The 18th Australian Engineering Heritage Conference is to be held in Newcastle, NSW hosted by the Newcastle Division of Engineers Australia and Engineering Heritage Australia.
Newcastle was the first colonial settlement outside Sydney and quickly grew into being one of the major wealth generators in Australia: it was the origin of the first Australian export and is now the largest tonnage export port in the country. It is an ideal city to contemplate the ways in which engineering has contributed and continues to contribute to the economic and social development of Australia since its founding as a convict settlement in 1788.
Newcastle built its early success on technology imported mainly from Britain: early technology transfer will be a significant theme of the conference.
The conference venue is the Newcastle Museum which is the site of some significant engineering heritage exhibits, such as the fish-belly rail with established 1826 provenance (from Australia’s first commercial coal mine and railway), and the world’s only working rope-driven gantry crane (Craven Bros 1885).
To introduce the varied themes proposed for the conference, a pre-conference tour will start at Sydney’s Central Station, include a descent on the world’s steepest cable railway, take in parts of the World Heritage Great North Road and visit many other sites of outstanding engineering heritage value. They include Aboriginal works, 19th and 21st century coal mines, a Fresnel solar array power booster for a power station, and a medley of 19th century timber truss bridges. The tour ends in Newcastle for the conference reception.
The organising committee is sure that those attending the 2015 Engineering Heritage Conference will enjoy the conference, and the historic city of Newcastle.
Registration will be opening soon. For more information, please visit the conference website.
We look forward to meeting you in December 2015.