Hammerhead Crane, Garden Island, NSW
Location
The crane is located at the Fitting Out Wharf, Gore Road, West Fleet Base of the Royal Australian Navy, Garden Island, Woolloomooloo Bay, Sydney.
History
Taking seven years to build, it was at the time the largest crane in the Southern Hemisphere. Being built to lift warship engines, boilers, gun turrets and guns of up to 250 tons, it is also a historic reminder of the massive facilities necessary to regularly service naval forces half a century ago. The crane occupies a length of 52.1m (171ft) on the fitting out wharf about two-thirds along the Captain Cook Dock, beyond the boundary of Garden Island itself. Although the crane is incorporated into the wharf, it is disconnected from it by expansion joints on either side of its abutment with the wharf.
- General view, broadside.
The crane remains the largest dockside crane in Australia. Like the dockyard itself, it was engineered to the extremes of likely demand and represented the contingency approach to naval support planning in the aftermath of the two World Wars. Tenders for the crane were called in 1944 and it was constructed between 1944 and 1951.
Description
The Hammerhead Crane consists of an asymmetric horizontal steel truss boom 83m (273ft) long, with a maximum radius of 40m (131ft), swivelling on a square section steel truss tower 15.2m (50ft) square, a height of 68 metres (179ft 3in) from wharf level to top of the cantilever. The main machinery house is situated on top of the boom, making the total height of the complete structure 61.9m (203ft) from wharf level. Foundations consist of four main concrete bases 39.3m (129ft) deep and 30.5m (100ft) below the low water level being 4.6m (15ft) in diameter, taken down to the rock bed. The maximum lift of the crane is 254 tonnes (250 tons) when the two main purchase hooks are coupled. All crane motors and swivelling gear are electrically driven.
- Tower and rear boom.
The two main purchase hooks are each powered by 90 horsepower motors (maximum 1,000-revolution variation to 100 revolutions minimum) with automatically adjusting brush gear for speed control. Combined, they provide a lift of 254 tonnes (250 tons) operated by one lever, a 40.6 tonne (40 ton) auxiliary hook powered by a 90 horse power motor is also part of the lifting capacity of the crane. A 10.16 tonne (10 ton) capacity hook for handling lifting gear and other items is also available and there is also a 6.1 tonne (6 ton) travelling crane in the main machine house used for maintenance purposes. When tested initially after completion, the maximum test load was 317.5 tonnes (312.5 tons) lifted, lowered and controlled. Steel wire used in the mains sections totalled 1,422 tonnes (1,400 tons), apart from the 71.12 tonnes (70 tons) of electrical gear used. The top of the tower is formed by four 20.32 tonne (20 ton) main girders. Approximately 250,000 rivets were used in construction.