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How Sydney's 'first' harbour tunnel has been forgotten

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    News article: How Sydney's 'first' harbour tunnel has been forgotten

    As Sydney faces the construction of twin tunnels under Sydney Harbour for the Metro line, the story of the "first" Sydney Harbour tunnel built about a century ago remains largely forgotten.

      freightgate Minister for Railways

    Location: Albury, New South Wales
    Amazing story I bet many are not aware of this tunnel. If constantly flooded then how could it really be if any use ?

    How Sydney's 'first' harbour tunnel has been forgotten
    Posted: 24 Dec 2017 10:19

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      nswtrains Chief Commissioner

    Amazing story I bet many are not aware of this tunnel. If constantly flooded then how could it really be if any use ?

    How Sydney's 'first' harbour tunnel has been forgotten
    freightgate
    New news to the Facebookers but common knowledge to most others.
    Posted: 24 Dec 2017 12:25
      james.au Minister for Railways

    Location: Sydney, NSW
    There is also another tunnel (sort of) from Balmain across to the coal loader at Wollestonecraft (I think) which is the horizontal shaft of a coal mine that went under the harbour.
    Posted: 24 Dec 2017 13:22
      gordon_s1942 Chief Commissioner

    Location: Central Tablelands of NSW
    Once dug, despite it being constantly flooded they presumably tried to use it for its intended purpose until it was either replaced or simply abandoned it.
    It think it was for electrical cables which getting wet wasnt a major problem but not what they wanted as they could have just laid on the harbour floor but they could be easily damaged.
    Posted: 24 Dec 2017 14:51
      dthead Site Admin

    Location: Melbourne, Australia
    In regards tot eh news article, I do find it funny that some people want it reopened for walking cycling, or mass transit.  impossible and so funny !

    The thing is a flooded old small artifact that only rebuilding 200% and lots og billions would achieve.  let it lie as is for the future.

    The tunnel and it's story is very interesting though.

    Regards,
    David Head
    Posted: 24 Dec 2017 16:45
      simstrain Chief Commissioner

    The harbour bridge, gladesville bridge and burns bay road bridges would do everything that this tunnel was for these days. Forget about re using it for anything today because it would be too steep, too dangerous and too wet.
    Posted: 24 Dec 2017 20:23

    Last edited by simstrain on 24 Dec 2017 20:26; edited 1 time in total
      Clyde Goodwin2 Chief Train Controller

    The harbour bridge, gladesville bridge and burns bay road bridges would do everything that this tunnel was for these days. Forget about re using it for anything today because it would be too steep, too dangerous and too wet.
    simstrain
    Try doing some BASIC research.
    It is/was a couple of man sized tunnel for running electrical cables under the harbour way back last century.
    Posted: 24 Dec 2017 20:41
      RTT_Rules Oliver Bullied, CME

    Location: Dubai UAE
    When the Sydney Harbour Tunnel was being built there was a story on this first tunnel.

    its long outlasted its usefulness and  will more than likely simply collapse in on itself in future.
    Posted: 24 Dec 2017 22:31
      simstrain Chief Commissioner

    The harbour bridge, gladesville bridge and burns bay road bridges would do everything that this tunnel was for these days. Forget about re using it for anything today because it would be too steep, too dangerous and too wet.
    Try doing some BASIC research.
    It is/was a couple of man sized tunnel for running electrical cables under the harbour way back last century.
    Clyde Goodwin2

    I know it was used for electrical cables and those bridges I mention would carry those cables these days across the harbour.
    Posted: 25 Dec 2017 07:17
      theanimal Chief Commissioner

    There is also another tunnel (sort of) from Balmain across to the coal loader at Wollestonecraft (I think) which is the horizontal shaft of a coal mine that went under the harbour.
    james.au
    I seem to have a recollection that this tunnel was being used as a gas reserve?

    Does anyone have any information on that?
    Posted: 25 Dec 2017 13:20
      gordon_s1942 Chief Commissioner

    Location: Central Tablelands of NSW
    It does make you wonder what the reasoning at the time was to dig under/across the harbour in the first place.
    By all reports it was barely high and wide enough for as man to walk through, with out without any cables installed.
    By then it would have been acknowledged you cant just lay cables, electrical or otherwise on the sea floor because they can be so easily damaged by dragging ships anchors, fishing nets and all sorts of things being dumped on them but I would have thought trenching would have been an option but maybe tunneling was a preferred option.
    I think its utterly ludicrous to consider building any sort of under harbour crossing for Bicycle/Pedestrian use only because of the costs.
    If you want those features built into a Road/Rail  tunnel is a reasonable idea  but it will have to be a USER Pays system.
    Posted: 25 Dec 2017 14:12
      georges Train Controller

    There is also another tunnel (sort of) from Balmain across to the coal loader at Wollestonecraft (I think) which is the horizontal shaft of a coal mine that went under the harbour.
    james.au
    You may be thinking of the Balmain Colliery which produced coal from 1897 until 1931, and natural gas until 1945. It was not connected to the coal loader at Balls Head. The latter had its own internal tunnels.

    See:
    Posted: 25 Dec 2017 17:30
      bevans Site Admin

    Location: Melbourne, Australia
    This is a very interesting article.

    Would be useful for telecommunications services when I looked at running fibre from Sydney to North Sydney there were not a lot of options other than to drop in on the harbour floor.
    Posted: 26 Dec 2017 11:45

    Last edited by bevans on 26 Dec 2017 11:46; edited 1 time in total
      GrahamH Chief Commissioner

    Location: At a terminal on the www.
    Very interesting. Reading the big picture of the article indicates that the lawyers have already ensured no person will ever go in it again.
    Posted: 28 Dec 2017 12:56
      cuthbert Train Controller

    It's not real good for boat anchors to be dragging up comms and elec cables in the days when there was more freight boats/ships than yuppie cruiser on the water. I guess a tunnel or two would prevent those anchor issues?
    Posted: 30 Dec 2017 06:11
      cuthbert Train Controller

    Very interesting. Reading the big picture of the article indicates that the lawyers have already ensured no person will ever go in it again.
    "GrahamH"


    Just like they can stop Base Jumpers and other YouTube legends!

    Now where is my SCUBA gear, underwater lamp and GoPro?
    Posted: 30 Dec 2017 06:12

    Last edited by cuthbert on 30 Dec 2017 06:13; edited 2 times in total
      gordon_s1942 Chief Commissioner

    Location: Central Tablelands of NSW
    This is a very interesting article.

    Would be useful for telecommunications services when I looked at running fibre from Sydney to North Sydney there were not a lot of options other than to drop in on the harbour floor.
    bevans
    Was this before or since the present Harbour Tunnel was built ?
    I must say I am surprised there arent more crossings of the Harbour unless its all run via the Harbour Bridge.
    Posted: 30 Dec 2017 08:08

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