Construction began in March 1947, using a site at Matraville near the corner of Bunnerong and Military Road which provided access to shipping links on Botany Bay. The project was ambitious for its time, reflecting Australia's determination to build sovereign refining capacity despite post-war shortages. It was launched amid post-war material shortages and relying heavily on repurposed naval and military equipment. The refinery's early workforce consisted largely of recently discharged Royal Australian Navy personnel because BORAL felt that the naval "shipshape" ethos and training were ideally suited to the refining industry. Caltex held a 40% stake and supplied the crude oil for processing.

Local Community Opposition
The proposal to build the refinery met with considerable opposition within the community. Many were concerned about pollution affecting Matraville, Cemetery, Yarra Bay, fishing and oyster industries in Botany Bay. and Prince Henry Hospital. Delegates from Progress Associations, Swimming Clubs, Boat-sheds, Fishing and Oyster organisations, Municipal Councils, and other interested bodies attended meeting to protest its construction in the late 1940s and make representations to government to forestall construction of the plant. Nonetheless the project went ahead.

Boral Oil Refinery, Matraville, c1950

Commenced in 1948
Operations commenced in 1948, initially focused on bitumen production. Over the following decade, the refinery expanded its capabilities, adding desulphurisation and catalytic cracking units that increased output and allowed processing of both synthetic and whole crude oils. By the late 1950s, capacity exceeded 15,000 barrels per day, marking Matraville as a significant contributor to Sydney's fuel and bitumen supply. Important as the output was, it output was relatively small. By comparison the Viva Energy plant at Geelong in Victoria produces about 120,000 barrels per day while the output of the Ampol refinery at Lytton in Brisbane, Queensland is about 110,000 barrels per day. The largest Singaporean refinery where Australia obtains much of it gasoline is about 500,000 barrels per day.

Corporate changes reshaped the refinery's ownership through the 1960s and 1970s. BORAL formally adopted its acronymic name in 1963, then sold a 50% share to Total in 1968 and the remainder in 1972, after which the site operated as the Total Matraville Refinery. A major expansion followed in 1979, but the broader industry trend toward larger, more efficient refineries and rising fuel imports placed pressure on smaller metropolitan plants.

The history section on BORAL's website (https://www.boral.com.au/about/our-history) gives an extensive treatment about history of the refinery, delving much more deeply into the operation and economics of the project over three decades. Though it became a substantial company in its own right, and was in partnership with multi-national corporations, it was always an uphill battle for a local company operating in a smaller market to be able to cope successfully with the macro-economics of the huge and complex international oil market.

Boral Oil Refinery Offices, Matraville, 1948

The refinery ultimately closed in 1984, ending nearly four decades of operation. The site was demolished in 1988, leaving behind a legacy as a pioneering post-war industrial enterprise that helped shape both BORAL's corporate identity and Sydney's mid-century industrial landscape.

Today only the Viva Victorian plant and the Ampol plant in Brisbane remain which produce about 20% of Australia's needs. As recently as 2000, eight oil refineries operated in the country and produced up to 98% of our petroleum.

Local Landmark
A huge white circular storage tank fronting Bunnerong Road bearing the word "BORAL" and later "TOTAL", dominated the skyline, especially if you were driving south to La Perouse. Operating day and night, the refinery lit itself like a small city after dark, transforming what should have been a harsh industrial site into a strangely magical, fairy-lit spectacle when viewed from the hills.

Total Oil Refinery, Matraville, c1965 (Bunnerong Road)

The large flame of the refinery's flare stack, a critical safety device designed to burn off excess flammable gases and prevent dangerous pressure build-ups, burnt brightly in the night sky. At times it could be larger than normal causing a red glow in the sky that could be seen as far north as Randwick. Many an amateur ace reporter drove south to Matraville in the hope of a scoring a "scoop", only to find it was an unusually active flare stack.

Legacy
The Matraville refinery's story mirrors the arc of Australia's mid-century industrialisation. It was born in the urgency of post-war reconstruction and expanded during the suburban boom and reshaped by global corporate forces ultimately overtaken by larger, more efficient refineries and shifting economic realities. It also marks the birthplace of Boral, one of Australia's most recognisable industrial companies - a corporate identity that began with the modest but pioneering refinery on the shores of Botany Bay.

The former refinery site, now with its entrances on Military Road, has been repurposed for ongoing industrial activities, primarily as a logistics and warehousing precinct proximate to Port Botany.

References