Gawler Gas Works
10 Seventh Street, Gawler.
[Begin Transcript] In
1868, The Provincial Gas Company was formed to be direct competition to the
South Australian Gas Company. The company’s foundation members included local
Gawler businesses men James Martin and Sir Walter Duffield (CORRECTION - Walter Duffield was never knighted.). The Provincial Gas
Company planned to build three gas works, one in Strathalbyn, one in Kapunda
and one in Gawler.
Parliament granted
incorporation of the company in 1869, with equipment ordered from England the
same year.
The Gawler Gas Works were built on 7th street, Gawler. Its
fires were lit on the 10th of September 1869 with gas commencing through lines
from the 14th of October 1869.
Gawler Council did
not wish to outlay money towards lamp lights within the town. It took until
1879, with the donation of a lamp for the northern end of Murray Street, from
the aptly named H.E. Bright Junior for Gawler to get its first lamp. The next
lamp was situated at the corner of Murray Street and Calton Road, and again was
a donation, this time from James Martin. G.M. Hawkes donated a lamp for the
southern intersection of Murray Street and Bridge Street.
A man was employed in
Gawler to light and extinguish the lamps. He rode a bicycle with a ladder on
his shoulder. Gawler Council refused to light the gas lamps for 6 nights
before, and six nights after a full moon. It also demanded all lamps to be
extinguished from 10:30 pm to save money.
From 1866 until 1897 Gawler’s lamplighter was Mr Creyghton. Creyghton
was replaced in 1897 after a lamp exploded, and he could not explain to the
council how it occurred. Mr Coward
started as lamplight in 1898 earning 2 pounds, two shillings and 6d per month
for his service. Coward served as a lamplighter in Gawler until 1909. The combined
position of Nightman and Lamplighter was advertised in Gawler that same year.
The new lamplighter D
Wells faced considerable opposition from Council and was accused of not doing
his job properly, with many councillors wanting the position refilled. Councillor
Thorrup opposed stating that, the new lamplighter had not received much
training from the previous man employed and needed more time to improve. Wells
quit the position in March 1910.
Gawler South appointed its own lamplighter from 1907, Mr
Michael Regan. In 1908 the position went to H. Masters.
Electricity generation came to Gawler on the 16th of June
1912. Mayor Reibech flicked the switch to turn on the new electric streetlights
at the official opening on the 16th of August 1912.
The Gawler Gas Works continued production, supplying gas in
the region, but with the installation of electricity in the town, the demand
for gas dropped. The outbreak of World War One added further problems to the
gasworks, making the supply of machinery and coal from NSW harder to come by.
The Gawler Gas Works officially closed on 30th of November 1917.
After many years of being empty, the site of
the former gas works became a racing stable, with a house built on the
property as well. The house was demolished in 2017.
In 2018 the site has been made available
for sale, with real estate agents, McGees property stating on their website
about the site:
Approval for a modern, single-storey medical centre of 543
square metres (approx.), 51 car parks and a separate administration building of
390 sqm (approx.)
The rear former gasworks is protected under heritage laws,
and can be modified for adaptive use, but must be preserved in future plans. [end
transcript].
Researched, written, compiled, filmed and edited by Allen
Tiller. [© 2019 – Hidden Secrets]
