Tuesday 19 April 2011

Birchgrove, Ballast Point Park, Tank 101

"Tank 101" is both artwork and a renewable energy generator, located in the middle of Ballast Point Park at Birchgrove. It has been created to symbolise the past working history of the site as an oil refinery by Caltex. The original Tank 101, built in the 1930s, was the largest industrial storage vessel at this site, used to store crude oil for processing into lubrication oil. It was the largest tank in Australia to use rivet technology. Graphics with a dot font typeface are used throughout this site to reflect the thousands of rivets and circular tank shapes that covered the site. Panels of curved sheet steel from the old tank were rescued from the old tank and incorporated in the structure. The text is a line from "The Death of Isaac Nathan" a poem by Australian poet Les Murray: "Stone statues of ancient waves, tongue like dingoes on shore". Eight wind turbines harness the sea breeze to create energy that is used in park lighting.

24 comments:

  1. What an interesting post/history for the day, Jim! Terrific capture as always! Enjoy your week!

    Sylvia

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  2. Stones surely can become 'ballast', yet this instellation proofs it to be art.

    Impressed ! Please have you all a good Tuesday.

    daily athens

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  3. Love the artistic incorporation of the wind turbines!

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  4. That's an interesting scene and an excellent photo.

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  5. Well, what are you going to do next to beat this one, Jim? It's absolutely wonderful... the idea, the art, your photo... wow!
    -- K

    Kay, Alberta, Canada
    An Unfittie's Guide to Adventurous Travel

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  6. Interesting vanes on the turbines! And a great concept to incorporate art and history into a new energy source.

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  7. An interesting story -- I can well imagine some people who don't think they "like art" would be interested in this one too.

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  8. Kay L. Davies, it's certainly a challenge to keep finding new and interesting subjects to feature but I will perservere.

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  9. Ballast into art - interesting. I remember Caltex ages ago.

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  10. What a lovely sight - a sculpture that makes renewable energy.

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  11. Very interesting artwork that is useful.

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  12. That is a great way to use the old tank site. Quite ingenious.

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  13. estupendas todas tus fotos. Encantador blog el tuyo, un placer haberme pasado por tu espacio.


    Saludos y un abrazo.

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  14. IOt is an interesting scene, great photo!

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  15. Beautiful combination of artwork and energy generator.

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  16. Just a little hint of water in the back ground - hard to believe that its in the same country as my images!

    Cheers

    Stewart M

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  17. · I like it. It seems an interesting rest of industrial archeology. It's a great idea to revitalize those old facilities
    Good photo.

    · regards

    CR & LMA
    ________________________________
    ·

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  18. An amazing structure, and a great photo of it!

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Thanks for visiting my blog. Please leave me a message. Jim.

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