Before the introduction of electricity to the City of Launceston, all street lighting was provided from gas lamps.
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From 1858 the Launceston Gas Company made gas from coal stocks at the company's site in the Launceston Esplanade. After years of using gas for street lighting, the Launceston City Corporation began to investigate the possibility of producing electricity.
In the late 1800s it was suggested to develop the South Esk River as a source for water supply and energy.
The Launceston City Corporation held a poll for citizens to vote whether the Duck Reach Power Station should be developed on the banks of the South Esk River, during which time the Launceston Gas Company campaigned strongly to prevent the project from going ahead because they knew electricity would have an effect to gas lighting they provided to the city.
There were 2173 votes for the project and 690 against. A reason people voted against the project was they didn't believe that the new hydro-electric technology would work.
In 1892, the site for the Duck Reach Power Station was selected by the Launceston City surveyor and engineer Charles St John David. To build the project they had to drill a tunnel 850m long through the side of a hill which would allow the water to travel downhill to the power station which would turn the turbines.
The first trial of electric street lighting in Launceston occurred between 8pm to 10pm on December 10, 1895. The Launceston Examiner reported that "the arc lamps in the centre of the streets [threw] forth a splendid light." Launceston was the first city in the Southern Hemisphere to have electric street lighting using power from the Duck Reach Power Station.
The success of the Duck Reach Power Station resulted in more people wanting to use electricity and since then there have been many power stations developed in Tasmania.
As the demand for electricity increased and people accepted hydroelectricity as a proven technology, the citizens of Tasmania began to focus on the affect these projects were having on the environment.
The Duck Reach Power Station was very successful and was a turning point for Launceston in the generation of power. People's lives changed a lot when electricity was provided for street lighting and in their houses.
The positive attitudes that people had for hydroelectricity changed over the years as they decided that there was a need to preserve the Tasmanian wilderness.
