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.
Paddington is an inner suburb of Brisbane, Australia located 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) west of the Brisbane CBD. As is common with other suburbs in the area, Paddington is located on a number of steep ridges and hills. It was settled in the 1860s. Many original and distinctive Queenslander homes can be found in the suburb. Houses are frequently built on stumps, owing to the steep nature of their blocks. Between 2005 and 2010, the median house price has risen over 50% to $1,000,000.
The City of Brisbane is a local government area that has jurisdiction over the inner portion of the metropolitan area of Brisbane, the capital of Queensland, Australia. Brisbane is located in the county of Stanley and is the largest city followed by Ipswich with bounds in part of the county. Unlike LGAs in the other mainland state capitals, which are generally responsible only for the central business districts and inner neighbourhoods of those cities, the City of Brisbane administers a significant portion of the Brisbane metropolitan area, serving almost half of the population of the Brisbane Greater Capital City Statistical Area. As such, it has a larger population than any other local government area in Australia. The City of Brisbane was the first Australian LGA to reach a population of more than one million. Its population is roughly equivalent to the populations of Tasmania, the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory combined. In 2016–2017, the council administers a budget of over $3 billion, by far the largest budget of any LGA in Australia.
The former tramways substation was erected in 1929-30, during a period of tramways expansion which followed the Brisbane City Council's 1925 acquisition of the tramways system from the Brisbane Tramways Trust. It was erected on Cook's Hill, along the Paddington Line, on land which was formerly part of the adjacent Ithaca Fire Station. The Brisbane Tramways Company, a private enterprise formed in 1895, introduced the first electric trams to Brisbane in mid-1897. Following lobbying by the Ithaca Shire Council, a tramway was extended along Musgrave Road to Red Hill, and a line was laid along Caxton Street and Given Terrace as far as Latrobe Terrace in 1898. The Red Hill line was extended to Ashgrove in 1924, and the Paddington line was extended to Bardon in 1937. The spread of the tramways network was a catalyst for residential development in the western suburbs.[1]
The Brisbane tramway network served the city of Brisbane, Australia, between 1885 and 1969. It ran on standard gauge track. The electric system was originally energised to 500 volts, and subsequently increased to 600 volts. All tramcars built in Brisbane up to 1938 had an open design. This proved so popular, especially on hot summer nights, that the trams were used as fundraisers and often chartered right up until the last service by social groups.
Ithaca Fire Station is a heritage-listed fire station at 140 Enoggera Terrace, Paddington, Queensland, Australia. It was designed by station superintendent Alfred Joseph Harper and built in 1918-1919; an upper level was designed by Atkinson, Powell and Conrad and built by Frederick Enchelmaier in 1928. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 2 March 1993.
Red Hill is an inner suburb of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) north-west of the Brisbane CBD. The suburb is one of the oldest in Brisbane. Red Hill got its name as a description from the steep hills which had lots of red soil and rocks.
In 1926 the Greater Brisbane Council, anxious to control the city's electricity supply, decided to build the Brisbane Powerhouse at New Farm, under the supervision of the BCC Tramways Department. Opened on 28 June 1928, New Farm distributed 11000volts AC power to a network of eleven suburban tramway substations erected in the 1920s and 1930s. The function of the Paddington substation, the seventh in the network, was to assist the Petrie Terrace substation (erected 1927-28) in providing a better distribution of power to the increased western suburbs tram services.[1]
Brisbane Powerhouse is an arts and cultural hub located in a former power station in the Brisbane suburb of New Farm, Queensland, Australia. The venue offers an array of performing arts, visual arts, festivals, and free community events.
New Farm is a riverside inner suburb in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. The suburb is located 2 kilometres east of the Brisbane CBD on a large bend of the Brisbane River. New Farm is partly surrounded by the Brisbane River, with land access from the north-west through Fortitude Valley and from the north through Newstead. Merthyr is a neighbourhood within New Farm; until 1975 it was a separate suburb.
Petrie Terrace is an inner-city suburb and major thoroughfare in Brisbane, Australia. It is less than 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) west of the Brisbane General Post Office. The precinct is bordered to the west by Hale Street and to the east by Countess Street. Its northern boundary is Musgrave Road and its southern is Milton Road.
Considerable attention was given to the design of these substations. Roy Rusden Ogg, the tramways' architect and construction engineer from 1926 until the late 1930s, in conjunction with tramways' chief engineers William Muir Nelson (1925–26) and William Arundell (1926-49?), designed at least ten Brisbane substations between 1926 and 1936, and the first two stages of the New Farm powerhouse (1927–29 and 1934–36). Ogg also designed the Tramways Department's Head Office building on Coronation Drive (1929). The Paddington substation, constructed of bricks and structural steel from the old Countess Street power house (closed in mid-1928), was the first of his substation designs to incorporate a parapet wall, flat roof and exterior render.[1]
Coronation Drive, popularly known as Coro Drive, is a road in Brisbane, Queensland which connects the Central Business District to the suburb of Toowong. It follows the Brisbane River from the Riverside Expressway, through the suburbs of Milton and Auchenflower, until it terminates in Toowong at Benson Road and High Street.
The Paddington substation was automatic, equipped with an 1100 KVA transformer, a British-Thomson-Houston 1000kW rotary converter, switchgear, support services, and an overhead crane (designed by the Tramways Department). The substation received 11000 volts AC electricity from the New Farm Power station, via an underground feeder cable. The transformer reduced this supply, which the rotary converter then converted to 600 volts DC for the tramways network.[1]
The substation commenced operation on 11 August 1930 and remained in service until the phasing out of Brisbane's trams in the late 1960s. In 1969 the Paddington line was closed, the substation's electrical equipment was removed, and the building became a storage depot. In 1985, Hands On Art was given a fifteen-year lease of the building.[1]
In 2014, Hands On Art was still operating from the building and was running monthly "vintage and artisan" markets.[2]
Description
Paddington Tramways Substation (white building, centre), circa 1942
The former tramway substation is a rendered masonry building with a flat concrete roof behind a parapet wall. It is situated prominently adjacent to the intersection of Latrobe and Enoggera Terraces.[1]
The symmetrical facades demonstrate a classical influence in their design. The building has corner pilasters with the longer north and south elevations having a central pilaster. The building has a heavy cornice, feature panels of rough render and a base which is scribed to suggest large size stone blocks.[1]
The building has large sash windows with mottled glass panes with a panel of galvanised iron louvres to either side of each window. There are also ventilation panels in the base and below the cornice. A set of large timber doors is located on the north, which has been painted bright colours, and a section of the base has also been painted.[1]
Internally the building has concrete floors, painted brick walls and steel beams to the roof, with metal covers to the panels of louvres and pink glass inserts to the centre of the sash windows. The east end of the space has a raised floor accessed via a steep metal stair with a more recent steel pipe railing.[1]
The original arrangement of equipment is evident. Floor ducting for the power supply is located in the west end of the space but has been filled in. The high tension switchgear and 1100 KVA transformer have been removed. The upper level has a concrete platform, supported on brick piers, where the rotary converter was located. The original location of the relay panel can be seen against the south wall, and the control and feeder panel against the east wall which supplied power to the feeder cables located either end at the top of the east wall. A toilet cubicle is located in the southeast corner of the space, over which an air compressor was once situated. An overhead gantry crane is still intact. A low exit door has been cut in the south wall, at a later date, and has an external timber access stair. The feeder cables were supported externally by large curved brackets on the east wall which remain intact with insulators. An AC transformer is located externally to the west.[1]
On the western perimeter is a section of stone wall which was part of the gardens originally located on the site.[1]
Heritage listing
The Paddington Tramways Substation was listed on the Queensland Heritage Register on 22 March 1993 having satisfied the following criteria.[1]
The place is important in demonstrating the evolution or pattern of Queensland's history.
The Paddington Substation is important in demonstrating part of the evolution and pattern of Queensland's history, in that it provides evidence of Brisbane's early 20th century tramway system and its contribution to the growth of the inner western suburbs; and has had a close association with the development of Brisbane's electricity supply system.[1]
The place demonstrates rare, uncommon or endangered aspects of Queensland's cultural heritage.
In elements of the fabric and design, the building demonstrates now rare evidence of the electrical system arrangement and working of an interwar, rotary converter type, tramways substation in Brisbane.[1]
The place is important in demonstrating the principal characteristics of a particular class of cultural places.
The substation is important in demonstrating the principal characteristics of a small scale industrial building designed for a prominent urban location.[1]
The building has a special association with the work of tramways architect RR Ogg and chief engineer W Arundell.[1]
The place is important because of its aesthetic significance.
The substation exhibits a landmark quality and contribution to the Brisbane townscape which is valued by the community.[1]
The place has a strong or special association with a particular community or cultural group for social, cultural or spiritual reasons.
The building has strong social and cultural associations with the Paddington community, being an integral member of an historic group of sites on Cook's Hill which includes the former Ithaca Fire Station, the Ithaca War Memorial, and Ithaca Embankments.[1]
Related Research Articles
Ithaca is a former suburb of Brisbane, Australia. Since 1975, Ithaca has been designated a neighbourhood within the suburb of Red Hill in Brisbane.
The Ithaca Town Council Chambers is a heritage-listed former town hall of the former local government area of the Town of Ithaca, and now a community centre in Paddington, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. Located at 99 Enoggera Terrace, Red Hill, it was designed by Atkinson and McLay and built in 1910 by Charles Thomas Hall and Francis Joseph Mayer. It is also known as Ithaca Library and Red Hill Kindergarten. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 24 March 2000.
Plaza Theatre is a heritage-listed cinema at 163–169 Latrobe Terrace, Paddington, Queensland, Australia. It was designed by Richard Gailey, Junior and built from 1929 to c. 1929 by John Hutchinson. It is now known as Empire Revival. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 28 March 2003.
Ithaca War Memorial and Park is a heritage-listed memorial and park at Enoggera Terrace, Paddington, Queensland, Australia. The memorial was designed and built by Arthur Henry Thurlow between 1921 and 1925. The park was built and designed by Alexander Jolly. It is also known as Alexander Jolly Park. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 21 October 1992.
Ithaca Embankments is a heritage-listed group of embankments in the former Town of Ithaca and now in the suburbs of Kelvin Grove, Red Hill and Paddington in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. They were designed by Alexander Jolly and built from c. 1917 to c. 1923. They were added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 2 March 1993.
Windsor Town Quarry Park and Tramways Substation No. 6 is a heritage-listed former quarry with electrical substation at 356 Lutwyche Road, Windsor in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It was built from c. 1926 to c. 1928. The park and substation were added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 31 May 2005. There is another, larger substation building, Tramways Substation No. 13 which was designed by Frank Gibson Costello and became operational in June 1949.
Brisbane City Council Tramways Substation No. 9 is a heritage-listed electrical substation at 97 Wynnum Road, Norman Park, Queensland, Australia. It was built in 1935. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 5 August 2003.
Brisbane City Council Tramways Substation No. 8 is a heritage-listed electrical substation at 134 Kedron Park Road, Wooloowin, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It was built from 1934 to 1937. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 5 August 2003.
Coorparoo Substation No. 210 is a heritage-listed electrical substation at 12 Main Avenue, Coorparoo, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It was designed by Reyburn Jameson and built in 1930 by A. Mason. It is also known as Substation 10. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 1 August 2005.
Kelvin Grove Fig Trees and Air Raid Shelter are heritage-listed trees and air raid shelter at 176 Kelvin Grove Road, Kelvin Grove, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It was built from c. 1909 to 1942. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 31 May 2005.
Victoria Park is a heritage-listed park at 454 Gregory Terrace, Spring Hill & Herston, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 3 December 2007.
Paddington Water Tower is a heritage-listed water tower at 16 Garfield Drive, Paddington, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It was designed by Metropolitan Water Supply & Sewerage Board and built by day labour in 1927. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 23 June 2000.
The electricity supply in Brisbane has been an important part of the economic and social development of the city of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
A network of Brisbane tramways substations, supplied from the Brisbane Powerhouse, were developed by Brisbane City Council after they took over the Brisbane Tramways system from Brisbane Tramways Company (BTCo). The new powerhouse and substations were needed, as BTCo had not adequately invested enough into the electricity network to keep the system running efficiently. Brisbane City Council maintained this electricity network from 1927 until 1969, when the decision was made not to have Trams in Brisbane, and the network was shut down and decommissioned.
Ithaca Creek State School is a heritage-listed state school and war memorial at 49 Lugg Street, Bardon, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It was designed by Queensland Department of Public Work and built from 1930 to 1939. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 5 February 2016.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
