26-598: Gara River Hydro-Electric Scheme is a heritage-listed former hydroelectric power station located at Castle Doyle , Armidale Regional Council , New South Wales , Australia. It was designed by Richard Threlfall and built from 1893 to 1895 by Crompton Power Company. The property is owned by the State Government's Office of Environment and Heritage . It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999. The Gara River scheme
52-546: A functioning enterprise was in 1907. The history of the site between 1907 and the later part of the twentieth century is unclear. The site now rests within the borders of the Oxley Wild Rivers National Park , under the management of the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service . The two ends of the rubble and earth dam at Blue Hole survive although it is not possible to determine which particular parts of
78-454: A number of heritage-listed sites, including: New South Wales State Heritage Register The New South Wales State Heritage Register , also known as NSW State Heritage Register , is a heritage list of places in the state of New South Wales , Australia , that are protected by New South Wales legislation, generally covered by the Heritage Act 1977 and its 2010 amendments. The register
104-419: A significant early physicist. The Gara River Hydro-electric scheme also has research and educational potential. There is enough easily accessible material, visible on the surface to provide for straightforward interpretation. As the records of early hydro-electric development are patchy, the archaeological remains are an invaluable source of information about this technology. A study of the place also reveals how
130-494: A time depth for the wider community, for the development of hydro-electricity and its conflict with the environment. This has become increasingly relevant since the Franklin River dam protests in 1983–4. The place has potential to yield information that will contribute to an understanding of the cultural or natural history of New South Wales. The Gara River Hydro-electric scheme represents several technological firsts, such as
156-690: Is a locality in the Armidale Regional Council region of New South Wales , Australia . It is bounded by Commissioners Waters to the north and the Gara River to the east. It had a population of 164 as of the 2016 census . Castle Doyle Post Office opened on 16 October 1884. It was downgraded to a receiving office from 1 January 1887 until being upgraded again on 1 July 1947. It closed on 30 November 1959. Castle Doyle Public School operated from 1882 to 1886, 1898 to 1908, 1912 to 1921 and from 1929 until its final closure in 1933. Castle Doyle has
182-726: Is administered by the Heritage Council of NSW via Heritage NSW, a division of the Government of New South Wales Department of Planning and Environment . The register was created in 1999 and includes items protected by heritage schedules that relate to the State, and to regional and to local environmental plans. As a result, the register contains over 20,000 statutory-listed items in either public or private ownership of historical, cultural, and architectural value. Of those items listed, approximately 1,785 items are listed as significant items for
208-530: Is of state and national significance because it was the first to light a township in Australia and the first to offer its power for commercial sale. As designed by Richard Threlfall, Professor of Physics at the University of Sydney, it incorporated technological innovations which made it one of the most advanced schemes in the world. It provides direct physical evidence of the changing economic fortunes of Hillgrove in
234-580: The Gara River for the purposes of power generation. The bill was passed and on March 10, 1893, the Hillgrove and Armidale Water-Power Electrical Company (Ltd) Act, was passed. Richard Threlfall , Professor of Physics at the University of Sydney , was brought in as the consultant on electrical engineering. He was regarded at the time as Australia's leading expert on electricity and is now thought to have been one of
260-816: The Minister places and objects for listing on the State Heritage Register. The work of the Council and the State Heritage Register is generally covered by the Act, 1977 / {{{4}}} (NSW) and its 2010 amendments. Under section 170 of the Act, government agencies in New South Wales are required to compile a register of heritage assets and look after their assets on behalf of the community. The National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974 preserves Aboriginal heritage. Items nominated for listing on
286-489: The University of Sydney. The place has strong or special association with a particular community or cultural group in New South Wales for social, cultural or spiritual reasons. The Gara River Hydro-electric scheme, represents a part of the historical heritage of the New England district and still has relevance to the local community. It has long been used as a recreational area by the residents of Armidale. It also provides
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#1733202786578312-459: The best evidence of the route. The second flume is represented by a narrow level surface about one metre across. At the end of the flume runs, a steep, poorly stabilized slope leads down to the powerstation below. The remains of the power station and sections of the power generating machinery are in various stages of decay. The archaeological potential of the site was reported as being high as of 11 August 1997. The Gara River hydro-electric scheme
338-458: The community, the government, the conservation profession and representatives of organisations such as the National Trust of Australia , makes decisions about the care and protection of heritage places and items that have been identified as being significant to the people of NSW. The Council provides advice on heritage matters to the Minister for Environment and Heritage. The Council recommends to
364-413: The dam were built during the first or second phases of construction. Approximately 100m below the dam is a low concrete weir which spans the Gara River at one of its narrowest points. This was to divert water from the river into the flume at a certain rate to ensure constant supply. The weir remains intact and does not show any evidence of repair or alteration since its construction. From the eastern end of
390-595: The early use of electricity in Australia. It was the first scheme in Australia to provide light to a town and the first to make its output commercially available for industry. It represents the only successful venture of the Australasian Purchase Rights Association. It has an association with the NSW parliamentarian, Frank Cotton , who acted as manager for the revived Gara River scheme. It also has an association with Richard Threlfall, Professor of physics at
416-550: The end of the antimony boom and the collapse of the Australian economy in the 1890s, influenced the local economy of Hillgrove. [REDACTED] This Misplaced Pages article was originally based on Gara River Hydro-Electric Scheme , entry number 00986 in the New South Wales State Heritage Register published by the State of New South Wales (Department of Planning and Environment) 2018 under CC-BY 4.0 licence , accessed on 28 May 2018. Castle Doyle, New South Wales Castle Doyle
442-532: The face of the 1890s depression, the drop in antimony prices and the drought. For modern Australian society, it provides a time depth for the environmental debates of hydro versus environment. Gara River Hydro-Electric Scheme was listed on the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999 having satisfied the following criteria. The place is important in demonstrating the course, or pattern, of cultural or natural history in New South Wales. The Gara River Hydro-electric scheme provides direct evidence for
468-460: The first modern pure physicists in the world. He was involved in all phases of the design and construction and became mortgagee of the company. The dam for the scheme was constructed at Blue Hole, a large natural pool of water off the Gara River. The generator site was situated at the foot of the Gara Falls. The site was only disadvantaged by its distance from the power consumers in the next gorge and
494-414: The first use of tandem hydro-electric power generating machines in Australia. Technologically it was also a world leader in the use of high voltage power transmission. The overall design, the use of direct current generators and the changes in fluming to improve water flow also have high technological significance. The scheme represents the only known large scale design work carried out by Professor Threlfall,
520-735: The nation, the State will advocate for listing on the Australian National Heritage List or the Commonwealth Heritage List . Finally, if the item is of global significance, the Australian Government will advocate for the item to be listed on the UNESCO World Heritage List . The Heritage Council of New South Wales , a statutory body appointed by the NSW Government and comprising members of
546-457: The register are assessed against the State Heritage Register criteria to determine the level of significance. To be assessed for listing on the State Heritage Register an item will, in the opinion of the Heritage Council of NSW, meet one or more of the following criteria: An item is not to be excluded from the Register on the ground that items with similar characteristics have already been listed on
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#1733202786578572-640: The scheme was substantially rebuilt and reactivated with modifications to the flumes and machinery. The population of the area however, was dwindling due to reduced mineral production and the Sandon Company sold the plant to the International Railway Corporation of England. By 1905 it was being leased or operated by a Mr Pinto who sold the electricity to local users. The last mention of the Gara River Hydro-Electric Scheme as
598-534: The township. The system used DC ( direct current ) generators and briefly became one of the most important DC generation schemes in the world. Although the scheme was hailed as a technical triumph, it was plagued by financial trouble throughout the 1890s. This may have coincided with the economic decline that hailed the end of the goldrushes in the area. In 1896 the site was taken over by the Sandon County Electrical Light and Power Company and in 1899,
624-402: The weir, a line of V sectioned concrete fluming extends southwards for 500m. After passing through a cutting the flume splits, with one half running on wooden trestles and the other following the fall of the land. The former is the original route of the flume. None of the timber fluming or framing of the trestles survives intact although many lie around the surface of the site. Stone footing supply
650-420: The whole of New South Wales; with the remaining items of local or regional heritage value. The items include buildings, objects, monuments, Aboriginal places, gardens, bridges, landscapes, archaeological sites, shipwrecks, relics, bridges, streets, industrial structures and conservation precincts. Typically, an item will first attract local listing, then regional or State listing. If the item is of significance to
676-672: Was the first substantial hydro-electric scheme to reach fruition in Australia. It began to generate power in March 1895 to light the town of Hillgrove , near Armidale in the New South Wales Central Tablelands . The scheme was instigated by the Australasian Rights Purchase Association, when they placed a petition for a bill before the Parliament of New South Wales , requesting the water rights to exploit
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