The history of blast furnace operations at Whyalla dates back to 1941 when Blast Furnace No.1 was commissioned — just two weeks after the shipbuilding yard opened. Whyalla had initially been the preferred location for Australia's first steelworks, an honour that eventually went to Newcastle.

A blast furnace is an incredibly dangerous place. Molten iron and slag flying at regular intervals. Moving machinery. Constant noise. It is not a place that suits the inattentive.

It is also an incredibly sensitive and technical beast — susceptible to cooling events if production rates stray outside extraordinarily tight operating bands. Deadly gases are ever present. Explosive events with the potential to kill are not infrequent.

2026 marks the 61st year of blast furnace operations at Whyalla. An incredible achievement given the pressures of international competition from operations that are generally much larger and much lower cost.

The history of Whyalla's power and services division stretches back even further — to the early twentieth century when Whyalla's first power station opened. Walking through the powerhouse and boilerhouse today is like stepping back in time. Ancient. Historic. And still going.

I was fortunate to spend significant time with Whyalla's longest serving blast furnace and Power and Services employees — both past and present. A more dedicated group of people would have been hard to find. Committed to their task and committed to preserving the history of a nationally significant, strategically important Australian asset.

Working with the ironmakers at Whyalla was an experience I will forever be grateful for. Many of the people I spent time with I am still in touch with today.