by B. J. Madden
Mid-November 1979, saw the demolition and removal of a landmark in Kingsgrove – the Gas Holder in Kingsgrove Road opposite Omnibus Road. The Gas Holder was built during 1926-27 in order to improve the gas supply in that area, which was then undergoing rapid expansion.
The Holder had a diameter of 164 feet and fully inflated was approximately 114 feet in height.
At 6am on 15 February 1956, the early morning quiet was shattered by ‘a muffled roar’, a ‘great flame shot into the air’ and residents thought that a bomb had exploded. The ‘muffled’ sound was the roar of flaming gas escaping from a major leak at the top of the container. Four residents suffered superficial burns. The Australian Gas Light Co., explanation of the incident was that it was not an explosion in the true sense of the word but was caused by failure of the crown. A ring of corrosion had formed around the periphery of the crown, causing the metal to part and the crown to open up in much the same fashion as the lid of a jam tin. The escaping gas ignited in the atmosphere causing very little damage. The Holder, without the support of the containing gas simply fell into the underground tank.
The Company decommissioned the holder early in 1979 when it began to pump processed natural gas into the Kingsgrove area from the Holders at Chullora. There is a photograph of the framework of the Gas Holder being demolished in the St. George and Sutherland Shire Leader of 21 November 1979.
I was able to obtain some photographs on 15 November 1979, just after demolition had commenced. The Australian Gas Light Company has been unable to locate old photographs, and I wonder whether there are any photographs of the Gas Holder or of that part of Kingsgrove on the northern side of the Tempe-East Hills railway line, which would give an indication of the size of the Gas Holder. It would be particularly interesting to see photographs taken before World War II and I would appreciate the opportunity to copy any such photographs.
This article was first published in the February 1981 edition of our magazine.
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