HYDRO REVIVAL

THE site of Australia’s first major hydro town has a new lease on life, thanks to the renewable energy push in Tasmania.

Located practically right in the centre of the state, the Waddamana village was established in the 1910s when the nearby hydro power station — the first ever by Hydro Tasmania — was created.

But the Waddamana A power station closed down in 1965 and was converted into a museum in 1988, with Waddamana B decommissioned in 1994.

Since then, the village has been run as a holiday camp for schoolchildren and was sold for $782,000 in 2013.

But it was again put on the market, this time by liquidators, and ASIC documents show that it has been snapped up for just $400,000 by Sydney businessman Michael Addison.

The $400,000 has bought Mr Addison — who is the managing director of Genex Power, which is involved in solar and pumped hydro projects interstate — 14 houses, and two sheds on the 17.8 hectares of land.

But while the company he operates is heavily involved with pumped hydro, Mr Addison said the personal purchase was in light of the soon to be operational $300 million Wild Cattle Hill wind farm project close to Waddamana.

“They are going to build a wind farm out there at Wild Cattle Hill and they will need accommodation for their workers,” he said.

“It is almost coincidental that I’m involved with pumped hydro and I have bought the site given its history but our first point of call is to see whether they will use it for the wind farm.”

While this investment is outside Mr Addison’s expertise — even though Tasmania’s “Battery of the Nation” plan has a goal to identify 10 to 15 pumped hydro sites in the state to help power the nation — he said that Genex Power was looking in the state for hydro projects.

“This [Waddamana] is outside of Genex but we are looking in Tasmania for hydro projects, and there is one nearby [to the site],” he said.

But for now he is focused on the historic old town.

“It’s actually really famous,” he said.

“Originally they had wooden pipes there and there is still evidence of that, it’s a pretty impressive old site.”