Interpretive Signage 13 August 2018ebacdemolition.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/M... · ore oer...

Morwell Power Station and Briquette Factories Interpretive Signage

13 August 2018

Interpretive Signage - Precedent ImagesMorwell Power Station and Briquette Factories

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Interpretive Signage - Concept ArtMorwell Power Station and Briquette Factories

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MORWELL POWER STATION AND

BRIQUETTE FACTORIES

MORWELL POWER STATION AND

BRIQUETTE FACTORIES

FRONT

1980

MM

REARSIDE - RIGHT SIDE - LEFT TOP

500M

M

CONCRETEThe base is made from concrete with faux texture from steel sheets and rivets in the surface.

WEATHERED STEELThis material also known as Corten.The text is to be laser cut intosurface and will be visible from both sides.

GRAPHIC PANELAluminium substrate.The graphic panel wraps around the right side of the sign.

SILHOUETTE This design is referencing an architectural feature on the roof of the Morwell Power Plant.

1200

MM

400M

M

450MM470MM

430MM 70MM

THE MORWELL POWER STATION AND BRIQUETTE FACTORIES

Industrial - Power - The combined brown coal electricity and briquette undertaking of the State Electricity Commission, at Morwell, Victoria, 1961National Archives of Australia

Construction at Power Station and Briquette factory Morwell, November 1956Museums Victoria

(Background image) Brown coal briquette presses, Morwell, Victoria, 1962 National Archives of Australia

Trouble on the ‘Morwell Project’Originally the SEC planned to build four briquette factories. But a financial crisis in 1951 meant that funding for the ‘Morwell Project’ had dried up and by 1953 all building work on Morwell Power Station and Briquette Factories and mining at the Morwell Open Cut Mine had come to a halt.

Construction works and mining began again in mid-1954, but by this time the project had cost a huge $48 million with no return. Meanwhile, public demand for briquettes had shrunk and the plans for the ‘Morwell Project’ had changed in turn—its focus was now on producing power. Only two briquette factories were ever built.

The Morwell Power Station and Briquette Factories was built in 1949-59 by the State Electricity Commission of Victoria (SEC).

SEC engineers bought most of the machinery and plant from Europe, where brown coal was being used to create electricity.

Morwell Power Station began generating electricity in November 1958. The first briquette factory ran its maiden commercial production of briquettes on 8 December 1959 and the second factory came into full operation in September 1960.

SIGN 01 - CONCEPT 7

(Top left image) Coal conveyor system transporting coal directly from the mine face to the Morwell power station and Briquette works, 1960National Archives of Australia

‘Building is booming again in Morwell as the project gets under way.’The Herald, 23 December 1954

FOLD LINE




(Background image) Brown coal briquette presses, Morwell, Victoria, 1962 National Archives of Australia

Trouble on the ‘Morwell Project’Originally the SEC planned to build four briquette factories. But a financial crisis in 1951 meant that funding for the ‘Morwell Project’ had dried up and by 1953 all building work on Morwell Power Station and Briquette Factories and mining at the Morwell Open Cut Mine had come to a halt.

Construction works and mining began again in mid-1954, but by this time the project had cost a huge $48 million with no return. Meanwhile, public demand for briquettes had shrunk and the plans for the ‘Morwell Project’ had changed in turn—its focus was now on producing power. Only two briquette factories were ever built.


SEC engineers bought most of the machinery and plant from Europe, where brown coal was being used to create electricity.

Morwell Power Station began generating electricity in November 1958. The first briquette factory ran its maiden commercial production of briquettes on 8 December 1959 and the second factory came into full operation in September 1960.

SIGN 01 - CONCEPT 7

(Top left image) Coal conveyor system transporting coal directly from the mine face to the Morwell power station and Briquette works, 1960National Archives of Australia


FOLD LINE

Morwell Power Station and Briquette Factories

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Interpretive Signage - 1




(Background image)Brown coal briquette presses, Morwell, Victoria, 1962National Archives of Australia

Trouble on the‘Morwell Project’Originally the SEC planned to build four briquette factories, but a fi nancial crisis in 1951 meant that funding for the ‘Morwell Project’ dried up. By 1953 all building work on Morwell Power Station and Briquette Factories and mining at the Morwell Open Cut Mine had come to a halt.

Mining operations and construction works began again in mid-1954, but by this time the ‘Morwell Project’ had cost a huge $48 million and delivered no results. Because public demand for briquettes had also shrunk, plans for the ‘Morwell Project’ changed in turn to focus on power generation. Only two briquette factories were ever built.


SEC engineers brought most of the machinery and plant over from Europe, where brown coal was being used to create electricity.

Morwell Power Station began generating electricity in November 1958. The fi rst BriquetteFactory ran its maiden commercial production of briquettes on 8 December 1959 and the second factory came into full operation in September 1960.

(Top left) Coal conveyor system transporting coal directly from the mine face to the Morwell power station and Briquette works, 1960National Archives of Australia



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POWERING VICTORIAThe Latrobe Valley has provided electricity to Victoria since the Yallourn Power Station opened in the 1920s.

Following a rapid increase in demands for power, the Victorian Government announced an ambitious plan to create a self-suffi cient energy supply for Victoria in 1943. Its home: the Latrobe Valley.

The Morwell Power Station and Briquette Factories were at the centre of this plan. The Morwell plant began generating electricity in November 1958 and making briquettes in 1959. When all eight generating units at Hazelwood Power Station began their operations in 1970, the Latrobe Valley generated almost 90% of Victoria’s electricity from brown coal.

A ‘thriving community’The Latrobe Valley boomed with the State Electricity Commission’s presence in Morwell. The Morwell Power Station and Briquette Factories alone created hundreds of jobs. Between 1921 and 1961, the local population increased from 14,000 to 60,000.

LegacyThe Morwell Power Station closed in 2014 and Hazelwood Power Station in 2017. However, Loy Yang Power Stations A and B (completed in 1988 and in 1996 respectively) still power Victoria.

If you explore Morwell, you’ll fi nd many reminders of the town’s industrial heritage.

(Background image)Briquette Factory,Morwell, c.1950sRose Series, State Library of Victoria

(Left corner image)Power station and briquette factory at Morwell in the Latrobe Valley, 1966Australian News and Information Bureau, photographer: Keith Byron, National Archives of Australia

Morwell, Victoria, Australia, 1982National Archives of Australia

Willie Wonderheat andBernie Briquette, 1920s-60sSECV Collection, Museums Victoria

Population workforce graph.

‘The Morwell project, with the extended Yallourn station, will make this region the greatest power and fuel production centre in the southern hemisphere’The Argus, 20 August 1956


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(Background image)Brown coal briquette presses, Morwell, Victoria, 1962National Archives of Australia

(Left corner image) Nick Norten on driver drum, Morwell briquette, c. 1950s-60s SECV Collection, Museums Victoria

‘There are thousands of people who have died here, not just out of Morwell and the Briquette Factory but all over this Valley from asbestos-related disease... The biggest industrial disaster to befall Australia, and no-one knows about it.’Vicky Hamilton, Gippsland Asbestos, 14 June, 2018

The Latrobe Valley has the highest rateof asbestos-related disease in Victoria.

Asbestos was widely used by the State Electricity Commission of Victoria (SEC) in its power stations. By the 1960s, a link between asbestos dust and asbestosis, lung cancer and other diseases had been scientifi cally established. Tragically, by the time Victoria banned the use of asbestos in 2003, it had already caused the deaths of thousands of people and left others with terminal illnesses.

A terrible fateAsbestos-related diseases have had a devastating impact on the Latrobe Valley community. Former workers are angry that they were not told about the dangers of exposure to asbestos and former SEC workers also feel guilty for having transferred asbestos fi bres to their families through direct contact and via their clothing.

In 2008, Premier John Brumby, apologised to the victims of asbestos on behalf of the Victorian Government. The community is still dealing with the consequences of asbestos today. Its effects will continue to be felt for many years.

ASBESTOS IN THE LATROBE VALLEY

If you want to help asbestos victims, contact the Asbestos Council of Victoria/GARDS Inc on (03) 5127 7744.


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‘Here, we were all like a family … and it was so enjoyable’Michael Gred, former Power Station employee, 1995 - 2012

The Morwell Power Station and Briquette Factories had a large workforce.

In 1953, fi ve years before the plant opened, the State Electricity Commission of Victoria (SEC) estimated that the Morwell Project would provide 2,000 jobs. In reality, the fi gure was never this high. In 1970, for example, there were about 700 total employees at the Morwell Power Station and Briquette Factories.

(Background image)The fl ags of 34 nations fl ying outside the Morwell Court House, as a tribute to the migrants who helped the Latrobe Valley’s development, 1967National Archives of Australia

(Left corner image)Power station and briquette factory at Morwell in the Latrobe Valley, 1966Australian News and Information Bureau, photographer: Keith Byron, National Archives of Australia

WORKING LIFE AT MORWELL POWER STATION AND BRIQUETTE FACTORIES

(Top image) Dutch migrant Ted Heinemann working at Morwell Power Station, 1965National Archives of Australia

(Left image) Poster encouraging post-war migration to Australia, 1947National Archives of Australia

A family atmosphereMany former workers enjoyed the family atmosphere at the Morwell Plant and speak fondly of their time there. Employees and their families could join the Cricket Association and social clubs, go to dances and take part in the annual Christmas picnics.

‘ … community-wise, well there was a sense of belonging … ’Peter McCartney, former employee, 1983 - 2014

Strikes and accidentsHard times were also part of life at the Morwell Power Station and Briquette Factories. Fires and accidents happened during the site’s history, sometimes with devastating consequences.

Workers also held strikes over wages and conditions several times from the 1960s to 1980s. Blackouts disrupted Victorian homes and businesses each time SEC workers walked off the job.

Migrant workersWorkers at the Morwell plant came from all over the world. In the 1950s, the Latrobe Valley’s power industry needed workers and there was a huge infl ux of migrants in the wake of World War II. They came from countries such as Britain, Malta, the Netherlands, Italy, West Germany, Poland, Ukraine, Greece and Yugoslavia.


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Interpretive Signage - 5 Side A

On 6 June 2018, the Heritage Council of Victoria granted the site developer, Energy Brix, permission to demolish the Morwell Power Station. This followed a decision on 12 February 2018 to add the site to the Victorian Heritage Register.

The fi ght to keep or demolish the Power Station made state and regional news, with very heated arguments on both sides.

THE FIGHT FOR THE MORWELL POWER STATION AND BRIQUETTE FACTORIES

(Top image) Morwell Power Station and Briquette Works, 1959SECV Collection

(Left image) Power station and briquette factory at Morwell in the Latrobe Valley, 1966Australian News and Information Bureau, photographer: Keith Byron National Archives of Australia

The case to keep the power station and briquette factoriesCheryl Wragg and Professor Erik Eklund were two of the main opponents of the demolition of the Power Station.

They claimed that the Power Station was a visible reminder of the working lives of people in the Latrobe Valley and that it represented the region’s industrial heritage: coal mining kept Victoria in power for most of the 20th century.

To them, the Power Station was a memorial:a tangible reminder of the pain of workers and their families who were affected by mining-related illnesses, including asbestosis and mesothelioma.

‘ There is no replacement (for) the real thing … when we lose the fabric we lose it forever.’ Cheryl Wragg, Moe heritage advocate, 6 June 2018

‘We’ll soon get to a stage where we have very little left of a century of mining and industrial production of electricity. ’ Professor Erik Eklund, Centre for Gippsland Studies, 6 August 2018


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Interpretive Signage - 5 Side B

THE FIGHT FOR THE MORWELL POWER STATION AND BRIQUETTE FACTORIES

(Top image) Morwell Power Station, 2018Jackie Malter, SHP (Sue Hodges Productions Pty Ltd)

(Left corner image) Morwell Power Station, 2018Jackie Malter, SHP (Sue Hodges Productions Pty Ltd)

(Background image) Morwell Power Station, 2018Caroline Hubschmann, SHP (Sue Hodges Productions Pty Ltd)

The case to remove the power station and briquette factoriesFor most people in the Latrobe Valley, the Morwell Power Station and Briquettes Factories are symbols of pain and loss.

The site is not only associated with mining-related illnesses but also a painful reminder of the privatization of the industry and the decline of the Latrobe Valley as an economic powerhouse for Victoria.

Former industrial sites such as Morwell Power Station and Briquette Factories are also hazardous places. Asbestos is still present in the power station’s exterior cladding and internal machinery and it would be impossible to open up the site to tourists.

‘The whole place is a toxic dump and it needs to be pulled down … it’s an insult to see it standing there. It’s a reminder of the pain and suff ering the workers have already been through.’ Vicky Hamilton, Gippsland Asbestos Related Diseases Support Inc. (GARDS), February 2018

On 6 June 2018, the Heritage Council of Victoria granted the site developer, Energy Brix, permission to demolish the Morwell Power Station. This followed a decision on 12 February 2018 to add the site to the Victorian Heritage Register.

The fi ght to keep or demolish the Power Station made state and regional news, with very heated arguments on both sides.

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Interpretive Signage 13 August 2018ebacdemolition.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/M... · ore oer...

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