The Boiler House

Late last year I was commissioned to spend one month in one of our countries maximum security prisons. During that time I was required to shoot every nook and cranny of the facility using 4x5".
I did however shoot a lot on 35mm as back up and reference. The reason I was required to do this was because major works were being done on this prison and it has national heritage significance. For me this image is probably the one I find most interesting its a view of the largest boilers in the southern hemisphere. Each of the 3 boilers heated at least 7 million liters of water per day (the equivalent of 19 Olympic swimming pools) and had a pipe system which ran 18 kilometers. The boilers were coal powered and the hot water and steam produced not only provided hot water for the prison but also for the prisons work scheme where inmates washed the linen for all of Sydney hospitals. This was the last image taken before it was destroyed. The Inmates were all very friendly to me although I did wonder why they would let some of the meanest of the mean in crime world work around such a dangerous piece of infrastructure.