Updated 22-04-2000 ============ ORICA Chemical Factory ---------------------- 1st building was dynamited. 2nd looks just as interesting and probably not around for long. Single level bldgs maybe still in use by the company. Cars in the carpark. SWOO ][ ------- Well, what a different drain it is now. Same access as per SWOO doc on the webpage but it is all covered and there is 4 drops in total which is helped by someone placing some very uselful ropes in strategic places. Original SWOO seems mostly to have been filled and utelised when laying new round pipes. Round pipes end into a double box drain ending in scavenger pits which makes existing pretty darn hard. Still worth alook but stay away when its raining or looks anything like it. Ajax Factory Auburn ------------------- Will be having a look in the new year. Merrylands Brickworks --------------------- Demolition begun. Have some limited Photos. Will post when I can. Whitebay Power Station ---------------------- Production company doing TV show inside??? Asbestos and insides gone. Entry via coal loader, although coal loader floor boards rife with white ants, so climb up the side of the metal part. Even though both end of loader blocked, its an easy climb over the barricades. There is a sighting of a possible sealed room within the infirmary of the power station. What treasures may lie beyond the door? Security still patrolling the perimeter. A second entry point still needs verifying. Will let you know. White Bay Heritage Studies -------------------------- A comprehensive management plan was prepared during 1995 for the disused White Bay power station, which is identified as having heritage significance. Asbestos was used extensively in the station which was commissioned in 1912. The management plan includes strategies for the complete removal of asbestos, followed by adaptive reuse of the buildings. Balmain Power Station --------------------- Demolished totally. Maybe anti buildings further down the river are still there??? Biodiversity: Balmain bats Pacific Power is continuing to gain a better understanding of the biodiversity values of its holdings. This concern for biodiversity led to the deferral of plans to demolish the disused Balmain power station. A colony of rare and endangered bent-wing bats was discovered in he station, which closed in 1976, and the National Parks and Wildlife Service is discussing with Pacific Power a plan to find them a new home. Mortlake Gas Works ------------------ Thiess Environment Contracting doing some cleaning of the soil etc in the area. Mostly demolished. Being Demolished, still a virgin peice of real estate to explore. CSR Sugar Refinery ------------------ Demolished quicker than a speeding train. Bear Island la Perouse ---------------------- Boring, no bunkers, no nothing except a gaurd dog after hours. Do the guided tour about its history, support the NPWS so they can stick to saving trees. Cape banks Bunkers la Perouse ----------------------------- Still there, latest info is not available. Someone let me know. Henry Head Bunkers la Perouse ----------------------------- After hours is still a no no through the golf course main entrance coz of security fascist and his pet dogs. SWOO Drain Wollstonecraft ------------------------- Last year it was refurbished, so no more nice convict built drain. Still accesible. Gas Works Wollstonecraft ------------------------ Long gone. Nice housing though! ;) Bankstown Bunker ---------------- Still there but cops sealed entrance after someone got caught with some of the clan, no evidence of the infamous bankstown tunnel nor other 2 levels. See end of write up for news paper articles. Surprise Drain Mortdale ----------------------- Overgrown as usual. Work your way along under box drain structure and drop down near entrance. Watch for the heaps of spiders. Howies Bunker ------------- Still there, on the same site as Cape Banks bunkers behind the army houses. Get to it by going to scout camp area and doubling back through golf course to back of army houses. Underworlds Surprise -------------------- Also found a new place to explore. Directly below the white light beacon at Henry Head we discovered "Underworlds suprise" a radical new encosure. We will leave it upto you to find your way down to it. Its in the cliff face. We will let u decide what the surprise is :) Thanks to Drive for this discovery. Hey I lost your phone number dood? OLD STUFF --------------------- Whitebay Power Station. Recently revisited on a number of occasions. The demolition crew is working all wierd and wonderful hours (Sunday night would you believe?) to gut the place and it will quickly turn into a shell like Balmain was. Security gaurd no longer sits in the hut next to the coal loader. He sits to the right of the main entrance, secluded between 2 more porta sheds. Seems as though the coal loader entrance has been patched up, the door which was nealry pushed over is now got metal sheets placed over the top of it. The windows that were smashed are now boarded up with metal plates. There is a sighting of a possible sealed room within the infirmary of the power station. What treasures may lie beyond the door? Also hoping to get some video footage before the ball and chain crane moves in. Most windows bricked up now. Large openings sealed off with plastic sheets. The asbestos removalists are active. They finish at 2pm on Saturdays. Coal loader entrance seems best bet on entry. More big machinery removed. 25th June Update The whole power station is decked out with lights. Even the area where the mercury arc rectifiers are. Lots of cars onsight during the day, original security hut in use during the day, dunno what for. October 1996. The hole bottom floor has been gas axed out. Be quick! CHECK THIS OUT BELOW... White Bay Heritage Studies A comprehensive management plan was prepared during 1995 for the disused White Bay power station, which is identified as having heritage significance. Asbestos was used extensively in the station which was commissioned in 1912. The management plan includes strategies for the complete removal of asbestos, followed by adaptive reuse of the buildings. NEWS FLASH 97 A crane used to help dismantle the power station has collapsed, rumoured to have taken part of a wall out, so get in now (bigger entrance) and be careful please. Thanks to Buttman for this release. Balmain Power Station. No security gaurds on this place anymore. But check the porta shed on the front gate on Victoria Rd. Also make sure there is no one in the porta sheds down by the water. Entry past the outter fence is easy down under the bridge. The inner fence next to the water and the sheds has a rather largish opening underneath it. Axs to the station itself invloves a trip over one of the barbwire gates blocking the big entrance ways. All smashed windows and doors are grated over. A pair of bolt cutters would make entry a breeze. The place looks real dodgey though. Doesnt seem though there is much inside the place anymore. Check out the older buildings further south down the river. Are these part of the same place? Biodiversity: Balmain bats, Bayswater frogs Pacific Power is continuing to gain a better understanding of the biodiversity values of its holdings. This concern for biodiversity led to the deferral of plans to demolish the disused Balmain power station. A colony of rare and endangered bent-wing bats was discovered in he station, which closed in 1976, and the National Parks and Wildlife Service is discussing with Pacific Power a plan to find them a new home. At Bayswater power station, a population of endangered green and golden bell frogs was discovered in an artificial pond and opportunities to enhance the habitat of this species are being considered. At Wallerawang power station a wildlife corridor is being established on Pacific power property to link the shore of Lake Wallace with nearby bushland. CSR Sugar factory. As seen on the news. This site is doomed to become an olympic something. It looks vast. Lots of medium sized buildings. The site is city side of the new glebe island bridge to its right somewhere. Looks awesome and worth an explore. Checked it out today (25th June) and it still in 100% use. Lots of CSR sugar trucks, etc. Noticed a rather largish rock tunnel bored out on the right side of the complex where the trucks possible go under the complex to have suagr dumped into there payloads??? It is very long way down from road side. Pyrmont Power Station 25th June All gone sorry, an almost half completed building inhabits the site. La-Perouse Bunkers. Ok checked it out today. (8-6-96) The Cape Banks site has seen the main bunker entrance filled in with sand. Go up further to the next set of buildings and goto the little cement building with bricks half covering the entrance. You will notice a ladder half way down the hole. Also if you look down the side of the wall at which you are standing you will find a make shift ladder hanging off the wall with a piece of rope tied to it. Use this to get to the lower ladder and crawl through to the bunker. Who says the facists know how to block entry to the determined? The reason they did this as they are now going to restore the old bunkers at cape banks and have hard hat, candel lit tours. I got this info off a National Parks & Wildlife Officer who showd us through Bare Island Fort. (Which is just futher down the coast at La-Perouse tourist place) Go see the Fort even if its just to support the NP&W. The bunker up on the hill behind the army houses has now got an interesting sign across the front of it saying "Caution Asbestos" So take a dust mask or something coz the Asbestos is a plenty down there and in the air. November 1996. Checked out the henry head bunkers again. They were better the second time around. The westerly most bunker (In front of the light beacon, white thing) is the most fun. Gain entry by climbing down the little hole in the anti-room at the back. (u can get out the other end once in, but its more fun this way) Got some photos so watch out for my web page or new bunker archive with new photos soon to be scanned in. Also found a new place to explore. Directly below the white light beacon we discovered "Underworlds suprise" a radical new encosure. We will leave it upto you to find your way down to it. Its in the cliff face. Thanks to Drive for the new discovery. Howie.