Balgowlah Substation

Balgowlah Substation
Balgowlah Substation
Location	83 Griffiths Street, Balgowlah, Northern Beaches Council, New South Wales, Australia
Coordinates	33°47′34″S151°16′03″E / 33.7927°S 151.2676°E Coordinates: 33°47′34″S151°16′03″E / 33.7927°S 151.2676°E
Built	1928
Architectural style(s)	Interwar Stripped Classical
Owner	Ausgrid
New South Wales Heritage Register
	Official name: Substation; #15003 Balgowlah 33KV Zone Substation
Type	State heritage (built)
Designated	2 April 1999
Reference no.	936
Type	Electricity Transformer/Substation
Category	Utilities - Electricity
	Location of Balgowlah Substation in Sydney

Last updated May 13, 2019

The Balgowlah Substation is a heritage-listed former electrical substation and now child care centre located at 83 Griffiths Street, Balgowlah, Northern Beaches Council, New South Wales, Australia. It was built in 1928. It is also known as #15003 Balgowlah 33KV Zone Substation. The property is owned by Ausgrid, a privately owned energy utility company. The property was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999.^[1]

A substation is a part of an electrical generation, transmission, and distribution system. Substations transform voltage from high to low, or the reverse, or perform any of several other important functions. Between the generating station and consumer, electric power may flow through several substations at different voltage levels. A substation may include transformers to change voltage levels between high transmission voltages and lower distribution voltages, or at the interconnection of two different transmission voltages.

Balgowlah is a suburb of northern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Balgowlah is located 12 kilometres north-east of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of Northern Beaches Council, in the Northern Beaches region. Balgowlah shares the postcode 2093 with the adjacent suburbs of Manly Vale, Balgowlah Heights and North Balgowlah.

The Northern Beaches Council is a local government area located in the Northern Beaches region of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The Council was formed on 12 May 2016 after the amalgamation of Manly, Pittwater and Warringah Councils.

History

Prior to 1928 the site was in agricultural use.^[1]^[2]

The Balgowlah Zone substation is a purpose designed and built structure dating from 1928. "M.C. of S.ELECTRICITY DEPARTMENT SUBSTATION no. 191" and "1928" appear above the entrances in relief. It is a similar design to the Pymble and Randwick substations.^[1]

In 1926, the Municipal Council of Sydney acquired the subject land for the purpose of constructing a new substation to meet increasing demands for electricity in the Municipality of Manly. Prior to this the land was vacant. Balgowlah Zone Substation was erected on the site in 1928 with the following relief signage above the door "M.C. of S. Electricity Department Substation no. 191, 1928".^[1]

The City of Sydney is the local government area covering the Sydney central business district and surrounding inner city suburbs of the greater metropolitan area of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Established by Act of Parliament in 1842, the City of Sydney is the oldest, and the oldest-surviving, local government authority in New South Wales, and the second-oldest in Australia, with only the City of Adelaide being older by two years.

Manly Council was a local government area on the northern beaches region of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, first incorporated in 1877. On 12 May 2016, the Minister for Local Government announced that Manly Council would be subsumed into the newly formed Northern Beaches Council. The last Mayor of Manly Council was Cr. Jean Hay, a member of the Liberal Party.

Upon its formation in 1951, ownership of the substation was transferred to MacKellar County Council (MCC). Elcom briefly took possession of the substation before MCC reacquired it in 1955. Substantial maintenance works were undertaken in 1976 including replacement of the boundary fence, repairs to the roof, and re-painting.^[1]

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 the installation of additional 11 kiloelectronvolts (1.8 fJ ) switchgear and the replacement of transformer cables. SCC would later become Sydney Electricity, which was absorbed into EnergyAustralia in 1996. In 2011 EnergyAustralia's electricity distribution network was rebranded as Ausgrid.^[1]

The Sydney County Council (SCC) was formed in 1935 to produce electricity and operate the electricity network for part of metropolitan Sydney. The county council was established by the state government to represent several local government areas. It assumed control of the Electricity Department of the Sydney City Council. In 1952, the SCC lost most its electricity generation functions to the Electricity Commission of New South Wales and retained only its distribution functions. The SCC was merged with other municipal county councils in 1989 to form Sydney Electricity.

In physics, the electronvolt is a unit of energy equal to approximately 1.6×10⁻¹⁹ joules in SI units.

The joule is a derived unit of energy in the International System of Units. It is equal to the energy transferred to an object when a force of one newton acts on that object in the direction of its motion through a distance of one metre. It is also the energy dissipated as heat when an electric current of one ampere passes through a resistance of one ohm for one second. It is named after the English physicist James Prescott Joule (1818–1889).

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.^[1]^[2]

Description

Side view 936 - Substation - North Western Elevation (5045622b2).jpg — Side view

Development in the surrounding area is primarily low density residential, with single and two storey residences dominating the streetscape. Infill development in the neighbourhood comprises medium density interwar and 1960s apartment blocks and a primary school opposite the site on Griffiths Street.^[1]^[2]

The Balgowlah Zone substation is an elegant single and two storey structure. It is a refined and well detailed face brick building designed in the Interwar Stripped Classical style evidenced by the vertically emphasised form and facade detailing, parapet cornice and groupings of arched multi-paned windows. Stylistic elements also include recessed facade panels incorporating corbelled brickwork. Decorative elements include contrasting brickwork, repetitive arch motifs and cement rendered lintel plaques within the arches. Two large entrances with roller shutters provide access.^[1]

The substation is constructed with load-bearing face brick and incorporates brick arches to all facade openings. Large plant doorways are steel roller shuttered.^[1]^[2]

The transformer bays and outbuildings sit atop sandstone foundations and a distinctive cut sandstone rock-face is prominent at the rear of the site. Repetitive arch motifs and cement rendered lintel plaques are located within the arches. Two large entrances with roller shutters provide access.^[1]

Heritage listing

As at 8 November 2000, the Balgowlah Zone substation was an elegant and refined example of a well detailed face brick substation building designed in the interwar period. It is a rare and representative example of this style and considered to be of State Significance.^[1]

The substation was listed on the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999.^[1]

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References

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 "Substation". New South Wales State Heritage Register . Office of Environment and Heritage. H00936. Retrieved 2 June 2018.
1 2 3 4 Heritage Division report, 9 November 2016.

Attribution

This Wikipedia article was originally based on Substation , entry number 00936 in the New South Wales State Heritage Register published by the State of New South Wales and Office of Environment and Heritage 2018 under CC-BY 4.0 licence , accessed on 2 June 2018.

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[nswshr-936-1] 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 "Substation". New South Wales State Heritage Register . Office of Environment and Heritage. H00936. Retrieved 2 June 2018.

[nswshr-936-1307-2] 1 2 3 4 Heritage Division report, 9 November 2016.