PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS. 57 



and O. Hoskins Ltd., and the other at Newcastle, the 

 property of the Broken Hill Proprietary Co. 



The materials required for the manufacture of pig iron 

 at Lithgow are all obtained from within the State, iron ore 

 from Oarcoar and Tallawang, distant 96 and 128 miles 

 respectively from Lithgow, limestone from Ben Bullen and 

 Havilah, 27 and 85 miles respectively from Lithgow, coke 

 from the South Coast and their own works at Lithgow, 

 whereas the Broken Hill Proprietary Company bring the 

 iron ore from South Australia, where they have an enorm- 

 ous deposit of suitable ore containing a high percentage of 

 oxide of iron, the ships returning to Port Pirie in South 

 Australia with coke for the silver lead smelters. 



The first blast furnace at Lithgow was put into operation 

 in 1875 and ceased work seven years later; in 1886 Mr. 

 Sandford took over the works and rolled bars made from 

 scrap and imported material. It was not, however, until 

 1906 that he erected the first of the two blast furnaces now 

 in operation, the iron work and machinery in connection 

 with it having been manufactured in England. It was blown 

 in in May 1906, and at the end of 1907 these works came 

 into the possession of their present owners, Messrs. G. and 

 C. Hoskins Ltd., who installed additional steel furnaces, 

 rolling mills etc., and greatly extended and remodelled the 

 plant. In 1913 they erected a second blast furnace with 

 all the necessary adjuncts of heating stoves etc.; the iron- 

 work for this addition, instead of being imported, was made 

 by themselves, chiefly at their Sydney works. These two 

 furnaces have each a capacity of 300 tons of pig iron per 

 week, part of which finds a ready sale to iron-founders 

 throughout Australia. A considerable portion is, however, 

 used by the firm at their own foundries in Sydney, and the 

 balance is made into steel by the open hearth process, and 

 rolled into rails, bars and sheets. The works also contain 



