The Powerhouse

Built-in 1917

The powerhouse was erected in 1917, replacing an earlier building on the site. The new powerhouse was another initiative of HB Ellerton and part of his plan to create a modern mental hospital. The institution's expansion and the need to replace kerosene lighting with electricity made a new powerhouse necessary. The building was designed on the advice of the tile electrician and engineer, Mr Burrows. Construction began in 1916, but delays in receiving machinery and boilers from England because of the war meant the powerhouse was not operational until late in 1917. With the boiler room closing on 28 February 1998, another chapter in the complex's interesting history ended. Folklore has it that one of the boilers was sunk in a ship during transit. Hospital records support this. The 1917 Annual Report stated that although the building itself was completed early in 1917, "with the exception of the accumulators, none of the machinery arrived until the year was well advanced". The report further states that the war caused the delay in receiving the machinery, as part was commandeered for war purposes when it was ready on the wharf for shipment, and other portions were on ships sunk by submarines. Morrie Sams, boiler attendant, who has been employed at the Wolston Park Hospital for the past 18 years, said this is the only steam boiler of this type still running in Australia. The boiler is fully manual. Everything is done manually, from shovelling coal to adding more water to cool the boiler if it gets too hot. Before closure, the boilers ran year-round, with one boiler online for 12 months while the second was offline for maintenance. In the past, the boiler house ran two shifts, but as patient numbers declined. In 2025, it remains largely intact. The building comprises two parts: a large double-height boiler room and an adjacent single-storey engine room, whose floor is at the level of the boiler room's upper gallery. The building includes an open ‘coal bunker’ on the side of the boiler room, and a tall freestanding brick chimney. In 2020, the boiler room was vacant, retained its boilers and was used as a store for a considerable amount of hospital paraphernalia. The engine room has partitions and is now used as offices, including a small hospital museum.

 

Chronology:

1917: building construction was completed

1920: disinfectant room added

1944: curved galvanised iron awnings added to coal bunkers

1945: conversion of disinfectant room to a change room

1957: additional coal bunkers to the western elevation

1958: workshops added to the southern elevation.​​