Boiler House Sink

Provenance

Camera: NIKON D7000
Lens: 14.0-24.0 mm f/2.8
Settings: 36mm · f/8.0 · 1/80 · ISO 100
Paper: Ilford Galerie Smooth Cotton Rag 310 gsm

A porcelain sink, marked by grime and rust, stands in the boiler house at White Bay Power Station. This Sydney landmark operated from 1912 until 1983.

Edition

Open edition

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

Limited edition
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.

See certificate sample →

Shipping Free shipping over $250. Ships worldwide, rates calculated at checkout.

Returns Damaged in transit? We replace it. Full policy →

Ships within 10 business days · signed & numbered

In situ

01 PROVENANCE

Print datasheet

Title: Boiler House Sink
Series: White Bay Power Station
Catalogue: WBP-023
Process: Giclée
Captured: 13 November 2015
Camera: NIKON D7000
Lens: 14.0-24.0 mm f/2.8
Aperture: f/8.0
Shutter: 1/80 s
ISO: 100
Focal length: 36 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

A heavy industrial sink sits along one wall of one of the boiler-house service areas at White Bay Power Station. The sink is white-glazed cast iron with a single tap fitting at chrome, the porcelain stained around the drain from decades of working use. A drainboard alongside the sink is the same glazed cast iron, sloped toward the drain. The wall behind the sink is tiled in pale green to waist height, the tiles cracked in places and missing one or two pieces. A small steel shelf above the sink holds the residue of working items: a soap dish, a cleaning brush, a small metal cup.

Industrial sinks were standard fittings in the working areas of large power stations, used for hand-washing between tasks and for cleaning the smaller items of maintenance work. The sink in this photograph served the boiler-house crew during shift, with hot and cold water on tap. White Bay operated from 1917 to Christmas Day 1983 across three build phases. After closure the sink stopped being used. The fittings, the tiles, and the residue of working items have stayed in place. The plumbing is no longer connected; the tap has not run in over forty years.

04 FROM THE FIELD NOTES

The aftermath of heavy rain transforms this long-abandoned workspace into an eerie, reflective pool. Water, unable to drain through a sink choked with decades of dust and debris, has overflowed onto the bench, creeping into the rotting timber beneath.

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.