STEEL INDUSTRY IN AUSTRALIA

Press, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22464, 27 July 1938, Page 3

STEEL INDUSTRY IN AUSTRALIA

WORK OF BROKEN HILL COMPANY ADDRESS BY MR F. PENFOLD “This present century has undoubtedly seen many changes in our very complex civilisation. Every sort of construction has been almost completely revolutionised. Side by side with these wonderful advantages there has been the feverish development of the terrible war machine, which is being built up by all countries of the •world.” These remarks were made by Hr F. Penfold in a preamble to his address to the Christchurch Rotary Club yesterday on “The Manufacture of -Steel and Allied Industries in Australia.” Tracing the development of the Broken Hill Proprietary Company, Mr Penfold said that the company had a long and romantic history. Considerable courage and adventure haa been displayed in the building up ot this great project, and he considered the people of Australia and New Zealand owed an immense debt to the men who pioneered the steel industry. About 1011 a geologist had reported that the,re were deposits of iron manganic ore of very rich quality and magnitude at the company’s holdings in Spencer Gulf, South Australia. A further favourable report on the deposits had been made by Mr David Baker, a consulting engineer, of Philadelphia. The company’s steel works were completed in 1915 by Mr Baker, who had become general manager, on a site about six or eight miles from Newcastle The works had been built on piles in an area which was three feet under water at high tide, and Mr Baker had shown his ingenuity by using the slag for building up the foundations. This slag would be used as a material for reclamation for a long time to come. A total of 16,000 tons of iron and steel was made at the works each week. A few setbacks had been experienced because of post-war dumping, labour troubles, and the depression. The three main ingredients used m the manufacture of steel were coal, iron ore, and limestone, said Mr Penfold. who reviewed the various phases in the work. Twenty thousand tons of coal, which were obtained from the company's mines, were used each week in the works, most of the coal being converted into coke. Mr Penfold'also spoke of the various types of steel produced at the works, which had 50 miles of railway lines and 25 locomotives. “It seems to me that these works typify the national character and reflect the position of the country in prosperity and adversity,” he said in conclusion.'