Historical information

The Powder Magazine was built in 1859 by T Dawson and Company for fifteen hundred pounds and was restored in 1966 by the National Trust. The building was constructed to store black-powder used by miners on the goldfields for blasting for mining and quarrying as legally, miners had to leave bulk gunpowder the Powder Magazine overnight.

Due to the passing of an 1857 act regulating the importation, transportation and importation of black powder, several Powder Magazines like the Beechworth Powder Magazine were constructed. The Magazine Powder is uniquely designed to ensure that in the chance of an explosion, the explosion is minimalized by travelling vertically rather than horizontally. The Powder Magazine was constructed using granite, slate roofing and a high stone wall and includes several safety features including wooden nails, lightning rod and a solid outer wall.

Significance

This photograph is historically significant as it documents the development of laws related to mining, the actions taken to ensure the safety of those nearby potentially dangerous equipment and the architectural skills to design a storage facility to minimize damage caused by a potential explosion.

Physical description

A sepia toned rectangular photograph printed on matte paper.

Inscriptions & markings

Reverse:
Beechworth Candid Photos/
Phone 281570/
5 Finch Street 3747/