Frome Dam

The Frome Dam is a concrete-faced rockfill embankment dam across the Frome River, located near the hamlet of Moorina in far north-eastern Tasmania, Australia. Completed in 1908, the resultant reservoir was established for the purpose of generating hydro-electric power via the Moorina Power Station, a subsequently decommissioned conventional hydroelectric power station. At the time of its closure in 2008, Moorina Power Station was the oldest operating electricity generator in Australia.

The former power station and associated equipment are listed on the Tasmanian Heritage Register.

Dam and reservoir overview The concrete-faced rockfill dam was the first of its kind in Australia. It was built in 1908 to supply water for a power station for the Pioneer Tin Mining Co. In addition, the dam supplied the village of with potable water, was also used for mining operations, and, since 2009, has assisted with irrigation downriver of the dam.

The dam wall is high and long, following alterations carried out in 1911. When full, the small reservoir has capacity of and covers , drawn from a catchment area of . The uncontrolled spillway has a flow capacity of .

Since its establishment, ownership of the dam and its associated assets have included the Pioneer Tin Mining Co. (1908–1988), Moorina Hydro Pty Ltd (1988–2009), and, since 2009, Tasmanian Irrigation Pty. Ltd. In 2011, it was reported that Tasmanian Irrigation were constructing a pipeline from the Frome Dam to the northern branch of the existing irrigation scheme near , to increase the supply of water from the scheme; that was operational by May 2025.

Hydroelectric power station Concept and construction In 1900, the Pioneer Tin Mining Co. was formed to extract tin (cassiterite) from Tertiary alluvial deposits found in abundance in the far north-east of Tasmania, at the town of Pioneer. At the time the only dedicated power station in Tasmania was the Duck Reach Power Station, near Launceston, which was entirely devoted to street lighting and the general needs of the city of Launceston.

In addition, "Water shortages for sluicing and the consumption of of firewood per annum for steam raising had, by 1907, led to the proposal to develop the Moorina Scheme to provide both electricity and sluicing water". Opened between 1906 and 1907, construction of the station proceeded during 1908 with and the first machine was commissioned in March 1909.

Technical details The station is housed in a small corrugated galvanised iron building, which at one point had several out-buildings nearby. Most of these buildings remain including two 1908 houses, a 1939 build engineer's residence, and a machine shed. There is limited public access to the area.

Water for operations is supplied from the Frome Dam, located due south from the powerhouse. As well as generating power for the mine, the water was transported to Pioneer via a race to supply the town and the mine. A race and penstock conveyed water to the power station itself, where is passed through the machinery inside. Other races collected runoff from the headwaters of the Wyniford and Weld rivers.

The plant possessed three generating sets, each rated at or 360 kVA, at and 6.5 kV, with capacity of or 1,080 kVA. The decision to fit alternators made integration with the main Tasmanian hydro-electric system much easier. The turbines were built by J.M. Voight, of Heidenheim, Germany, while the alternators were built by AEG. Prior to its closure, the plant was generating approximately annually.

Decommissioning The Pioneer tin mine closed in the mid-1980s, and since then the plant has been owned and operated by Moorina Hydro Pty. Ltd., with a crew of two. In 2008 the power station was closed due to the high cost of upgrading equipment. Ownership of the dam was transferred to Tasmanian Irrigation.

Frome Dam

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