Taroona Shot Tower,
Aug. 26th, 2007 07:07 pmTaroona Shot Tower, built 1870 and closed in the 1900s. It's 48-60 m high and has about 300 steps in it. At the time it was built, it was apparently the tallest building in Australia, I think it was the first shot tower built in Australia & one of the oldest surviving ones in the world. They're used to manufacture lead shot. Off-hand, I think there are three left in Australia. The one in Melbourne Central, built in the 1880s, is probably the best known.
The Parks and Wildlife Site has a history of the tower, and the best description I've come across of the shot making process. So you go there for the details.
The basic process though: the ingots of lead, arsenic & antimony are melted in a cauldron, this is poured through a sieve and the droplets fall down the tower into a barrel of water. The distance they have to fall depends on the size of the drop, so there are two cauldrons -- one at the top of the tower, and one on the top floor of the factory.
( 20 photos )
The Parks and Wildlife Site has a history of the tower, and the best description I've come across of the shot making process. So you go there for the details.
The basic process though: the ingots of lead, arsenic & antimony are melted in a cauldron, this is poured through a sieve and the droplets fall down the tower into a barrel of water. The distance they have to fall depends on the size of the drop, so there are two cauldrons -- one at the top of the tower, and one on the top floor of the factory.
( 20 photos )
