From the archives, 1991: Let’s show you the ropes
30 years ago, history went under the hammer at Cockatoo Island when the contents of the former navel dockyard went up for sale. Many buyers got a bargain, but some conservation groups were disappointed.
By John Stapleton
Get a well-balanced perspective with the Herald.
First published in the Sydney Morning Herald on October 29, 1991.
The auctioneer’s voice echoes beneath the high ceilings while the dealers, the crafty old codgers and the simply curious mill among the banks of machines.
As the last dock workers look on sullenly, Cockatoo Island is going up for auction, with more than 5,000 lots for sale.
Much of the large machinery which belonged to the Commonwealth Government has been taken to shipbuilders in Western Australia.
Nearly everything else is for sale, with no reserve prices, including lathes, borers, overhead travelling cranes, office furniture, hundreds of metres of rope, a hydraulic chain-tester and pneumatic hoist.
One of the largest lathes in Australia, 12.2 metres long and weighing an estimated 150 tonnes, sold for $15,000, and its buyer, Mr Brian Hemsworth, of Australian Winch and Haulage Pty Ltd, estimated it would cost $300,000 to get it off the island and reassemble it at his Smithfield workshop.
But a new lathe would set him back more than $2 million.
Much of the machinery on offer is more than 30 years old.
Mr Bob Spark, manager of MD Machinery Pty Ltd, said the prices being paid for equipment were amazing considering its age and the cost of getting it off the island.
“It is the day before yesterday’s technology,” he said.
Many commented that the spirited bidding was an indication of the economy, because few firms could afford new equipment.
Auctioneer Mr Storm Jacklin said bidding had been stronger than anticipated, with about $1.4 million in sales.
*But Mr Stephen Davies, conservation director of the National Trust, said: “It seems crazy to be selling these things, many of the items which we know are significant, before you even know what you are going to be selling for. The whole way the sale has gone on threatens the integrity of the site.”
Industrial archaeologist Mr Carl Doring said he was very disappointed so much machinery was on sale.
“The list of equipment for sale contains a lot of items of likely historical significance,” he said. “To me the sale is too rushed.
“It is rather unfortunate that at a time when the Federal Government is trying to promote manufacturing productivity they themselves are dismantling one of our major engineering facilities.
“Cockatoo Island is also a site of industrial heritage which would go a long way towards increasing the public’s appreciation of work and the work ethic. We are abandoning our existing capacity to undertake major engineering work.”
Currently, Cockatoo Island is open to the public with a number of activities available as well as accommodation in the form of apartments and a campground. The island, a World Heritage Site, has also played host to the arts in the form of a number of festivals and exhibitions including the Biennale of Sydney and the Nick Cave–curated All Tomorrow’s Parties music festival. Next month will see a performance of the opera Carmen.