Unless you have a connection to Hydro Tasmania, there is a good chance that this week was the first time you had ever heard of Tungatinah Power Station.
asserted
you → have → Station
Nestled beside the Nive River in Tasmania's Central Highlands, the hydro-electric power station was destroyed by a fire on Wednesday night — with the cause of the blaze unknown.
asserted
cause → nestle → blaze
Unlike the jaw-dropping site of the Gordon River Dam, which has become a major tourist drawcard, Tungatinah was a much humbler site.
asserted
Tungatinah → drop → Dam
The station's five turbines could generate 142.2 megawatts of power, providing close to 5 per cent of Tasmania's electricity supply.
uncertain
turbines → generate → supply
Authorities were adamant the state's power supply remained secure, but the destruction was still devastating for some, including heritage consultant Chris Tassell.
asserted
destruction → remain → Tassell
Mr Tassell, who provided industrial history consulting services to Hydro Tasmania, described the station as a "stunning" building, particularly once the sun had gone down.
"If you've ever been fortunate enough to drive over to Queenstown at night and you drive down to the Nive River, and there was Tungatinah Power Station — like this extraordinary, illuminated temple," he said.
asserted
he → provide → temple
The power scheme that changed Tasmania
Tungatinah was one of 10 major power stations built for the Derwent Hydropower Scheme, a vast network of dams, lakes, canals, pipelines and power stations across the Central Highlands.
asserted
that → change → Highlands
The plan was drawn up in the 1930s as part of a larger push to drive the state's economic growth and increase electricity generation, with the scheme's final power station commissioned in 1968.
Tungatinah was built towards the middle of that construction boom, with its five turbines commissioned progressively between 1953 and 1956.
asserted
turbines → draw → 1953
Mr Tassell said the mid-century, modern design used for the building, which incorporated steel, glass and concrete, was distinct from other Tasmanian stations built in previous years.
asserted
which → say → years
The facility worked by drawing together water from a collection of nearby lakes and lagoons through the station's turbines, with the water then flowing to other stations downstream.
asserted
water → work → stations
That cascading system was one of the defining features of the Derwent scheme, using the same water to generate power multiple times as it travelled through the network.
asserted
it → cascade → network
Building that system was anything but easy, with hundreds of workers being brought in to transform a rugged and remote part of Tasmania.
asserted
hundreds → build → Tasmania
Mr Tassell said the cold, wet and unpredictable conditions added to the challenges for the manual labourers.
asserted
conditions → say → labourers
"The men who worked on the scheme really worked in arduous conditions," he said.
asserted
he → work → conditions
A workforce from across Europe
In the years after World War II, the Hydro Electric Commission actively recruited workers from Europe to help fill the labour shortages needed to expand the state's hydro-power system.
asserted
Commission → recruit → system
Many of those workers had been displaced by the conflict and had come to Tasmania in search of a fresh start.
asserted
Many → displace → start
The workforce included people from Poland, Britain, Italy, Greece, Germany, Yugoslavia, Russia and Ukraine, among other countries.
asserted
workforce → include → countries
"It was almost like the United Nations in the Hydro Commission, the number of people from the number of countries working," Mr Tassell said.
asserted
Tassell → work → countries
"Looking back, it seems incredibly hard, but for people who have been through the devastation of the Second World War … in some ways it must have been quite liberating.
asserted
it → look → ways
Here they were safe, they were well-paid, they were well-fed, they had a purpose, and they were building a society that they could be part of and proud of."
The heritage consultant said the legacy of these migrants could still be seen in the Polish and Ukrainian clubs, which continue to function in Hobart to this day.
uncertain
which → pay → day
A town in the wilderness
Those building the Tungatinah power station needed a place to live, which is where the Tarraleah Village came in.
asserted
Village → build → place
Located less than a kilometre from the station, the settlement was built by the Hydro Electric Commission in the 1930s.
What began as a small village slowly grew into a fully functioning township as construction of the region's power stations continued.
asserted
construction → locate → stations
According to the Tarraleah Estate website, the town had a population of about 1,600 people by 1980, boasting a supermarket, a butcher, a police station, sports ovals and a golf course.
uncertain
town → accord → supermarket
Heather Felton's book Ticklebelly Tales and Other Stories from the People of the Hydro, released in 2008, features stories from those who worked on the scheme and their families.
asserted
who → release → scheme
Some of those who lived at Tarraleah recounted the striking mix of cultures packed into such an isolated corner of the world.
asserted
who → live → world
Glenys Rataj, whose British family moved to Tarraleah in 1947, said there was an immense level of civility among the different cultures, especially considering the circumstances.
asserted
family → move → circumstances
"There was very little nastiness amongst the various groups, despite the Poles having fought against the Italians and Germans during the war," Mrs Rataj told Ms Felton.
asserted
Rataj → be → Felton
Other residents described the "primitive" conditions during the early days of the camp and the challenges caused by the weather, with some being snowed in for days during harsh winters.
asserted
some → describe → winters
Many also remembered the rich social life which developed in the tight-knit town, with migrant workers forming choirs and orchestras, while also hosting dances and playing cards.
asserted
workers → remember → dances
Construction of the region's power stations eventually wound down, reducing the need for such a large workforce in the area, and the town was officially closed in 1996.
asserted
town → wind → 1996
Most of the buildings have since been sold, with some being cut up, loaded onto trucks and relocated around Tasmania.
asserted
some → sell → Tasmania
A large building, which was built to house high-ranking employees during their visits to the region, was left behind and now functions as a luxury hotel.
asserted
which → build → hotel
With Tungatinah now destroyed, that lodge has become one of the few physical reminders left of the community that once surrounded Tasmania's hydro-electric construction boom.
asserted
that → destroy → boom
Mr Tassell said the loss of the power station was therefore about more than just the destruction of a single facility.
asserted
loss → say → facility
"It had a really good history of production and it's a great loss to Tasmania," he said.
"Tungatinah was just one of those highly successful, uncontroversial projects that, for many years, marked the hydro.
asserted
that → have → hydro