AGY-6923 | Electricity Department [Sydney City Council]

Full description

In 1896, an Act was passed "to enable the Municipal Council of Sydney to light the streets, also public and private places of the City of Sydney with the Electric Light, and also places outside the said City, and to exercise all powers necessary for such purposes, and for the generating and supply of electric power, and for the above purposes, to raise by debentures the sum of two hundred and fifty thousand pounds".

In December 1898, Council appointed an Electric Lighting Committee which held an enquiry and recommended that electric light should be installed as soon as possible. English engineers, Preece and Cardew, were hired as consultants to prepare a scheme and in July 1902 the firm of Dick, Kerr and Company won the tender to supply the required machinery and plant. (Proceedings of Council 1902, TC's Annual Report, pp 49-60).

On 16 September 1902, Council resolved to appoint Thomas Rooke as its Resident Electrical Engineer to supervise the erection of the generating station and the distributing system. The date of appointment of Rooke has been taken as the date of creation of the Department, although it was not referred to as a Department until later. The Department was known as the Electric Lighting Department and the City Electrical Engineer's Department before being known as the Electricity Department. It was also sometimes referred to as the Electricity Undertaking. It was responsible for the generation and reticulation of electricity to the City of Sydney and surrounding suburban councils for light, power and street lighting. This included the construction of power stations and sub-stations, and the laying of cables and provision of lamp posts. The Council did not have a monopoly and competed with private electricity companies.

Electricity was first supplied through street mains in 1904.

This Department grew in size and importance. In 1914, the City Electrical Engineer put forward a report recommending that the department be separate and distinct from other Municipal Departments. On 13 June 1922, as a result of an investigation by the Lord Mayor, Council resolved to commercialise the Undertaking as far as possible, and that the management of the Undertaking should be handed over to the General Manager, except for appointment of officers, accounting and bookkeeping, contracts, capital expenditure, and correspondence committing Council to expenditure or conveying decisions of the Council.

In 1924, the City Electrical Engineer reported that there were 13 branches in the Department. These were: clerical; construction (drafting of specifications and drawings); installation inspection; mains (laying and erection of street mains); testing, calibration and maintenance of meters; motor hiring; operation of the Power House; publicity, inspection and maintenance of street lamps; stores; operation of the Substations; testing of all equipment; and repair of all electrical plant and apparatus.

On 15 April, 1935, Council rescinded its earlier decision and the Electricity Department was ranked as a department with equal status to other Departments. After the passing of the Gas and Electricity Act, 1935, the entire function passed over to the newly created Sydney County Council (later Sydney Electricity). The Minutes of Council for 2 December 1935 detail the assets, debts and liabilities that were transferred to the County Council.

The Sydney County Council officially came into existence on 17 August 1935. (1)

Copied from Sydney City Archives Agency 84, as amended. Used with permission.

Endnote
1. Gas and Electricity Act, 1935 (Act No.42, 1935), s.40; New South Wales Government Gazette No.214, 20 December 1935, Vol.4, p.4874; Gordon F. Anderson, Fifty years of electricity supply: the story of Sydney's electricity undertaking. Sydney: Sydney County Council, 1955, p.145.