Wundowie charcoal iron and wood distillation plant

Originally a state-owned enterprise, it seems not to have been incorporated as a company, during the time it was known as the Charcoal Iron and Steel Industry.

[1][2][3] A deposit of limonite iron ore existed at the future site of Wundowie, as nearby did extensive jarrah forests.

[4] The future site of Wundowie lay along the route of the Eastern Railway, providing transport to and from Perth and access to further iron ore deposits to the east at Koolyanobbing.

Until 1966, it was conventional wisdom that iron ore was scarce in Australia and—as a strategic mineral reserved for local manufacturing—its export was banned in 1938.

[6] The south-west of the state did have extensive forests of jarrah, which made excellent charcoal that—provided it could be produced economically—could be used in a blast furnace instead of coke.

During World War II, under wartime industry controls, unemployment in Australia reached a new low of 1.1%.

In more recent times, the socialist objective has largely been ignored[9] but, in the 1940s, the ALP's policy was to centralise control of the economy, including plans to nationalise the banks.

The chemicals were to be a by-product of the production—via destructive distillation of wood, in externally-heated closed retorts—of charcoal to be used in a blast furnace for making iron.

In 1947, there was a change of government in Western Australia, and the incoming government—while still supporting in principle an iron and steel industry for south-west WA—held an enquiry into the Wundowie development, and placed a hold on building housing and business premises in the new town.

[19] The smelting works were officially opened on 15 April 1948, by the new Premier of Western Australia, Ross McLarty.

It was expected that the entire output of 10,000 tons of iron per annum would be taken by the local foundries and the Chamberlain tractor project at Welshpool.

[19] Difficulties experienced by the State Electricity Commission meant that the plant had to commence operating without its connection to the main grid.

Two Babcock & Wilcox boilers were installed, capable of using four different kinds of fuel: blast furnace gas, wood, sawdust and tar.

The consistency of the pig's size, weight, and silica content was improved when pig-casting machine was put into operation in 1952.

One alternative identified was to operate a foundry at the site to make cast products, adding value to pig iron produced there.

A section of the old narrow-gauge line from Northam remained open to allow ore trains to reach Wundowie.

The Western Australian Government Railways overcame the problem of transporting iron ore the 322 km from Koolyanobbing to Wundowie, over two gauges.

Following a related realignment of the Eastern Goldfields Railway, the new line also carried iron ore directly from Koolyanobbing to BHP's newly opened blast furnace at Kwinana on Cockburn Sound.

The Liberal government of Western Australia became unwilling to commit to capital investment in the Wundowie plant.

In June 1966, the government reached agreement with Australian National Industries (ANI) to take over management of the iron plant, build a foundry, and assume responsibility for future capital needs.

All mining at Koolyanobbing ceased[31] once the Australian Iron & Steel blast furnace at Kwinana also closed in 1982.

The garden township of Wundowie suffered from the fall in employment after iron production ceased and the vanadium plant closed.

Their small capacity and the lack of a steel-making operation meant that, in practice, Wundowie had little impact on BHP's monopoly in iron and steel.

[39] The extent of other remnants at the site of the old plant appears to be undocumented, but the distillation towers were still standing near the foundry in May 2010.