Administration Foyer

Provenance

Camera: NIKON D7000
Lens: 14.0-24.0 mm f/2.8
Settings: 21mm · f/8.0 · 1.3s · ISO 100
Paper: Ilford Galerie Smooth Cotton Rag 310 gsm

The administration foyer of the NSW Railway Commissioners' power station: a timber staircase with worn handrails, elevator doors sealed beside it. The station ran under the Railway Commissioners from 1917 and the Electricity Commission of NSW from January 1953.

Edition

Open edition

Open edition
Printed to order, no fixed quantity. Each print is hand-signed by the photographer.

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A fixed number of prints exist. Once sold, the edition closes permanently. Each print is individually numbered and signed.

$100.00 AUD

Colour

Signed, numbered, with COA. Made to order in 10 to 20 business days (framed). Shipped in protective packaging with edition certificate, paper-stock reference and a printed care guide.

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In situ

01 PROVENANCE

Print datasheet

Title: Administration Foyer
Series: White Bay Power Station
Catalogue: WBP-002
Process: Giclée
Captured: 13 November 2015
Camera: NIKON D7000
Lens: 14.0-24.0 mm f/2.8
Aperture: f/8.0
Shutter: 1.3s s
ISO: 100
Focal length: 21 mm
Paper: Ilford Galerie Smooth Cotton Rag 310 gsm
Paper size: 290 × 200 mm
Location: Rozelle, New South Wales, Australia
Authenticity: C2PA verified provenance →
Recognised by: Highly Commended in Multimedia at the 2016 National Trust of Australia (NSW) Heritage Awards

02 LOCATION

Rozelle, New South Wales, Australia

Map · Mapbox · OpenStreetMap

03 THE STORY

About this print

The administration foyer at White Bay Power Station is the entrance hall to the office block, set off the main approach behind the green timber doors of the Administration Entrance. The foyer is a high-ceilinged room with terrazzo flooring, a timber-panelled reception counter along one wall, and a stairway rising to the upper-floor offices at the far end. Brass fittings on the counter have darkened with age; the timber panelling has softened to a warm honey tone. Original sandstone of the building's outer wall is visible through doorway openings. A small framed plaque sits on the counter, the lettering on it now too dim to read clearly.

The administration block at White Bay handled the office side of running a plant that employed around 500 to 600 people at peak: roster management, procurement, engineering correspondence, dealings with the NSW Government Railways and Tramways head office, and later with the Electricity Commission of NSW. The foyer was the public-facing room: where visitors signed in, where mail was delivered, where the plant's external paperwork passed through. White Bay closed on Christmas Day 1983. The foyer has been quiet since, opened occasionally for film and arts, including the 2024 Biennale of Sydney.

04 FROM THE FIELD NOTES

A quiet intersection of industry and oversight. The timber staircase stands firm, its polished handrails worn smooth by decades of passing hands. Beside it, the elevator doors remain shut, their muted panels catching the dim light.

Brett Patman

The series

White Bay Power Station

2015–2018 · 124 photographs

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.

View all in this series →

05 SIZE GUIDE

Print sizes

The anatomy view shows what this finish is as a physical object: paper margin, mat band, frame depth, acrylic profile. The comparison strip shows how each size sits relative to the others at true scale. Click a size or a finish to update both.