Adelaide Destructor Chimney

Built 1909-1910 in Halifax St. Formal opening of destructor 19 Dec 1910 to incinerate refuse from city & nearby suburbs, closed 1954 when Wingfield dump opened.

 

“The work of erecting the refuse destructor for Adelaide will shortly be put in hand. The machinery is expected to arrive from England at the end of this month. . . The site of this new activity, will be the block now occupied by the old Enterprise shoe factory in Halifax street. . . to abolish the present objectionable and obsolete system of refuse tips in the city. All the tips, with the exception of two, have been closed, and those, which are in the park lands at Hilton road and North Adelaide will be done away with so soon as the machinery is ready to treat the waste material. . . The house refuse of the city comprises chiefly ashes, floor and yard sweepings and dust, vegetable, fruit, and food scraps, and cinders, with smaller quantities of garden refuse, rags, bags, bones, paper, leather scraps, glass and crockery, tins, scrap iron, wood, brickbats, and stones. The, average daily collection amounts to about 30 tons, apart from three tons of paper, and a small but increasing quantity of other inflammable trade refuse. Street sweepings of which about 40 tons are collected daily, may also be incinerated. . . The refuse will be subjected to a heat of something like 2,000 deg. Fahr. Mills and flag making plant will be provided to deal with the clinkers, which will be utilized, among other things, for the manufacture of concrete slabs for paving footpaths.” [Register 18 Jun 1909]

 

“The old buildings in Halifax street formerly known as the Enterprise Boot and Shoe Factory, which have been standing idle for several years, are now being partially demolished and adapted for the reception of the corporation refuse destructor. The heavy slate roof has been removed . . . and a start has been made to reduce the height of the walls. About 10 ft. of the stonework is to be removed down to the wallplate of the top floor, which will leave a height of 35 ft. As soon as this has been completed a galvanized-iron roof will be fitted, and the installation of the destructor machinery will be begun.” [Register 30 Jul 1909]

 

“The. Metropolitan Company were supplying the whole of the locally made bricks required for the chimney stack (150,000), and Messrs. Hallett the remainder, but they only guarantee delivery of'6,000.weekly though they promise to supply as many more as possible.” [Express & Telegraph 8 Nov 1909]

 

“During the municipal visit to the refuse destructor works in Halifax street on Friday afternoon Ald. Wells recalled an interesting incident in the life of the old building, which, over half a century ago, was the mammoth structure of Adelaide, and has in turn served as a fiourmill, vinegar works, and boot factory. 'Fifty-four years ago,' said the Alderman, 'the Government gave a ball to the officers of a visiting fleet. The top floor was arranged as the ballroom, and another floor was fitted up as a banqueting room. It was the largest place obtainable at the time. The edibles were cooked on the premises by steam, and the late John Hughall, of Hindley street, was the caterer.” [Register 19 Mar 1920]

 

“Adelaide's refuse destructor was primarily obtained to deal with the increasing quantities of household Garbage, which hitherto has been dumped in various parts of the park lands and on other low-lying areas. . . But the provision of this machinery has opened up several avenues of profit. When the refuse is shovelled into the furnaces it is incinerated by a heat of 2,000 deg. Only clinker remains, and that is put into a mill, ground, and converted into concrete paving slabs for footways. . . Even the old tins and wrap iron which are collected with the garbage can be turned to good account, for by putting them in an hydraulic press and baling them they can be shipped to Germany and made to yield a handsome return. . . the solder obtained pays for the cost of the recovery of the tin. It is the tin which is valuable, but there is no waste. The iron is used for leeching purposes in connection with copper mining. Then from the furnaces considerable electrical energy can be generated, and in addition to driving the flagmaking and tinbaling plants and lighting the works there will be surplus power to dispose of, which is calculated to yield £2,000 a year. The destructor will work two shifts, and will employ 10 men in one and five in the other.” [Register 25 Jun 1910]

 

“The ceremony of formally handing over to the Corporation of Adelaide the refuse destructor installed in Halifax street by Heenan & Froude, Limited, of Manchester, took place in the exchange room of the Town Hall, on Monday afternoon. Mr. F, K. Steanes, on behalf of the contractors, said Adelaide had probably the most up-to-date destructor in the world, certainly in Australasia. By the completion of the work the capital of South Australia was absolutely the most sanitary city in the Commonwealth.” [Register 20 Dec 1910]

 

“Many residents of Adelaide wanted the Halifax street rubbish destructor removed. . . if the plant was obsolete it should be closed and land obtained in the noxious trades area at Wingfield, not only to dump rubbish and compost it but if necessary in future to erect a destructor.” [Advertiser 24 Jan 1950]

 

“the Halifax street Incinerator had been removed.” [Advertiser 16 Jul 1954]

 

THE SITE

Location of William Henry Clark’s brewery from 1844 and mill built 1853. Large rooms of mill were used for public events, church services & a free school. Later smelting works and tobacco manufactory. John Hunter’s boot factory opened 14 Jan 1891 and the refuse destructor 1910-1954. Now housing complex adjacent to chimney.

 

“Mr. W. H. Clarke is building on the land contiguous to his Brewery in Halifax-street, a massive structure, 40 feet by 80 street, and intended to be five stories in height. The ground-floor space, which is 12 feet high, will contain four large ovens "and steam machinery for the manufacture of ship-biscuit; and it is said there will not only be a steam flour-mill on the premises, but extensive granaries and a malting establishment. The walls are more massive than anything we have seen in the colony, and the excellent masonry exhibits to great advantage the fine building-stone of the Glen Osmond quarries.” Adelaide Observer 26 Nov 1853]

 

“There was a grand reunion of brothers and friends of the various Lodges of Oddfellows in connection with the Manchester Unity on Tuesday, May 31, in the spacious building known as Clark's Mill, Halifax-street. The first floor of that building was arranged tastefully as a ball-room, and on the second floor the dinner was served. His Excellency Sir Richard MacDonnell presided, supported on his right by Major Freeling and on his left by Police Inspector Hamilton. . . The dinner, which was got up in superior style, commenced about 4 o’clock, that early hour having been selected to admit of the banquet being followed by a ball. When the cloth was removed, there being then about 500 persons present.” [Register 1 Jun 1859]

 

“The Union Brewery . . . of Mr. J. Primrose, in Rundle street . . . although extensive, have been found not extensive enough. . . The whole of the malting and the chief part of the drying is performed at the building known as Clark's Mills, Halifax-street, where there are floors well adapted for the purpose. There is also a drying floor on the premises.” [Register 1 Jun 1868]

 

“Free School in South Adelaide.— Another laudable effort to overtake the mass of ignorance prevailing among the children of those whose parents are unable or unwilling to pay for the education of their families has been made this week. A lady member of Flinders-street Baptist Church, who has for many years conducted one of the higher class seminaries in the city, is now assisted by some younger members of the Church devoting four evenings per week to the entirely gratuitous tuition of some of the class referred to. The effort was begun on Monday in a portion of the Halifax-street Mill, when 26 children attended, and by Thursday 41 children were present.” [Register 10 Apr 1869]

 

“Service is held in Clark's Mill (situated in this street) every week by the Rev. D. J. H. Ibbetson.” [Evening Journal 4 Nov 1870]

 

“Messrs. Green & Co. sold at their Mart, on Friday, October 13, by auction, Acre 564, Halifax-street, with Clark's mill, brewery, and factory, also cottages, machinery, and all apparatus, for £5,000.” [Register 14 Oct 1871]

 

“The extensive property known as Clark's Mill and Brewery in Halifax-street is on the point of being transformed into extensive smelting works. The quantity of iron ore of high percentage obtainable within an easy distance of Adelaide is immense, and there is abundant reason for believing that the projected enterprise will be thoroughly successful.” [Register 29 Jul 1872]

 

“A temperance meeting in connection with the Adelaide Lodge of Good Templars was held in the back room of the Halifax-street Mill.” [Chronicle & Weekly Mail 25 Jan 1873]

 

“Messrs. Robt. Dixson and Co.’s Manufactory. . . a tobacco manufactory which has within the past fortnight been started in the building hitherto known as Clark's Flour-Mill, Halifax-street.” Register 4 May 1877]

 

“Halifax-street Sunday-school.— For about 12 years a branch of the Stow Memorial Sunday school has been in existence, carried on at first in the old mill in Halifax-street, and latterly in Mr. Peate's schoolroom in Gilles-street. Its managers have now succeeded in establishing themselves in premises of their own, having erected a neat and substantial room on a corner block in Halifax-street close to the old mill. The building was opened on Sunday afternoon, September 15.” [Register 18 Sep 1878]

 

“United States Tobacco Works. . . the enterprise of Robert Dixson & Co., who have now fairly settled in their new premises, named as above, on the west side of Light-square. The firm formerly carried on business in what was known as Clark's Old Mill in Halifax-street, but the building was inconvenient in many ways.” [Register 21 Dec 1883]

 

“With a view of extending their operations in Adelaide Mr. Hunter purchased the business and plant of Mr. J. Florey, of Pulteney-street. . . acting under Mr. Florey's advice Mr. Hunter authorized him to secure the possession of the old mill in Halifax-street, which had been used for various purposes, and to turn it into a modern boot factory. . . The mill, which is five stories high, is eminently well suited for the object which it has been secured for. It is substantially built of stone, slate roofed, and the joists and pillars are of extraordinary thickness, being capable of bearing great weight. Each floor is composed of one large room. . . pillars running through the first three. The fourth room is a fine one, and having no pillars through the floor should prove to be of great utility.” [Evening Journal 4 Dec 1890]

 

“Enterprise Boot Factory in Halifax street was formally opened. The building which was known as the old mill' has been vacant for many years, and until recently its broken windows and generally dilapidated appearance made anything but a pleasing landmark. Now, however, a transformation has been effected. The interior has been partially reconstructed and the place fitted up for the accommodation of a large number of men, and the music of their tools has replaced the squeaking of rats and the chirruping of birds which formerly haunted the mill.” [Chronicle 17 Jan 1891

 

“The Enterprise Shoe Factory was started by Mr. J. Florey about eight years ago, the company which now owns the concern being formed at the end of 1892. The whole of the large business of the company was carried on at Halifax-street till March of this year, when a change became necessary. It was decided to apply the moat up-to-date machinery to certain departments, and to do that meant either putting up a new building at Halifax street, or transferring the whole of the office and distributing work to a more central position, and accordingly a warehouse was secured in Grenfell-street.” [Express & Telegraph 5 Dec 1894]

 

“a brown snake about 4 ft. in length, which was killed on Wednesday morning in Halifax-street. . . had evidently come out of the old deserted mill adjacent to Hunter's boot factory. The reptile was quickly dispatched. We understand that children are in the habit of playing about the old mill.” [Advertiser 11 Jan 1894]

 

“Enterprise Shoe Company's factory in Halifax-street. The party assembled at the Company's office and sample room, Grenfell Street, and were driven in three wagonettes to the extensive premises in Halifax Street, formerly known as Clark's mill. Under the guidance of Mr. Joseph Florey, the Managing Director of the Company, the visitors inspected the establishment. . . The Enterprise Shoe Factory was started by Mr. Joseph Florey about eight years ago, and the Company that now owns the business was formed at the end of 1892. The whole manufacturing and distributing of the large business of the Company was carried on at Halifax street till March of this year . . . and they secured a warehouse at 55 Grenfell Street.” [Register 5 Dec 1894]

 

“Mr H. A. Garrett, engineer to Messrs Heenan & Froude, contractors for the refuse destructor, has arrived in Adelaide, and preliminary work has already been begun. The site in Halifax street, where the machinery will be installed is being cleared, and a start has been made to demolish a portion of the old Enterprise Shoe Factory. The machinery is expected to arrive in the course of a few days.” [Register 22 Jun 1909]

 

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