Yes, most of these are found with a dozen or more coats of leaded full gloss enamel on them these days and when stripped back are usually polished brass. Sadly, finding any with the shades or mantles intact is extremely rare.

Stately houses, including large feds, had pressed tin ceilings with a plaster ceiling rose in the middle and the larger, more important rooms, were fitted with two lamps like the one you describe over the mantel of the fireplace and then another on each side of the room plus the gasolier suspended from the ceiling. The ceiling rose doubled as an air vent to suck away the burnt gas and of course the carbon monoxide.

When I and the other apprentices at Gladesville Hospital used to fire up these things (for the fun of it) one thing we didn't consider at the time was the fact that the jets in these lamps were designed for the low pressure coal gas that AGL used to extract from huge retorts at the Mortlake gas works. They seemed to run without any dramas on the more modern natural gas though I now wonder if lighting them was such a bright (no pun intended) thing to do.

I did my school work experience at Mortlake and remember being shown around the large gas holders, retorts and other buildings used to make the old gas. The lot is gone now, the whole joint was levelled and is now occupied by the blocks of flats and townhouses on the Breakfast Point Estate.

Ever worked on buildings where they pulled wires through existing 3/8"ID gas piping?

Can't say I have though oval split-seam conduits used here in Australia up until the arrival of TPS cable were often not much bigger and if there was a kink in the pipe then that would cause more when ripping out the old VIR cables and replacing them with TPS which is thicker.

the jets in these lamps were designed for the low pressure coal gas that AGL used to extract from huge retorts at the Mortlake gas works.

The house I grew up in was supplied by the Manly Gasworks. That old coal gas was super lethal, and damp, too. I recall many times that mum couldn't light the stove until dad drained water out of the gas meter.

Anyway, we've drifted far off topic now, so I'll segue back ...

During the 60's and 70's there were campaigns with slogans like "Live better electrically" and cooking shows featuring electric stoves and ovens sponsored by the County Council designed to promote electricity over gas. And it worked -- gas went out of fashion. Many new housing developments were not plumbed for gas.

Nowadays, with the large Asian immigration to Oz, gas for cooking is back in demand. High electricity tariffs are probably helping, too.

Gas ovens seem to be gaining interest, as they are apparently better for cooking? All I can say is that our gas oven heats up quite nicely, and is great during winter! Pity it has been such a hot winter though...

Chris

A few years back when the telecommunication monopoly was being opened up to competition, there were many far-fetched schemes for alternative ways to reticulate broadband communications to households and offices. Stationary zeppelins, low-orbit satellite constellations, microwave repeaters, and optic fibre through sewer pipes were all promoted as serious contenders.

An organisation I worked with received a proposal for a system to transmit broadband communications via household gas pipes - quoting some science about "pulsed gas ionisation" or the like. Turned out it was an April Fool hoax.

Maven

GTC, I remember that slogan well. I don't know if you remember or not but most older gas installations have vertical dead legs in the pipes about a foot long near the meter and each appliance for the purpose of bleeding moisture off. When most gases are compressed they condense their moisture content, pretty much the same as an air compressor needs a weekly bleed.

You may have been living in the area served by Mackellar County Council before the Sydney County Council absorbed it...

I also remember the Sunday footy broadcasts on 2UE being sponsored by Prospect County Council - why I am not sure, as back then we were all offered the choice of only one supplier so brand awareness would not have been important. Then again, it could have been to discourage people from "getting the gas on" as AGL once said.

I don't know if you remember or not but most older gas installations have vertical dead legs in the pipes about a foot long near the meter and each appliance for the purpose of bleeding moisture off.

I do recall that at meters, but not at the appliance end. In our case the meter, which was quite a big thing in a cupboard under the front porch, had a sump plug in it.

I also dimly recall trucks with dark green tanks on them occasionally doing the rounds and I was told at the time that they were servicing the gas mains.

You may have been living in the area served by Mackellar County Council

That's correct.

An organisation I worked with received a proposal for a system to transmit broadband communications via household gas pipes - quoting some science about "pulsed gas ionisation" or the like. Turned out it was an April Fool hoax.

LOL !!!

I don't know if anyone would be interested or not but I am sure I have a map of the old county council boundaries for NSW. Not all states had them and in those cases the electricity commissions performed all roles in the supply chain. Council names that I remember are Sydney, Mackellar, Prospect, Ulan, Illawarra, Peel-Cunningham, Southern-Mitchell and Shortland. There were about 15 more and all were jointly owned by the local governments in the areas they covered.

There were about 15 more and all were jointly owned by the local governments in the areas they covered.

Yep, and their office was local so you could have a face to face conversion with somebody if that was what's needed, it was staffed by people who spoke and understood English, and who had a clue about your street address, and who knew how to handle customer issues.

We didn't realise it at the time, but those were the good old days. Never to return.

Yes, publish that old map by all means.

Now that you mention all that... Remember the showrooms, all full of Aussie-made whitegoods? Shortland was one of the last to close theirs after merging with what is now Energy Australia.

You remind me of another issue too, that relating to customer service. With the current, so-called competitive, structure who do you call when there's a problem? Your retailer, incumbent wholesaler, your area distributor, zone distributor, or generator? Everything is a mish-mash like telecommunications and units of electricity are traded like futures in an exchange run by the National Electricity Market which as far as I know isn't nation-wide anyway.