Australian Gas Light Company

The Australian Gas Light Company is Australia’s second oldest company. The Australian Gas Light Company, was established by private interests in New South Wales on 7 September 1837 to light the streets of Sydney with coal gas. The first gas street lights were lit in 1841 and by March 1843 there were 165 gas lamps in the city - 14 Government lights, 11 Corporation lamps, 106 Publicans’ lights, and 34 Private lamps. The rest of the people used traditional oil lamps which were to remain as the predominant source of lighting both industrially and domestically until the arrival of electricity.

The Australian Gaslight Company operated from premises in Pitt Street on land south from Campbell Street to Redfern. It was known as the Government Paddock that was originally part of the brick pits from Sydney’s earliest years. The first gasholder and a two story building were erected in 1855. By 1858 the company purchased another eight allotments in Pitt St., and in 1860 were considering extension of the service to Newtown, Redfern and Glebe. Two new holders were constructed in 1861 and 1865, a fourth holder was built in 1874.

The former Australian Gaslight Company's head office was situated at 479-487 Pitt Street, Sydney. Coal was stored in a coal store from where it was delivered to the vertical retorts by overhead conveyor. Gas was produced in vertical retorts before being piped to the scrubbers and purifiers to remove any impurities. It then passed through a meter room before being stored in gasholders under pressure.


Gas was manufactured from coal, which had to be shipped in by barges and ferries. Consequently, suburban gas companies established their plants at harbour side locations. With the growth of Sydney, the sites where these now-abandoned plants were built have become valuable real estate, being at key locations around the harbour. Some sites have been re-developed for other industry or housing, while a few have been reserved for public use in the form of harbour side parklands.