in 1914 to supply electricity
to the Mt Lyell copper mines and Queenstown. The lake situated
on Mt Sedgewick has a catchment area of only 20 square kilometers
but is in an area of very high rainfall. In 1918, seven 1.2MW
Horizontal Pelton Turbines were added to the power station which
has been in continuous service since. In 1985 the scheme was bought
by the Hydro Electric Commission and has been refurbished as a
part of Tasmania's cultural heritage. The township of Lake Margaret
is at the bottom of the valley and the power station is located
at the end of the pipeline. At the top of the ridge the new pipe
gives away to the wooden pipe which travels up a gentle slope
to the lake supplying the power station.Unfortunately the wood does not expand and contract consistently giving rise to many leaks.
Various technologies
such as rubber gloves have been tried to solve the problem but
all to no avail. The lake feeding the woodstave pipeline,seen
in the top left hand corner of the photograph, has had its level
raised by 6 meters by a 200 meter dam. A popular days outing is
too drive from Queenstown, visit the power station and then after
climbing the ridge follow the walking track along the pipeline
to the lake, stopping frequently to admire the scenery.
