Construction: 1915
Architect: Victorian Railways Way and Works Branch, in association
with Merz and MacLellan
Builder: Victorian Railways
A site on railway land was selected for the Newport Substation
in 1913, and by June 1915 the building was two-thirds complete.
It was one of the first five substations, constructed by the Railways
Department because of delays in receiving tender documents from
Merz. Completed in June 1916, it was designed to house three 1500kW
rotary converters, which were not installed until 1919. The building
was designed so those larger units could easily fitted if required.
It began operation when electric services were extended to Williamstown
on 27th August 1920, and it function was replaced by new buildings
erected at Yarraville and Williamstown in 1967.
Owner: VicTrack
Significance: Newport is one of the oldest substations in the metropolitan
systems, and also one of the largest, comparable to the North Fitzroy
substation and slightly smaller than the Newmarket substation. It
displays an exceptionally high level of integrity not seen in any
other extant examples of this substation design, and although much
of the original equipment has been removed or vandalised, the building
is highly demonstrative of early twentieth century power generating
practices. The building has strong visual and functional associations
with the nearby Newport railway workshops, established in 1882.
The building has strong associations with the inauguration of electric
services, due to its construction during the first phase of the
scheme. It is also important for its associations with the engineering
firm Merz and MacLellan, who designed the electrification scheme
as well as the early substations in association with the VR Way
and Works Branch. Its construction by the Victorian Railways sets
the building apart from contemporary Railways structures built under
contract. |
