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Industrial history

Blast Furnace Park, Lithgow

I was inspired by Martina's industrial photographs to explore our local industry in a series that is more about images than travels. Since the industry of the Blue Mountains is tourism (not quite what I had in mind) we went to Lithgow a small city just west of the mountains which has a proud history of heavy industry.

The blast furnace is where the first iron and steel were cast in Australia. It was established in 1886 and continued production until 1928 when the entire industry was moved to Port Kembla and one presumes the buildings left to go to rack and ruin.

A perfect place for photographers so there will be more over the next couple of days but in colour after today.

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Comments

  1. WinamMarch 18, 2010 at 10:43 AM

    I'm glad you went here. I had so much fun taking photos. So many interesting angles...

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  2. JulieMarch 18, 2010 at 10:48 AM

    Very stark, like an "in memoriam" even.

    I guess they built the foundry at the site of the coal mines and then rapidly realised that they needed to be able to ship to markets. I wonder why the railways was not adequate?

    Looking forward to this series.

    ReplyDelete
  3. PJMarch 18, 2010 at 2:04 PM

    I love, love, love the banner. I'm sure you've made Martina very proud. Personally, I think the monochrome is just fabulous.

    ReplyDelete
  4. UnknownMarch 19, 2010 at 6:17 AM

    I just love the first shot! Looking forward seeing those 'see through' in colours.

    ReplyDelete
  5. red.gray.black.whiteMarch 19, 2010 at 12:37 PM

    oh goodness JE these are fabulous...may i choose one for my b/w blog? let me know!!

    ReplyDelete
  6. MartinaMarch 24, 2010 at 8:10 AM

    jaja, doing this series while I was away ... ;-)

    Isn't it interesting how different the mood is (to me at last)? These ruins look so peaceful and calm - at first - without reading your text - I thought this might be a church.

    ReplyDelete

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