Historical information

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.

Significance

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.

Physical description

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.