By KAREN SCHAMBERGER - Young Historical Society

Christian ‘Chris’ was the seventh of Thomas and Jane Mary McVeigh’s ten children. He was born in 1905, attended the Young District School and was a keen footballer. He passed his Qualifying Certificate in January 1920. In December 1921, the Young Municipal Council was granted permission to indenture Chris to the trade of Electrical Mechanic.

This aligns with the family story that Chris took up a traineeship at the Young Power Station (on Boorowa St, next to the Town Hall) after a school visit in 1920. He won an essay competition and was offered the job.

On Thursday 8 January 1920, the municipal council ‘authorised the purchase of a 50 horsepower suction gas engine to augment the plant at the power station’. By December 1921, the Municipal Electric Lighting Plant had been remodelled and the new gas generating plants installed.

The Akroyd wood fuel gas plant burnt wood in its furnaces which turned it into charcoal. The charcoal was then mixed with coke (produced from coal) to produce the fuel for the power station to generate electricity.

It soon became apparent that these engines were not enough. On Tuesday 12 June 1923, a 400 horsepower, 4-cylinder Atlas diesel engine was installed and officially started for the first time by the Mayor of Young, A.M. Rabbets.

It was the first of its kind to be used to generate electricity in a country municipality and the largest of its kind in Australia. It was installed by Australectric Limited, engineers and contractors of Sydney.

The additional power was required to enable the council to supply current to the Young Cooperative Flour Mill. This engine was dismantled in 1928 when the Council transferred Young’s electrical supply from its own power station to the Burrinjuck Hydro-Electric Scheme.

Chris continued his electrical engineering career and participation in local football games until June 1927 when he left Young to take up a new job at Condoblin. He married Jessie Gertrude Whiley in 1933, divorcing her in 1941.

He then married Nina Barbara Sullivan at Parkes in 1943. Chris continued to work for the power station at Condoblin, being the acting electrical engineer in 1950 where he was ‘commended by Council on his good job of locating and repairing the fault in the lubricating system.’

In 1985, Chris donated three photographs of the Young Power Station, including its Atlas Diesel engine, to the Young Historical Museum. He died in Sydney in 1993.