Original post 5 January 2017:
If you #lookup along the new #watertanklane off #spencerstreet (near the higher ground cafe) you’ll see the #watertank itself on new yellow legs. It was imported from Gateshead in 1889 and used to hold a whole lotta water that was then pumped at #highpressure to power the cbd’s #hydrauliclifts, ones that worked by sitting in a piston that was pushed (slowly) up by the water pressure. The #MelbourneHydraulicPowerCo was created in 1886 to provide this power, which in turn allowed Melbourne’s #VictorianSkyscrapers to bloom – a dozen ‘mighty edifices’ 7 to 11 storeys high. Melbourne was one of the few cities to adopt this tech on a large scale, with the power plant in the docks area. With electric lifts standard by the 1910s, numbers declined until it was taken over by the #CityofMelbourne municipal power station in the 20s, when the tank was moved here. Kept powering lifts till the 60s I think. There’s still some inspection plates around the city streets. As part of the redevelopment of nearly the whole Spencer Street power station site in the 2000s, the tank stayed in place but got new legs, the buildings either side demolished, leaving it high and dry 🤣
Storey of Melbourne 