Steam Compressor at White Bay Power Station, a cast-iron steam pump sits bolted to its concrete plinth on the turbine hall.
Steam Compressor at White Bay Power Station, a cast-iron steam pump sits bolted to its concrete plinth on the turbine hall.

Steam Compressor

Provenance

Camera
NIKON D7000
Lens
14.0-24.0 mm f/2.8
Settings
21mm · f/8.0 · 25s · ISO 100
Paper
Ilford Galerie Smooth Cotton Rag 310 gsm

Massive gears and corroded pipes define this steam compressor inside White Bay Power Station. Layers of rust and grime cover its once-powerful mechanisms, now quiet and still.

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
Size
Type
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

Steam Compressor at White Bay Power Station, a cast-iron steam pump sits bolted to its concrete plinth on the turbine hall.Steam Compressor at White Bay Power Station, a cast-iron steam pump sits bolted to its concrete plinth on the turbine hall.Steam Compressor at White Bay Power Station, a cast-iron steam pump sits bolted to its concrete plinth on the turbine hall.Steam Compressor at White Bay Power Station, a cast-iron steam pump sits bolted to its concrete plinth on the turbine hall.Steam Compressor at White Bay Power Station, a cast-iron steam pump sits bolted to its concrete plinth on the turbine hall.
01 PROVENANCE

Print datasheet

Title
Steam Compressor
Series
White Bay Power Station
Catalogue
WBP-066
Process
Giclée
Captured
13 November 2015
Camera
NIKON D7000
Lens
14.0-24.0 mm f/2.8
Aperture
f/8.0
Shutter
25s 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

A steam-powered reciprocating compressor at White Bay Power Station stands on a concrete plinth in one of the service areas, the cylinder block and crankcase machined from cast iron and the piston rod polished steel. The flywheel is a large cast-iron disc with balance weights on the spokes. Connecting pipework links the compressor to the main steam supply and to the compressed-air distribution headers. The valve chest covers on the cylinder block are retained by heavy bolts. The crankshaft bearing housings are fitted with oil cups, still carrying residual oil that has oxidised to a dark red. The plinth anchor bolts are exposed where the grout has deteriorated around the base.

Steam-driven compressors at White Bay Power Station produced compressed air for the station's service systems. Control actuators, pneumatic tools, and instrument supply all required a reliable compressed-air source. The steam compressor used the station's boiler steam directly, making it independent of electrical supply and reliable in the event of a partial plant outage. White Bay's eight Babcock and Wilcox boilers produced steam at 205 psi and 588 degrees Fahrenheit throughout the station's operational life from 1917 to Christmas Day 1983. The station was built by the NSW Government Railways across three phases from 1912 to 1948 and was heritage listed in April 1999. Steam compressors of this type were progressively replaced by electric rotary compressors in later years.

04 FROM THE FIELD NOTES

A cast-iron steam pump sits bolted to its concrete plinth on the turbine hall floor, marked "1S" on the base. Two pressure gauges face forward, their needles still. Pipework, valve wheels, and flanged joints climb the unit in dense arrangement. Grime and oxidisation coat every surface. Behind it, a Parsons turbine generator sits low and wide in green and cream casing, framed by red safety railings. Pale light floods through the tall windows. A discarded mesh bag lies crumpled at the base of the pump.

Brett Patman

White Bay Power Station

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.

Anatomy · true ratio
07 MORE FROM WHITE BAY POWER STATION

123 other prints in this series

All prints
Control Room at White Bay Power Station, a curved control console wraps across the room in a wide arc.
Control Room $100.00
Turbine Hall at White Bay Power Station, reinforced concrete walls rise three storeys on each side, their surfaces stained.
Turbine Hall $100.00
Glass Curtain at White Bay Power Station, a towering mosaic of glass and steel, where light filters through dust-streaked.
Glass Curtain $100.00
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 $100.00
08 BY POST · NO SPAM

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