The ‘Illuminated Temple’ Lost to Fire Was a Remnant of Tasmania’s Hydro Boom

Tungatinah Power Station was more than a little-known hydroelectric facility beside Tasmania’s Nive River. To heritage consultant Chris Tassell, it became an “extraordinary, illuminated temple” when illuminated at night. This week, fire tore through the building, whose cause remains unknown.

The blaze destroyed a station that could generate 142.2 megawatts through five turbines, supplying close to 5% of Tasmania’s electricity. Authorities said the state’s power supply remained secure, but the loss devastated people who valued Tungatinah’s industrial and architectural heritage.

The station formed part of the Derwent Hydropower Scheme, a vast network of dams, lakes, canals, pipelines and power stations across the Central Highlands. The plan emerged in the 1930s as part of an effort to drive economic growth and expand electricity generation. Its final power station entered service in 1968.

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Extraordinary, illuminated temple

Tungatinah was built during the middle of that construction boom, with its five turbines commissioned between 1953 and 1956. Tassell said its steel, glass and concrete design reflected a mid-century modern style that set it apart from older Tasmanian stations. Water from nearby lakes and lagoons passed through its turbines before flowing to stations downstream, allowing the same water to generate power repeatedly across the network.

Hundreds of workers transformed the rugged, remote landscape to build the scheme. Cold, wet and unpredictable conditions made the work especially demanding. “The men who worked on the scheme really worked in arduous conditions,” Tassell said.

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The men who worked on the scheme really worked in arduous conditions