Powerhouse Museum Submission

9 March, 2015

The Hon. Mike Baird

Premier

NSW Government

52 Martin Place
Sydney NSW 2000

Dear Premier

Re: Proposed Sale of Powerhouse Museum

Pyrmont Action Inc is an organisation established to work with governments, residents, business and community groups to improve the amenity of Pyrmont. 

We oppose the sale of the Powerhouse Museum in Ultimo and its relocation to Parramatta, but strongly support the establishment of new cultural facilities in Western Sydney which could house part of the collections of the Powerhouse Museum, the Art Gallery of NSW and the Museum of Contemporary Art, currently in storage and unable to be displayed through lack of room.

The Powerhouse Museum has been located in Ultimo since 1893.  The Technological Museum was originally housed in what is now the Sydney Institute of Technology in Harris Street, Ultimo.  It moved to its current premises, formerly a power station, as part of what is now a cultural, educational and community precinct, also comprising the Ultimo Community Centre and Library, the Ian Thorpe Aquatic Centre, the ABC, UTS and SIT.   It continues to be a central part of everyday life for Ultimo, Pyrmont and Haymarket residents, reinforcing the historical links to the area’s industrial past.   Indeed, the City of Sydney, in its Sustainable Sydney 2030 vision identified the forecourt of the Powerhouse Musum as the hub for its Ultimo/Pyrmont Village.  It is one of the few public spaces remaining among the ever-increasing urban densification occurring in the Inner West of Sydney. 

The activation of the Goods Line linking Central Station to the Powerhouse and Darling Harbour increases visitor access to this public precinct.  These few public facilities, including the Powerhouse, will provide important amenities to the thousands of residents and students moving into the new Darling Walk development.  Given the paucity of public cultural amenities in Pyrmont/Ultimo/Haymarket, it is vital that those that remain are not only retained but revitalised.

The Powerhouse Museum building in Ultimo should not be sold but continue to serve the social, educational and cultural needs of both the local and wider communities.  Our strong preference is for it to continue to operate as a technological and design museum but perhaps with a new focus – one that demonstrates Sydney’s industrial history as well as current and future workplace and technology trends.   It is interesting to note that Ultimo has been identified as the largest IT hub in Australia, with Pyrmont being number 3.   The Powerhouse, as part-IT technology incubator, is ideally placed to provide the connection between the nearby universities and Sydney’s financial/services sector.   But experience at the Australian Technology Park demonstrates that only a government-owned incubator will work. 

Let’s keep the Powerhouse as a public space in which to display the transition from the old technologies to the new.  Reinvigorated as a showcase for innovation it can inspire our children and grandchildren to become the inventors and designers of the future.   The Powerhouse should not be sold for private development. 

Yours sincerely,

Elizabeth Elenius, Convenor

cc Troy Grant, Deputy Premier, Alex Greenwich MP, Clr Clover Moore, Lord Mayor of Sydney