Control Room at White Bay Power Station, a curved control console wraps across the room in a wide arc.

01 White Bay Power StationRozelle2015 - 2017

ISO 1001/8f/9.014mm

Series · 124 prints

White Bay Power Station

Photographed 2015 - 2017
Frames 124
Camera NIKON D810 · NIKON D7000
Location New South Wales, Australia
Status Arts and cultural venue; reopened to public 2024 (Biennale of Sydney)
Years 1917 to 1983
Specs 186 MW peak capacity (rarely attained) · 38,000 m² site · Three stations: A (1917), B (1928), C (1948)
01 ABOUT THIS SERIES

Series story

Map · Mapbox · OpenStreetMap

Bricklayers laid 3.7 million bricks at White Bay across three and a quarter years of Phase 1 construction, on Wanngal Country at the western edge of Rozelle. The New South Wales Government Railways ran the build through its own Construction Department. By 3 July 1913, boilers and alternators were running before the buildings that housed them were complete.

The Turbine Hall and 1912-1927 Switch House are Arts and Crafts adapted to industrial architecture, in brick and reinforced concrete on a 38,000 square metre site. Four construction phases completed in 1917, 1928, 1953 and 1958. The 1950s Third Boiler House across Phases 3 and 4 is Modernist, set in deliberate contrast to the earlier work.

White Bay supplied Sydney's tram and suburban rail network, and after 1958 fed the wider NSW grid. At its 1923 peak the tram network ran across 291 kilometres of street trackage; at its 1945 peak it carried 405 million passenger journeys, the largest in the Southern Hemisphere and second-largest in the British Empire after London. The station was rated at 186 MW, rarely attained, and ceased generation on Christmas Eve 1983.

The NSW State Heritage Register listed White Bay on 2 April 1999. The 24th Biennale of Sydney opened the building to the public from 9 March to 10 June 2024 and drew 172,000 visitors, the most-attended non-museum site in the history of the Biennale. White Bay sits at the centre of the Bays West precinct, planned for up to 8,500 homes and framed by Placemaking NSW as the first example of Country-led regeneration at this scale in Australia.

NSW State Heritage Register (Heritage NSW), White Bay Power Station CMP Vol 1 and Engineering Heritage Australia EHRP-2025 nomination

02 TIMELINE

Chronology

1912
1917
1923
1928
1953
1958
1961
1983
1989
1999
2024
03 PRINTS

Prints in this series

Hand-signed limited editions, printed from the original RAW file. Editions run from 100 down to 25 and are not reissued once they sell through.

Control Room at White Bay Power Station, a curved control console wraps across the room in a wide arc.
Control Room
Turbine Hall at White Bay Power Station, reinforced concrete walls rise three storeys on each side, their surfaces stained.
Turbine Hall
Glass Curtain at White Bay Power Station, a towering mosaic of glass and steel, where light filters through dust-streaked.
Glass Curtain
Turbine and Condenser at White Bay Power Station, a steam turbine and its condenser sit on the operating floor of White Bay.
Turbine and Condenser
Boiler House Basement To Ceiling at White Bay Power Station, steel framework climbs from the basement floor.
Boiler House Basement To Ceiling
Boiler House Control Room at White Bay Power Station, a heavy steel door stands open into the control room.
Boiler House Control Room
Turbine at White Bay Power Station, the Parsons turbine dominates the White Bay Power Station Turbine Hall, its immense.
Turbine
Administration Entrance at White Bay Power Station, a concrete ramp leads directly to the main entrance.
Administration Entrance
Knife Switches at White Bay Power Station, a row of heavy knife switches lines a marble switchboard panel, each labelled.
Knife Switches
Workshop at White Bay Power Station, a chain block hangs from the ceiling on heavy links, motionless above a floor thick.
Workshop
Boiler Feed Valves at White Bay Power Station, a row of corroded boiler feed valves, once the gatekeepers of steam.
Boiler Feed Valves
Condenser at White Bay Power Station, a pale green steel casing fills the frame, bolted together with rows of heavy rivets.
Condenser
Chimney Stacks And Boiler House at White Bay Power Station, framed against the sky, the twin chimneys of White Bay Power.
Chimney Stacks And Boiler House
Telephone Exchange at White Bay Power Station, the timber-encased telephone exchange stands at the heart of the White Bay.
Telephone Exchange
Ammeters at White Bay Power Station, protection relay panels line the wall in pale green steel, mounted floor to ceiling.
Ammeters
Control Room Cross View at White Bay Power Station, the curved control console wraps the room in a wide arc.
Control Room Cross View
Boiler House Basement at White Bay Power Station, steel columns rise from a concrete floor slick with standing water.
Boiler House Basement
Administration Foyer at White Bay Power Station, a quiet intersection of industry and oversight.
Administration Foyer
Entertainment Hall at White Bay Power Station, the hall opens wide beneath a pitched timber-truss roof.
Entertainment Hall
Bailey Meters at White Bay Power Station, a slow and steady record of movement, measured in thousand-pound hours.
Bailey Meters
Turbine Hall Basement at White Bay Power Station, in the shadowy depths of the White Bay Power Station Turbine Hall basement.
Turbine Hall Basement
Alternator Air Chamber at White Bay Power Station, a sealed hatch looms above the air chamber, once a critical access point.
Alternator Air Chamber
Ash Handling Tower at White Bay Power Station, two steel hoppers sit elevated on a rusted framework beside the main turbine.
Ash Handling Tower
Ash Handling Tower Lookup at White Bay Power Station, steel beams and concrete walls stack upward in heavy layers.
Ash Handling Tower Lookup
Backlit Reactors at White Bay Power Station, high-voltage reactor switches stand in glass-panelled enclosures, backlit.
Backlit Reactors
Basement Pump at White Bay Power Station, a centrifugal pump sits bolted to a concrete plinth in the basement level.
Basement Pump
Battery Charger at White Bay Power Station, a battery charging board mounted on a grey steel panel against white-tiled walls.
Battery Charger
Beneath Boiler House Operator Level at White Bay Power Station, beneath the towering boilers, the skeletal remains.
Beneath Boiler House Operator Level
Beneath Pump House at White Bay Power Station, a brick-lined corridor runs beneath the Pump House, narrowing into darkness.
Beneath Pump House
Blowers at White Bay Power Station, massive steel blowers stand at the base of Boiler No.
Blowers
Boiler 2 Void at White Bay Power Station, an empty void where Boiler No.
Boiler 2 Void
Boiler 2 Void To Glass Curtain at White Bay Power Station, an empty void where Boiler No.
Boiler 2 Void To Glass Curtain
Boiler House at White Bay Power Station, light floods through a wall of steel-framed windows three storeys high.
Boiler House
Boiler House Cabinet at White Bay Power Station, a steel storage cabinet stands open against the brick exterior wall.
Boiler House Cabinet
Boiler House Ceiling at White Bay Power Station, looking up from the ground floor of the White Bay Power Station Boiler.
Boiler House Ceiling
Boiler House Chimney And Ash Plant at White Bay Power Station, this perspective captures the meeting point of the Ash.
Boiler House Chimney And Ash Plant
Boiler House Control Room Dials at White Bay Power Station, a long corridor of steel control panels lines the boiler house.
Boiler House Control Room Dials
Boiler House Exterior at White Bay Power Station, a solitary door, dwarfed by the towering red brick wall of the Boiler.
Boiler House Exterior
Boiler House Floor at White Bay Power Station, concrete plinths line the boiler house floor where heavy machinery once sat.
Boiler House Floor
Boiler House Handrail at White Bay Power Station, a steel pipe handrail runs along a concrete walkway at upper-level height.
Boiler House Handrail
Boiler House Mezzanine at White Bay Power Station, steel grating stretches across the boiler house mezzanine, rust settling.
Boiler House Mezzanine
Boiler House To Coal Handling Shed at White Bay Power Station, steel girders frame a wide opening between the boiler house.
Boiler House To Coal Handling Shed
Boiler Number 1 at White Bay Power Station, the steel framework of Boiler No.
Boiler Number 1
Boiler Valves at White Bay Power Station, a cluster of cast-iron gate valves and stop valves sits bolted to a vertical.
Boiler Valves
Boiler Wall Access at White Bay Power Station, steel access ladders and handrails climb the face of Boiler No.
Boiler Wall Access
White Bay Power Station Boiler Water Valves – Industrial Print at White Bay Power Station, a row of cast iron gate valves.
White Bay Power Station Boiler Water Valves
Boiler Water Wall at White Bay Power Station, steel tubes curve and run in tight parallel rows across the face of Boiler No.
Boiler Water Wall
Breaker Box at White Bay Power Station, a timber-framed switchboard cabinet sits against bare brick.
Breaker Box
Chimney at White Bay Power Station, riveted steel panels rise skyward, forming the towering chimney of White Bay Power.
Chimney
Coal Bunkers at White Bay Power Station, suspended between the towering coal bunker and the top of Boiler No.
Coal Bunkers
Coal Conveyor at White Bay Power Station, the brick facade of White Bay Power Station's boiler house rises five storeys.
Coal Conveyor
Control Room Desks at White Bay Power Station, a curved control panel wraps the room in a wide arc.
Control Room Desks
Control Room Side at White Bay Power Station, the curved control desk sweeps across the room in a wide arc.
Control Room Side
Control Room Switches at White Bay Power Station, rows of heavy-duty knife switches line the pale green control desk.
Control Room Switches
Controllers at White Bay Power Station, two rusted control units stand silent on their brick and concrete foundations.
Controllers
Dart Boards at White Bay Power Station, faint outlines mark where dartboards once hung, the surrounding walls pockmarked.
Dart Boards
Entertainment Hall Door at White Bay Power Station, light spills through the open doorway, cutting across the worn timber.
Entertainment Hall Door
Entertainment Hall Kitchen at White Bay Power Station, the stainless steel sink lies coated in dust, its surface etched.
Entertainment Hall Kitchen
Entertainment Hall Seating at White Bay Power Station, the long wooden bench stretches the length of the hall,.
Entertainment Hall Seating
Entertainment Hall Stage at White Bay Power Station, a raised timber stage fills the centre of the hall, its floorboards.
Entertainment Hall Stage
04 ABOUT THE PRINTS

How they’re made

Made to order by Brett in Sydney, from the original RAW file. Each print is hand-signed and numbered before it ships.

Paper

Ilford Galerie cotton rag, 310 gsm. Acrylic on metallic gloss, 260 gsm.

Editions

Open in XS and S. Limited in M (100), L (50), XL (25). From $100.

Print tiers →

Lead time

Unframed: 5 to 10 business days. Framed and acrylic: 10 to 20.

05 FIELD NOTE

From the field

Read all field notes
06 PRESS

In the press

Often I'd find myself looking at the machines and architecture and challenging myself to find one single object designed purely for aesthetics. Craftsmanship made way for efficiency in engineering long before I'd even left school.

The Guardian

Brett Patman·2019

theguardian.com

On the LC archive.

People talk about what it was like to work or stay in these places, who they knew, what they did, how great the Christmas parties were, that store man nobody liked, what all the different machines were, how they worked and what became of them.

Broadsheet

Brett Patman·2016

lostcollective.com

On the LC archive.

There's this sense of wonder you get when looking at abandoned buildings. You try to imagine what these spaces were like when they were filled with busy workers trying to meet production targets. And why did they close?

The Guardian

Brett Patman·2019

theguardian.com

On the LC archive.

See press coverage →
08 BY POST · NO SPAM

Read the full story

Articles when they're published. The history behind a place. The day of a shoot. The work between prints. No marketing, no schedule.

You're subscribed.