Fire destroys Tungatinah hydropower station in Tasmania
In Australia, a fire in the early hours of Wednesday destroyed the Tungatinah hydropower station near the Nive River in Tasmania's Central Highlands. The cause of the fire has not yet been established. The station's five turbines could generate 142.2 megawatts of electricity, accounting for about 5% of the state's power supply. Authorities said Tasmania's energy supply remains stable, ABC News Australia reports.
Part of the Derwent hydropower system
Tungatinah was one of 10 major power stations in the Derwent hydroelectric scheme, a network of dams, lakes, canals, pipelines and stations in the Central Highlands. The scheme was planned in the 1930s to develop Tasmania's economy and increase electricity generation. The last power station within the project was commissioned in 1968.
The five Tungatinah turbines were brought into operation gradually between 1953 and 1956. The station received water from nearby lakes and lagoons, passed it through turbines and directed it onward to other power stations. This cascading principle made it possible to use the same water to generate electricity several times as it moved through the network.
More current news is available on the UA.News Telegram channel Telegram.
Workers' settlement
Hundreds of workers were brought to the remote region to build the hydropower system. After World War II, the Hydro-Electric Commission recruited workers in Europe because of a labour shortage. They included people from Poland, the United Kingdom, Italy, Greece, Germany, Yugoslavia, Russia and Ukraine.
Less than a kilometre from the station was the settlement of Tarraleah, built by the Hydro-Electric Commission in the 1930s. By 1980, about 1,600 people lived there; the settlement had a supermarket, butcher's shop, police station, sports fields and a golf course. Tarraleah was officially closed in 1996 after power station construction in the region was scaled back. Most buildings were sold or moved to other parts of Tasmania, while the former accommodation building for senior staff now operates as a luxury hotel.
Industrial heritage consultant Chris Tassell, who provided services to Hydro Tasmania, described the loss of Tungatinah as significant for the state. He said the steel, glass and concrete structure stood out for its mid-20th-century modernist design and was an important part of Tasmania's hydropower history.
