To the untrained eye the Bendigo Gasworks appears little more than a junk yard.
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Forgotten buildings and rusty machinery stand tiredly, a mere memory of the coal gas industry that warmed Australian homes decades ago.
But it is this industry, and the rarity of its preservation in Bendigo, that makes the site much more than just a pile neglected buildings.
The Bendigo Gasworks operated for more than a century from 1860 until 1973.
Workers toiled in trying conditions with burning hot coal to produce gas. Until the 1930s the gas was mostly used for lighting, but after electricity took over, it was used for heating and cooking.
In 1973 the Victorian energy industry turned to natural gas piped from Gippsland and coal gas became obsolete.
The sudden nature of the closure is palpable at the Weeroona Avenue site. Tools lie around as if workers had been interrupted from their work one day and then never returned.
The place is unusual because it has stood relatively untouched for 41 years.
Most other gasworks across the nation were flattened to make way for modern developments.
The Bendigo Trust is the body that moved to protect the gasworks when it closed.
It is a national treasure, it just needs to be developed.
- Dennis O'Hoy
Long-time member Dennis O'Hoy was the one who pushed the decision.
"There are only one or two (gasworks) left in the whole world," Mr O'Hoy said.
"It is a national treasure, it just needs to be developed."
Mr O'Hoy and others want the gasworks to be a museum open to tourists.
There have been plans and ideas thrown around for years, but none have ever come to fruition.
Bendigo Trust chief executive Tom Seddon said it would be good to connect the gasworks site to the Lake Weeroona precinct.
"It would be interesting to interpret it for the public. It would be nice to have another stop on the tram tour."
But he said any investment and development was a long way off.
"At the moment we just try to keep things from falling over," Mr Seddon said.
"We have been stuck with it and unable to do something with it for decades."
In the meantime the property is not completely idle. It serves as a storage space for old trams waiting to be restored by Bendigo Tramways.
Mr Seddon said the storage issue for trams was not ideal, but there was no other space.
"I'm sorry about what it looks like. We wouldn't choose open storage there next to the lake if we had a choice."
Many of the trams are left uncovered, exposed to the elements.
Dennis O'Hoy laments the deterioration of an old tram he and others worked on for years to restore. It has since regressed to a dilapidated state.
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