OUR HERITAGE AT RISK - NEW SOUTH WALES - 2007
Place: Hammerhead Crane, Garden Island Naval Depot, Potts Point Threat: Devaluation and neglect
Significance:
A prominent landmark in Sydney Harbour, the Hammerhead Crane was, when built, the largest crane in the Southern Hemisphere and it remains unique in Australia. Built to lift up to 250 tons, it is one of a series of cranes built around the world to service the British Navy fleet and, as such, demonstrates Australia’s position in the former British Empire. The Hammerhead Crane is an example of excellence in engineering design and manufacture of its time and is impressive in its size and capability. The Crane demonstrates the peak of mid-twentieth century electrical technology prior to the development of electronic monitoring and control.
The Hammerhead Crane is a relic of Australia’s military activities in World War Two and of our role and relationship to the military superpowers of the era. It symbolises the contemporary naval and defence strategies and technologies that underpinned Australia’s specific military contribution to the conduct of World War Two. It forms part of a world-wide naval support capability provided for the British Navy, at the zenith of the Empire’s extent.
The Hammerhead Crane attracts a significant interest by a small group of specialist enthusiasts interested in both the aesthetics and technicalities of structural and mechanical engineering. The type has been modelled as a Meccano kit and there is an on-going interest in these cranes, both generally and specifically, amongst engineering modellers.
The Hammerhead Crane is representative of the extreme heavy lifting technologies of the mid-twentieth century and is a representative example of the largest size of fixed ship-building and repair cranes, of which less than 60 were built world-wide. It remains virtually as it was built, without alteration or replacement of any significant elements. It has been out of use since the mid-1990s.
The Hammerhead Crane is one of about 15 of these cranes still existing anywhere in the world. The 5 remaining cranes on the Clyde River in Glasgow have been given the highest grade protection by Historic Scotland. One of these is being preserved as part of a waterfront redevelopment scheme. Just 3 cranes remain in England, of which only the Cowes example has been recognised as historically important, with a Grade II listing.
Statement of Risk:
Degree of Risk: At risk – no solution agreed Threats/Risks: Devaluation Fate/outcome: Suffering
The Hammerhead Crane at Garden Island is a working machine with rigorous condition requirements associated with its operation. It has been idle for over a decade with little, if any maintenance or repair and is becoming more degrade with the passage of time. This neglect will soon make demolition inevitable. The crane stands on an important wharf site within an operating naval base and presently has a nuisance value for users of the wharf which is unjustified by its continuing inoperability. Desired Outcome: Conservation of the Crane in situ is the preferred outcome. Conservation could range from preservation to adaptation and it could potentially be recommissioned to operate for lower load capacities as part of the on-going operations at Garden Island. Bibliography: Garden Island Heritage Inventory, Schwager Brooks & Partners Pty Ltd, May 1994, Asset No.
76, prepared by Godden Mackay, Heritage Consultants. Article: "250 Ton Crane Foundations" by C.R. Bickford, Engineer-in-Chief, NSW Maritime Services Board, in The Journal of the Institution of Australian Engineers Vol. 24 No. 3, March 1952 pp 75-84. “The Cowes Giant Cantilever Crane” Isle of Wight Industrial Archaeology Society, January 2005 {http://freespace.virgin.net/iw.history/cowes/crane.htm}. |
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