LONGREACH POWERHOUSE & HISTORICAL MUSEUM

Power Up The Past

Explore an electrifying collection of energy industry artefacts and fascinating local history exhibits with a nostalgic trip back in time at the Longreach Powerhouse and Historical Museum.

Learn fascinating facts about the region’s evolving power generating processes as you embark on a self-guided tour through the cavernous expanse of the old, heritage-listed Longreach Power Station, taking in its mighty machinery and interactive exhibits. This is the largest, preserved, rural generating facility in Australia, and offers enlightening insights about the history of power generation and distribution in the area, dating back to 1921.

The Longreach Powerhouse and Historical Museum is unique in central western Queensland, as it presents a well-preserved collection of both industrial and social history exhibits, offering visitors a deeper insight into the region’s rich past, including the machines, processes and pioneers that helped forge the future of Longreach and the surrounding outback region.

The local history collection transports you back in time, housing memorabilia from the region’s early settlement, along with many items of yesteryear that you might have found in your grandparents or great-grandparents homes.

There’s also an excellent outdoor display of agricultural and road maintenance machinery used in the development of the central west region.

Tours of the Powerhouse and Historical Museum are self-guided and self-paced, allowing you to explore the exhibits at your leisure. We typically recommend at least an hour to allow sufficient time to peruse the key highlights, but you will need a little longer if you’d like to experience all that’s on offer. Guided tours with audio commentary are also available with Golden West Tours.

So, come and discover our industrial and pioneering past at the Longreach Powerhouse and History Museum. It’s a great family and pet-friendly attraction for all ages, with scavenger hunts and hands-on exhibits to keep the kids (and young at heart) entertained and engaged in a fun learning journey.

Local History Collection

As you enter the museum, you will find many artefacts of local significance are displayed in the History Hall. Here you’ll find a growing collection of memorabilia pertaining to the region’s early settlement, and the remains of the School of Arts Museum. You are also invited to take a nostalgic stroll back to school days in a bygone era.

You can also pay a visit to the former Longreach Swimming Baths, established on the powerhouse site in 1921 and filled at first with water from the adjacent bore, sunk in 1897. Following their closure in 1964, the baths were used as cooling ponds for the power station, before sadly becoming a dump site for rubbish and other industrial waste during 1983. Thanks to an industrial archaeological project commenced in 1997, you’ll also have the opportunity to discover intriguing relics unearthed from excavation of the former baths. These artifacts urge you to take the plunge and dive deep into local history!

History of the Former Longreach Powerhouse Generating Complex

Unquestionably, the most prominent feature of this historical attraction is the hulking silhouette of the heritage-listed former Power Generating Complex, enduring as a testament to the region’s industrial ingenuity and innovation. This series of massive, interconnected galvanised iron sheds has borne witness to the resilience and resourcefulness of the region’s industrial pioneers, as they worked tirelessly to power the region, overcoming challenges such as fuel shortages and technological transitions.

Power was first generated at this site in 1921. The delivery of power to the town and eventually the outlying areas was an initiative by the local Shire Council, conducted under the Longreach Electric Authority. The first engines installed here were fuelled by locally-sourced charcoal, and powered direct current generators. The use of power produced in these early days was primarily limited to lighting.

In the early 1940’s, the Powerhouse began experiencing difficulties in sourcing sufficient fuel for its operations, and the conversion to coal fuel began. The conversion process was costly and time-consuming, but ultimately successful. Coal was sourced from the Blair Athol Coal Mine and railed to Longreach, and eventually directly to the Powerstation itself when a spur line was completed in 1951.

Powerhouse operations were taken over in 1966 by the Central West Regional Electricity Board, who centralised power generation in Longreach and Barcaldine. The station ceased operations in September 1985, when this area was linked to the State-wide grid. Longreach Shire Council repurchased the site in 1989, establishing the museum and preserving an important piece of the region’s industrial past.

Mighty Machines and Powerful Pioneers

As you step onto the generating floor of the expansive powerhouse, the galvanised iron walls seem to echo with memories of the plant’s operational past.

Stop for a moment and imagine the sights, sounds and smells experienced by engine drivers who worked here back in the station’s heyday. The pungent smell of diesel and hot oil would have filled the air, and permeated every inch of the interior, creating a faint blue haze of fumes all around. As the monstrous engines fired into action, the walls would have reverberated with a cacophony of industrial noise, which could be heard four kilometres away! The waves of oppressive heat were palpable, with temperatures on the floor often reaching 68 degrees Celsius on a hot day. There was no denying that an engine driver’s daily work was noisy, dirty, hot and hard. The role also required operators to be gifted in electrical and mechanical engineering, and ingeniously capable when repairs were required.

Across the powerhouse floor a series of massive engines are displayed. These were installed in the facility between 1948 and 1971, now serving as fine examples of the evolving equipment that once fuelled the growth and development of the region. The three spark-ignition gas generating engines on display here are actually the largest ever imported into Australia. Just outside the engine room sits Locomotive 1613. This 60-tonne diesel electric locomotive and coal wagon depicts the method of transporting coal from Blair Athol to Longreach Powerhouse using mostly light gauge lines up to 1971. The coal gas producers, installed in 1952 and exhibited at the northern end of the powerhouse, were the first coal-fired producers in the electricity industry in Australia.

Nogo Cottage

Once you’ve marvelled at our industrial past, its time to explore the intriguing collection of memorabilia and exhibits which form our local history collection.

As you exit the power station near the gas producers, follow the footpath to your left that leads to Nogo Cottage and the outdoor exhibits, Nogo Cottage presents realistic depictions of family living conditions in western Queensland from around the mid-1930s to mid-1950s. This cottage was originally part of a homestead built in 1918 at Nogo Station. The station was originally a 5000-acre property, established by John Peters in the 1890’s, then purchased by William Avery in the early 1900’s. In the 1950’s two rooms were removed from the homestead and relocated to the eastern boundary of Nogo Station. Verandas, a kitchen and bathroom were added, and the cottage was intended to be used by boundary riders. However, due to economic downturn, the cottage was never used as intended, and in 1998 it was donated to the museum by descendants of the Avery family.

Agricultural and Road Maintenance Machinery

To the right of Nogo Cottage, you’ll find an interesting assortment of agricultural and road maintenance machinery that played a pivotal role in the development of central western Queensland.

This outdoor exhibit area includes vintage tractors, ploughs, equipment trolleys and other machinery, each one a testament to the region's agricultural heritage. A historic highlight is the 1927-model Fordson Tractor. This was the last model made in the USA, before Henry Ford shifted the manufacturing plant to Cork, Ireland.

Road maintenance machinery on display includes the circa 1925 Good Roads Grader, and Martin horse-drawn ditcher used for desilting bore drains and water ditches beside roads. There’s also a single cylinder diesel McDonalds Imperial Road Roller from around 1935. This classic piece of machinery served the Longreach Shire Council, before becoming a popular piece of play equipment in the local kindergarten playground.

Accessibility

The Longreach Powerhouse and Historical Museum warmly welcomes guests of all ages and abilities to visit our fascinating collection of exhibits.

The museum is located at 12 Swan Street, just a short 5-minute walk from the main street of Longreach. Unfortunately, there is no public transport within the town. However, a local taxi service is available by calling (07) 4658 0900. Street parking is available for those who opt to self-drive or arrive by private transport.

The museum incorporates a series of buildings with varying degrees of accessibility for wheelchair users and guests with limited mobility. The Powerhouse Generating Complex has a wheelchair accessible entry at the northern end, near the gas producers. Please watch your step as there are some uneven surfaces. This is the only accessible entrance to the powerhouse, so wheelchair users will need to double back to the northern doors for entry and exit. Nogo Cottage has a ramp to enable wheelchair accessibility, but the space within is quite small, so manoeuvring around the internal displays may prove challenging. Please note that the blacksmith’s shed, a small exhibit in the outdoor display area, has a small step up, with no ramp access at this time. Bathrooms are available onsite, adjacent to the Local History Hall, but these are unfortunately not wheelchair accessible.

Service dogs and domestic pets and welcome at the museum. Large lawned areas between all buildings provide plenty of grassy areas suitable for their toileting requirements.

While we do not offer dedicated quiet areas, the museum is generally a fairly quiet environment with plenty of space to spread out.

The Longreach Powerhouse and Historical Museum is open during the peak winter tourism period from April to October and closed during the summer months. We open to the public Monday to Friday from 10am to 4:30pm and are closed on weekends and public holidays. For any enquiries ahead of your visit, please contact the friendly team at the Longreach Region Explore Centre by phoning (07) 4658 4141

If you’re seeking a fully-guided experience, Golden West Tours offers escorted 2-hour tours of the Longreach Powerhouse Museum, including full audio commentary by knowledgeable local experts. For further information please visit goldenwesttours.com.au or phone them on 0455 302 883.