VPRS 19784 Photographic Prints, Construction of the Hazelwood Power Station, SECV Latrobe Valley Photo Collection

This series comprises black and white photographic prints depicting Hazelwood Power Station building site both prior to and during construction work, and defects, faults and accidents. Descriptions were written on the back of most of the photographs. The SECV Latrobe Valley Photographic collection began in the 1920s with photographs taken of the progress of construction of the Yallourn Township, Power Station and Briquette Factory. It continued on a part-time basis until after World War II and eventually a full-time photographer was appointed and attached to the Yallourn Drawing Office. Between 1957 and 1961 the Morwell Project ran a separate photographic activity which includes photographs from this series. 1962 saw the formation of the Latrobe Valley Region, which merged Yallourn and the Morwell Project. This resulted in the two photographic functions combining as part of the Yallourn Drawing Office. In the 1990s, with the corporatisation, disaggregation and privatisation of the SECV, photographic collection was allocated to the visitor and information centre PowerWorks, which was jointly owned by the three Latrobe Valley based generation companies. In late 2010 the collection was transferred back into SECV custody. It is unclear how this portion of the collection was acquired by Hazelwood Power. Prior to transfer to PROV the records were held by ENGIE Hazelwood, the majority owner of the power station at the time of its closure in 2017. Since privatisation, Hazelwood Power has gone through many iterations, eventually becoming ENGIE Hazelwood in 2015.