The Rise and Fall of Gippsland: How Australia's Richest Oil Region Was Abandoned

The Rise and Fall of Gippsland: How Australia's Richest Oil Region Was Abandoned One stretch of grey water off Victoria has produced more than half of all the crude oil Australia has ever pumped. Bass Strait wasn't just an oilfield, it was the engine of the Commonwealth, paying one dollar in every ten the government had. The nation that rationed petrol finally fuelled itself. But at twelve twenty six on the twenty fifth of September, nineteen ninety eight, a heat exchanger tore open at Esso's Longford plant. Peter Wilson and John Lowery were killed, and a jet fire stood over Gas Plant One for two days. Victoria went cold for the better part of two weeks. Today, only six of nineteen platforms still produce, and the largest construction vessel ever built is lifting the rest from the sea. This is the story of how an empire rises, burns, and gets carried away. #Gippsland #BassStrait #LostAustralia #DemolishedHeritage #LostPlaces #AustralianHistory