Power stations, bridges, dams and a whole lot more big things: and the stories behind them.
Engineering
High voltage power lines to nowhere
January 16th, 2018
6 Comments
On the outer eastern edge of Melbourne there is a curious piece of infrastructure – a high voltage power line to nowhere. So why was it built, and why is it currently sitting idle? Running south-west from Coldstream to Templestowe, via Chirnside Park, Wonga Park and Warrandyte, I was first tipped off to the existence […]
Google Maps mangling Melbourne’s freeway interchanges
January 24th, 2017
6 Comments
Digital maps have taken over from traditional paper street directories and fold out maps, but it doesn’t mean the information made available to the reader is any better, if my recent experiences with Google Maps are anything to go by.
Then and now on the Western Ring Road
May 20th, 2016
5 Comments
Today it is hard to imagine getting around the western suburbs of Melbourne without the Western Ring Road, but there was a time it didn’t exist – with the first stage opened in 1992.
Tours of the Snowy Mountains Scheme
March 15th, 2016
4 Comments
A few years back I went on a road trip between Melbourne and Sydney, and took a detour via the Great Divide to check out the Snowy Mountains Scheme, where I toured the Murray 1 power station. So what is there to see?
Where does Geelong’s sewage go?
July 10th, 2015
10 Comments
Whenever a toilet is flushed in Geelong, the contents head south of the city to a locality known as Black Rock, located on the shores of Bass Strait midway between the towns of Torquay and Barwon Heads. So what happens to all the turds and toilet paper?
