The world’s oldest working rotative steam engine could be at significant risk, experts say, if Sydney’s Powerhouse Museum goes ahead with plans to dismantle, store and then electrify part of the 1785 Boulton & Watt: a priceless antique whose components are “as fragile as 200-year-old glass”.
The warnings about the engine – a gem of the museum’s collection – follow serious claims of neglect of other exhibition items which were recently raised by current staff and former board members, after Guardian Australia broke news of an allegedly “buried” report that could have thwarted its controversial $500m redevelopment.
