Catching up with Bryan at the waterworks was a perfect spot. His love for the place and the history was obvious from the beginning of our talk and tour of the area. The day was sunny, and the buildings, garden and beautiful grounds were shown in all their glory. Swans and ducks come to breed in the river next to the Waterworks.
Bryan was born and bred in Goulburn and had a locksmithing business for 40 years with a partner, a friend he had known from school. A couple of years after retiring he was wanting to do something after fixing his house and heard about volunteering at the Waterworks. He applied and was asked to start soon after and he has been volunteering for 7 years. This year he was awarded Senior Volunteer of the Year for his services.
Volunteer gardeners were beavering away in the glorious cottage garden to make it ready for the visitors coming over the weekend. The area is used for weddings, and many other functions such as vintage car shows and the Steam Punk Weekend.
The Fireman’s Cottage houses memorabilia of the original fireman, Robert Geoghegan and his family and an exhibition of Steam Punk fashion and events. It has a staff and a research room which has the original blueprints of the pump building, and the installation of the pump engine and boilers. They have recently been given a grant to have these blueprints conserved.
The boiler house houses the original 1883 Appleby steam engines which were run till 1918. The original pump building has the fine brickwork of the Victorian era. The 1866 original Hick Hargreaves engine was used near Aruluan to crush rock to extract gold. It was brought to the Waterworks museum in 1970 and it is still run for visitors. It is one of three still left intact in the world.
It is a unique place – peaceful and relaxing - and well worth a visit for both its history and beautiful surroundings.
