Port Kembla Unstacked

[AstralTraveller]

Well, I just returned from watching the demolition of the tallest structure in the southern hemisphere, the smelter stack at Port Kembla. I watched from a safe distance at the lighthouse in Wollongong, where a thousand or so gathered. Listening to the radio I heard that people were watching all over the Illawarra. Some were at the fence at the edge of the exclusion zone, some were on roof-tops at Berkeley, many were at Hill 60 and some were at Robertson! I wouldn't be surprised to learn that some saw it from Bald Hill.

The prediction was that it would come down between 8.30 and 9.30 so I though I'd be at work by 10.00, about an hour late. No, it wasn't brought down until about 11.10 and so I was quite late :ashamed:. But, hey, it's a once in a lifetime event. It was built in 1965 so it's been a local landmark for as long as I remember.

They bought it down by blowing out the base but I don't think it went completely to plan. It was supposed to fall to the ne but it went more to the nw. It was also supposed to break into three pieces but it just fell as one piece. The fall looked very graceful and took longer then I expected. After the explosions it lent for a while before gathering pace as it toppled. Then a cloud of dust rose and spread, fortunately being blown out to sea, but not before covering all the spectators at Hill 60.

I took lots of shots but I think the camera's buffer filled just at the most interesting moment. I'll see tonight and post a few of the better shots. Meanwhile more shots are here (http://www.abc.net.au/news/interactives/streams/port-kembla-stack/).

[Astro_Bot]

Impressive! I love demolitions. :)

One thing, though ..... you know what I'm going to say ;) ..... it wasn't the tallest structure in the Southern Hemisphere, or even Australia, as it was only 198m tall. (I did a bit of work with tall towers in one job I had hence knowing that 198m isn't that tall, even for Australia).

The honour goes to the old VLF transmitting tower near Sale, Victoria, which is still standing at 432m. Next is the Indosiar TV tower in Jakarta at 395m, the North West Cape main tower at 389m, then its other towers at 364m, the Sky Tower in Auckland at 328m, then the Q1 building on the Gold Coast at 323m, Sydney Tower at 309m, and so on. :)

[AstralTraveller]

Yet another example of ABC incompetence!!! They should be shut down!!!!! ;)

Either they had their facts wrong or I misheard them. Perhaps it was the tallest when it was built? Perhaps towers - meaning steel frames rather than enclosed buildings - weren't being counted (and all the buildings are post 1965). Perhaps it was just parochialism gone mad. Anyway it is more than likely the tallest thing I'll ever see come down, unless Centre Point is ever demolished. There is a video here. (http://www.abc.net.au/news/interactives/streams/port-kembla-stack/)

BTW at least the ABC covered it live. From what I heard anyone relying on the commercial stations didn't have a clue what was happening.

[Regulus]

Wish I had been there. That stack dominated most of the views of my childhood and teen years. Even live just about 200 metres from it at one time.

Does anyone remember that something smacked into the top of it in the 70's and UFO rumours were rife :-)

Trevor

[Saturnine]

Some may call it an icon, I thought it was an eyesore and I'm glad it's gone. Much prefer the trees to man made monuments to polluting industries. Can't be an complete hypocrite though as the copper in my plumbing and electrical wiring may have been produced there for all I know.

Jeff

[Kunama]

I used to curse that thing and the steelworks for the soot and the smell in the 70's when I lived at Oak Flats. We would be sailing on Lake Illawarra and had trouble seeing the marks for the smog in the air.

[leon]

If it had been there that long and was never going to be used again, why did they not leave it there, surly it could have been preserved. :shrug:

Everything is just ripped down in the name of progress. :sadeyes:

Leon :thumbsup:

[AstralTraveller]

I have some mixed emotions about the stack. It was both an eyesore and an icon; and it has been there as long as I can remember so has been part of my life. Personally, if we were to remove some eyesores around here it would be the communication towers on Mt Keira and Brokers Nose (I grew up in Tarrawanna). We shouldn't forget that the function of the stack was to trade acute pollution near the smelter for more diffuse pollution throughout the southern suburbs. They built a 200m 7000t structure rather than install efficient pollution traps.

The official line from the company is that it has concrete cancer and it would cost some millions to fix. Many people wanted to preserve it and find an alternate use but none were economically viable. As it is the stack site and some adjacent former industrial sites, located rather nicely near the crest of the hill, can now be redeveloped. Not sure if anyone knows as what, I don't - but then I'm not at The Table of Knowledge.

I've attached some shots. As I thought, my camera's buffer filled just at the wrong moment. More to follow.

[AstralTraveller]

And more.

BTW apparently it did fall where planned, right between two disused buildings. The bit about it falling to the ne was wrong.

[GeoffW1]

Wow,

This view is just the memory I have of it. Years ago I did a lot of scuba diving around the Five Islands, in particular the Bombo wreck, and we always lined up on the AIS stack with its dark top.

Cheers