History of the East Perth Power Station

EVENT RECAP: History of the East Perth Power Station and its heritage marker ceremony (November 2025)

November marked a significant milestone for Engineering Heritage in Western Australia with the presentation on the East Perth Power Station (EPPS), and the unveiling of it’s Interpretation Panel alongside a National Heritage Marker Status

East Perth Power Station, one of the world’s earliest power stations built on the 'Independent Unit Principle', has been awarded a prestigious Engineering Heritage National Marker. It was also Australia’s first power station to exclusively employ turboalternators for electricity production.

The marker and interpretation panel were unveiled at a ceremony held on 27 November 2025. The event was jointly hosted by the Electric Energy Society of Australia (EESA) and Engineers Australia in the latter’s Perth auditorium.

At the unveiling, the current Engineers Australia Division president, Allison Selman spoke about the workings of the Engineering Heritage Marker system and its effectiveness in gaining long term recognition of the country’s significant engineering achievements.

John Archer, a retired electrical engineer, spoke of how the Independent Unit Principle was developed in the early 20th century by the world-renowned electrical engineering expert Mr Charles Merz. It greatly improved the reliability and efficiency of electric power generation and became the universally adopted pattern for all types of large power stations. 

The talk explained how the WA Premier, Jack Scadden, and Perth Mayor elect, John Prowse, engaged with Merz to develop a central coal fired power station to meet state, industry and general community needs for electric power. It then described the key developments from inception to its final decommissioning in December of 1982.

Due credit was given to William Henry Taylor for his unstinting dedication throughout the construction and operation of the power station from his arrival in Perth in 1914 until his retirement in 1948.

Following the talks, a 20 minute monochrome moving picture from the 1930’s was screened. This film, produced by International Combustion Limited, plotted the design, manufacture and installation of the ‘B’ Station boilers. It received a well deserved round of applause from the attendees and was considered the highlight of the ceremony.

The power station site is now comprised of the following which have been retained near to their as-built states:

·         much the original ‘A’ station turbine hall constructed between 1914 and 1916;

·         the ‘B’ station building from 1938 and

·         the frequency changer building from 1951.

About 90 guests attended the ceremony including several past employees of Merz derivative companies and ex CEOs of Western Power and Alinta Gas. 

Allison Selman presented the marker panel to Daniel Caddy, MLC North Metro Region representing the WA Government and Peter Variss, Executive GM Infrastructure & Environment representing the City of Vincent.