Grain Elevator Tower

Provenance

Camera: NIKON D850
Lens: 14.0-24.0 mm f/2.8
Settings: 24mm · f/8.0 · 1/400 sec · ISO 64
Paper: Ilford Galerie Smooth Cotton Rag 310 gsm

A tall corrugated metal tower stands above a concrete grain shed. A raised conveyor gallery and a steel access stairway link the tower to the lower structure. A skillion verandah roof extends over a loading area at ground level. Smaller silos are visible across a grassed paddock. The sky is partly clouded.

Edition

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In situ

01 PROVENANCE

Print datasheet

Title: Grain Elevator Tower
Series: Mount Russell Grain Silo
Catalogue: MRS-004
Process: Giclée
Captured: 3 January 2023
Camera: NIKON D850
Lens: 14.0-24.0 mm f/2.8
Aperture: f/8.0
Shutter: 1/400 sec s
ISO: 64
Focal length: 24 mm
Paper: Ilford Galerie Smooth Cotton Rag 310 gsm
Location: Mount Russell, Northern Tablelands, New South Wales, Australia
Recognised by: Highly Commended in Multimedia at the 2016 National Trust of Australia (NSW) Heritage Awards

02 LOCATION

Mount Russell, Northern Tablelands, New South Wales, Australia

Map · Mapbox · OpenStreetMap

03 THE STORY

About this print

The grain elevator tower at Mount Russell rises above a concrete shed on the Northern Tablelands of New South Wales, connected to the lower structure by a raised conveyor gallery and a steel access stairway. A skillion verandah roof extends over a loading area at ground level. Smaller silos stand across the grassed paddock behind the main complex, all visible against a partly clouded sky in this 2023 photograph.

The site carries two distinct construction phases. In 1934 a type S041 concrete grain silo of 4,100 tonnes capacity was constructed at Mount Russell by a NSW Government grain authority, a predecessor body to the later Grain Elevators Board. That original structure remained on site when a much larger type A285 scalloped concrete silo was added in 1955, contributing a further 28,500 tonnes of capacity and bringing the combined total to approximately 32,600 tonnes. The 1955 structure became the dominant building on the site.

The Grain Elevators Board, formally constituted in NSW in 1954, assumed responsibility for the country silo network including Mount Russell. The board's successor, the NSW Grain Handling Authority, was privatised in 1992 with a majority of shares transferred to grain growers, forming GrainCorp. GrainCorp listed on the ASX in March 1998, and the Mount Russell facility remained within its receival network until 2007, when GrainCorp closed the site.

The railway connection that had served the silo was the Inverell branch line. Mount Russell station opened on 10 March 1902. Passenger services on the branch ended in 1983. The last train on the Delungra to Inverell section ran on 22 June 1987, and the line was decommissioned on 2 December 1987. The railway sidings that had served the silo fell out of use from that point and are now completely overgrown.

Since its closure in 2007 the structure has remained standing and intact. The corrugated metal tower, the conveyor gallery, the steel stairway and the loading verandah documented in this photograph were all present and in place across a grassed paddock under open sky when the image was made in 2023.

04 FROM THE FIELD NOTES

The grain elevator tower at Mount Russell stands above the concrete shed of a silo complex that dates to 1934, when a type S041 concrete structure of 4,100 tonnes capacity was built on the site. A major type A285 scalloped concrete silo followed in 1955, raising combined capacity to approximately 32,600 tonnes. The site was connected to the Inverell branch line, which closed in 1987. GrainCorp, the operator at the time, closed the facility in 2007. The structure remains standing and intact, with the corrugated tower, conveyor gallery, stairway and loading verandah all visible from the paddock.

Brett Patman

The series

Mount Russell Grain Silo

1934–2007 · 6 photographs

Mount Russell sits among dry grass and eucalypt on the North West Slopes of New South Wales, about 25 kilometres north-west of Inverell. The original concrete cell silos were built in 1934 as part of the NSW Government's bulk-wheat programme for the northern railway network. In 1955 a large scalloped bulk store, locally known as an opera house type, was added alongside. The Inverell branch line closed in 1987, and GrainCorp shut the facility in 2007.

View all in this series →

05 SIZE GUIDE

Print sizes

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