corrugated iron roof set in a large allotment surrounded by trees. A garage is behind the house. A fence made from pine logs surrounds the property.power supplies, sunbury powerhouse, shields street, engineer's cottage