XXXVI. NORMAN SELFE. 



ing, candle-making now involves a series of highly scientific 

 processes. One Sydney company alone has at present over £30,000 

 worth of plant engaged in candle making, with copper stills for 

 separating the oleic and stearic acids, and nickel plated stills and 

 filter presses, for the production of glycerine from the bye products 

 The whaling industry, which was initiated at a very early stage 

 of the colony's career, put sperm and black oil on the market, and 

 oil lamps had their day. Mr. White, an engineer already referred 

 to, had several contracts to light the Sydney streets with his im- 

 proved oil lamps before the advent of gas. 



Up to the year 1841, Sydney was lighted either by candles or 

 oil lamps, but on the 24th of May of that year, the Australian 

 Gas Light Company first supplied their customers with gas, in 

 honour of Her Majesty s s birthday. The question of establishing 

 gas works had been under consideration for some years before that 

 date, and Mr. Alexander Kinghorne, a civil engineer, had prepared 

 a report on the subject. The Gas Company's charter dates from 

 7th September, 1837, and the first engineer of the company, Mr. 

 James Bryan, arrived in the colony by the "^nn," with the first 

 consignment of machinery, on the 15th May, 1839. The private 

 lights in use during the first month numbered 181, and in the 

 production of the gas single ended retorts were used. Thirty 

 years later an entirely new plant with double ended fireclay retorts, 

 arrived from England to supersede the original one, and the 

 author was engaged to take charge of its erection, Mr. J. N. Wark 

 at the time being manager, and while with the Gas Company he 

 designed and carried out the conspicuous chimney stack, together 

 with the meter and governor houses which are still in existence at 

 the head station. He terminated his connection with the Gas 

 Company to accept the position of chief engineer and draughtsman 

 to Mort's Dock Company in 1869, in order to design the machinery 

 of the s.s. "Governor Blackall." Since that time the immense 

 gas-works at Mortlake have been carried out, under the direction of 

 the present engineer of the company Mr. T. J^ Bush. If elec- 

 tricity is not so supreme in the domain of power transmission as 



