Pump it Up - Derelict Thursday

Built in 1877, Carrington Pump House once provided the hydraulic pressure required to drive loading cranes in the port of Newcastle.  

In doing some research on this building I came across an article written by Carol Duncan who used to be an ABC local radio presenter.  If you are interested here is a link    It has a picture of the building when it was in use.


If you are time poor, in summary it was built in 1877 with the architect being James Barnet.  There is a mention to a design by Edward Moriarty but he was more concerned with the building of the port and wharves near where this building stands so I am really not sure whether he had any part in the design of the building.  More research is required.   It’s classical facade has been described as a bit of a folly but inside it was very industrial housing the boilers.

Newcastle was becoming a very large port where 70% of Australia’s coal was exported.  It is now the biggest coal exporter I think in the Southern Hemisphere.  In order to industrialise the export of coal and to increase the capacity to load coal on to ships, they needed a source of power so the pump house was built to provide power for the hydraulic cranes on the dyke.  Inside were the boilers and it was regarded as state of the art at the time.

The building at the time of the article in 2012 was owned by Newcastle Port Corporation and managed by the NSW Department of Crown Lands. It was last used in 1988 when it housed maritime services workshops but the pump house was last used to power the steam cranes in the 1960s. 

The building has a relatively new timber and slate roof after a fire about 17 years ago. The Newcastle Port Corporation imported Penrhyn slate from Wales after the fire to restore the roof and replaced the slate.