Hydraulic Power in Sydney
By the 19th century Sydney was a burgeoning city. While individual steam engines provided power to machines in factories via belts and pulleys, there was no public electricity nor any form of centralised power for operating mechanical systems and devices. A number of privately owned hydraulic systems were thus installed to operate hoists and lifts.
In 1889, engineer George Swinburne formed the Sydney and Suburban Hydraulic Power Co. From 1891 to 1976 the company supplied high-pressure water around the city to handle cargoes, operate lifts, cranes, whip hoists, wool presses, and even heavy bank doors. The No.1 pumping Station opened in 1891 and was in Darling Harbour. There, steam-driven pumps pumped water into a pressurised tank (an accumulator) from which it fed into pipes laid throughout the city.
In 1891 the system was servicing 69 lifts, growing to 720 lifts by 1919. At its peak in the 1920s the Sydney hydraulic system was the third largest in the world after London and Geneva, with 80km of pipes running under the city streets. There were also separate installations including at Garden Island naval dockyard, Eveleigh and Chullora railway workshops, Cockatoo Island dockyard, Walsh Bay wharves, the Argyle Stores and the Queen Victoria Building; in the latter, six horse and cart lifts took vegetables to the market in the basement.
In the early decades of the 20th century, electric motors gradually overtook hydraulic power and the Sydney & Suburban Hydraulic Power Company finally ceased operations in 1976, leaving the No. 1 pumping station the most visible remnant of the system. However, many pipes and valves are still under footpaths, some surface boxes can be found, a few whip hoists remain on the external walls of one-time warehouses, and there are some remnant lifts.
Engineering Heritage Recognition Program
| Marker Type | Engineering Heritage Marker (EHM) |
| Award Date | August 2020 |
| Heritage Significance | Provision of hydraulic power in Sydney played a pivotal role in the industrial, commercial, and architectural development of Sydney. It provided major improvements in the handling of wool, in vertical transportation of passengers, the lifting of goods, and in the building industry, with the latter permanently altering the city profile. It continued to provide an essential service to the city for nearly 90 years. |
| Nomination Document | Available here. |
| Ceremony Booklet Ceremony Report |
Not available |
| Plaque/Interpretation Panel Image | Not available |
