Sectioned inverted vertical steam engine used on HMAS Australia
Object No. B1937
This is an example of the final generation of small reciprocating marine steam engines. It was a robust, high speed fan engine, a workhorse used on board Australia's 1913 battle cruiser, HMAS Australia, needing little attention apart from oiling and cleaning. Using small auxiliary steam engines alongside the large turbines that drove the ship simplified engine-room layout and operation, as the turbines and engines could all be served by a central boiler. These qualities also made it useful for education at Sydney Technical College, where it had a longer life span than on board Australia. The engine was made as part of a naval arms race between Britain and Germany that began in the 1890s. Britain had 'ruled the waves' for well over a century, allowing it to import food and raw materials and export manufactured goods almost unhindered, and it wanted to retain that lead despite Germany's rise as an industrial power. This arms race was one of the factors that led to the outbreak of war in 1914. As Australia had been dependent on the Royal Navy for more than a decade after Federation, taking control of its own naval fleet in October 1913 was a source of national pride. HMAS Australia, the fleet's largest ship, was the main focus of that pride. Some people saw it as a symbol of the nation's coming of age, although in 1915 the narrative changed focus to Gallipoli, to the stark reality of war rather than mere preparations for war. HMAS Australia was scuttled under the terms of the 1922 Washington Naval Treaty, a disarmament agreement aimed at reducing the chances of another world war. Public interest in the fate of Australia's first battle cruiser led to the salvage of equipment and of brass and teak to be re-shaped as souvenirs (see the Australian War Memorial's object REL31272 and the Australian National Maritime Museum's photograph 00034328) for donation to municipalities and educational institutions or (in the case of brass ash trays) for sale. Without national pride in it as the flagship of the Royal Australian Navy, and concern at its scuttling, all materials and fittings would probably have been recycled as scrap, this engine included. Debbie Rudder 2019
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Summary
Object Statement
Steam engine, sectioned inverted vertical single-cylinder high speed fan engine, 7 hp, serial No. 3976, metal, possibly made by John Brown & Co Ltd, Clydebank, Glasgow, Scotland, 1910-1913, used on the battle cruiser HMAS Australia, 1913-1924
Physical Description
This marine engine has its steam cylinder at the top, and the piston within it is linked to a low-set fully-enclosed crankshaft. In operation, the piston moved up and down, the motion of the connecting rod caused the crankshaft and attached flywheel to rotate, and an eccentric on the crankshaft opened and closed valves in a chest adjacent to the cylinder to admit steam to it with appropriate timing. The valve chest has been sectioned to show where steam flowed, and part of the crankcase has been cut away and covered with glass. The engine has been removed from its base and instead sits on a pair of iron rails. Like engine B1868, it probably sat on an extended base and was directly coupled to a piece of machinery on board HMAS Australia. There are two brass oilers, one attached to the steam chest and the other to the crankshaft. There are two lifting lugs on top of the engine, which is painted grey. The bore is 16.5 cm, stroke 12.7 cm, speed 435 rpm and mass 500 kg. The external appearance of the engine before sectioning can be seen in images of object No. B1868, a matching engine in original condition.
DIMENSIONS
Height
1370 mm
Depth
630 mm
PRODUCTION
Notes
While the maker's name is unknown, it is likely that the engine was made by John Brown & Co. Ltd, the company contracted to build the ship at Clydebank, on the Clyde River near Glasgow, Scotland. A standard type of engine for its day, it was certainly made in the United Kingdom, most likely between 1910 and 1913. John Brown began as a steelmaker in Sheffield in 1844 and took over an existing shipyard in 1899 so it could continue selling armour plate to the navy by vertically integrating its steelworks with a shipbuilding operation. The company had an impressive display at the 1879 Sydney International Exhibition and donated tested specimens of armour plate to the museum after that event: namely object No. B1307 made from wrought iron and B1308 from iron and steel; the latter sustained much less damage than the former when an armour-piercing projectile (like object B1282) was shot at it.
HISTORY
Notes
The engine was installed on HMAS Australia during construction at John Brown's Clydebank Works in Scotland. An Indefatigable class battle cruiser, Australia was the first flagship of the Royal Australian Navy. The ship was laid down in June 1910, launched in October 1911 and commissioned in June 1913. It served during the First World War, winning battle honours at Rabaul, Papua New Guinea, in 1914 and the North Sea from 1915 to 1918. After the war it served briefly as a gunnery training ship on Westernport Bay in Victoria. The engine's role is unknown. The ship's motive power was provided by large steam turbines, and small engines like this were used to power auxiliary equipment. British officials determined that the ship would be scuttled under the terms of the Washington Naval Treaty, a disarmament agreement aimed at reducing the chances of another world war. The treaty implicitly recognised that the rapid build-up of naval firepower had contributed to the pressure for war in 1914. The German fleet was interned at Scapa Flow in the Orkneys Islands of Scotland in 1918 and scuttled there by its own sailors in 1919 to prevent the ships becoming spoils of war. The Treaty of Versailles, signed a week later, severely restricted the ability of Germany to rebuild its navy. The Washington Treaty was signed in 1922 by the Allies who had fought Germany: the UK (representing the British Empire), USA, Japan, France and Italy. All agreed to destroy some of their own ships and restrict future naval expansion. Russia was not included in the treaty as war, revolution and post-war British action had left it with very few ships. Navy personnel removed some equipment from the mothballed ship before a Melbourne-based group of businessmen won the tender to remove further equipment and material. Led by salvage operator George Wright and supervised by naval officers, a team of men carried out this work at Sydney's Garden Island naval base. Some of the brass was fashioned into souvenirs to help the salvage syndicate recoup their investment. The ship was scuttled off the coast near Sydney in April 1924. In August 1924 the Defence Department's Navy Office donated several items from the ship to this museum. Other salvaged equipment was donated to universities, technical colleges and municipalities. In 1936 Sydney Technical College's School of Mechanical and Civil Engineering acquired this engine (plant card No. 11543), but where it was in the meantime is unknown. In 1972, when it was no longer useful for teaching purposes, it was donated to the museum.
SOURCE
Credit Line
Gift of Sydney Technical College, 1972
Acquisition Date
21 March 1972
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