Duck Reach Power Scheme
Background
Launceston City Engineer ,Charles David and Electrical Engineer, Kynaston Murray designed a power scheme for the City of Launceston which was built in 1895.
The aim of the scheme was, initially, to supply the city with power to light the city streets and power motors for industrial use. Initially Direct Current was supplied for arc lamps and Alternating Current for incandescent lamps and motors. Duck Reach was the first commercial hydro electric scheme in Australia.
Between 1905 and 1921 the Council converted the station to 3 phase AC generation and expanded its capacity to 2MW.
After a record flood destroyed the building in 1929, the station was rebuilt and continued to operate until 1956.
Equipment and Subsequent History
The scheme consisted of a low weir across the South Esk River diverting the flow into a tunnel about 1km in length, then into a 5 foot diameter wrought iron penstock leading down to the power station. The head was about 34m. William Corin became the City Engineer, succeeding Murray. The supervised the major expansion of the scheme, including the second penstock, four 300kW machines and the conversion to 3 phase AC. Corin then moved to the mainland and was involved in various schemes in Canberra and NSW.
The original equipment consisted of five 12kW DC machines and three 100kW AC machines.
Engineering Heritage Recognition Program
| Marker Type | National Engineering Marker (NEM) |
| Award Date | 2006 |
| Heritage Significance | The first commercial hydro electric scheme in Australia. |
| Nomination Document | Nomination document - Part 1 Nomination document - Part 2 |
