Stobie poles are a South Australian icon, but how did they come about?

Unless you’ve lived in South Australia you probably have no idea what Stobie poles are, or why they are so iconic to their home state.

Stobie poles are South Australia’s own (almost indestructible) version of a power pole — and you will not find them anywhere else in the world, despite the inventor’s best efforts.

Made to outlast the peskiest of pests, the Stobie pole design turns 99 in April.

So how did it become a local icon?

The Stobie pole was invented in 1924 by James Cyril Stobie in response to a shortage of timber and an abundance of white ants in South Australia.

According to author R.W Linn, who wrote a biography of Mr Stobie, traditional timber power poles that were brought over from interstate were often being destroyed by termites.

Mr Stobie, who was an electrical engineer with Adelaide Electrical Co (later ETSA and now SA Power Networks) designed a power pole made up of two steel “I beams”, held together by tie bolts, and filled with concrete.

The Stobie pole was patented the following year, and Mr Stobie was paid 500 Australian pounds by Adelaide Electrical Co for his design.

Despite some initial interest from New Zealand, the US and the UK, the Stobie pole never took off outside of South Australia.

There was even opposition to using the poles elsewhere in Australia — in particular, New South Wales objected to using the pole over fears it would rust.

SA Power Networks head of corporate affairs Paul Roberts said aside from a few poles in the Northern Territory, you won’t find them outside of their home state.

“There were hopes, I think, of the inventors that this could be quite a cost effective and potentially a money-making thing for Adelaide Electric Company,” he said.

“The reality is … there are very few outside of South Australia and there’s not really an interest in incorporating them interstate and now we are seeing different options for cement-spun poles, even heavy plastic work is being done in some places.

“It’s not something that we would expect elsewhere, but it is certainly something that is going to continue to serve South Australia very well for many years to come.”

In the 1940s when Mr Stobie was applying to extend his patent rights, he boasted that while a wooden pole had an 11-year life span, a Stobie pole could last for at least 45 years.

But Mr Roberts said Stobie poles could actually last for almost double that.

“They can have a working life of up to 80 years, we inspect them on a regular cycle and we actually have been re-plating poles where we’ve found damage or corrosion at the base of the pole and that re-plating means we can get another 30-to-40-years life out of a Stobie pole,” he said.

“So, it’s an incredibly effective and efficient way to support overhead powerlines.”

There are now more than 650,000 Stobie poles across the state, and they are manufactured north of Adelaide at an Angle Vale plant.

Although powerlines are going underground in new residential developments, the end for Stobie poles in South Australia is nowhere in sight.

SA Power Networks manufactures about 4,500 Stobie poles every year, which are used to replace poles when they have reached the end of their working life or when new overhead powerlines are being installed.

Mr Roberts said while underground powerlines can prevent blackouts, using Stobie poles is significantly cheaper and easier to maintain.  

“Stobie poles have really served the South Australian community really well since they were patented,” he said.

“It’s absolutely unique to South Australia, it really is something you won’t see elsewhere and of course it is ubiquitous, it is in every street … it says you’re home in South Australia when you see them.”

Mr Roberts said the Stobie pole had proven its worth in South Australia, particularly during bushfires and even during last year’s Riverland floods.

“There are a number of advantages with the Stobie pole against wooden poles, particularly for South Australia with our very high bushfire risk, the Stobie pole doesn’t burn and that is a really big advantage when we have a bushfire situation,” he said.

“They’re resistant to termites, they’re resistant to a lot of the issues that can be a problem with wooden poles, they don’t rot, they don’t get eaten by termites.

“The Stobie pole has also proved its worth in the recent flooding that we’ve seen along the River Murray.

“While we’ve had to disconnect some lines because of low clearances between the actual powerlines and the water, the Stobie poles themselves have actually been resilient and we’ve had about 4,000 poles standing in water during the floods and they’ve been continuing to supply power to most people in the Riverland.”

But Stobie poles are not entirely indestructible.

Like all infrastructure, they have their issues, in particular they can be more susceptible to lightning strikes.

And while a car hitting a Stobie pole often comes out second best, trucks and trees have been known to bring down the solid structures.

Even strong winds and storms have seen the poles crumble.

Eyesore or blank canvas?

Often denounced as an ugly feature, the Stobie pole has become a blank canvas for many artists and community groups.

Artist Ann Newmarch was South Australia’s first artist in residence working for the City of Prospect. 

In 1983, she pioneered the Stobie pole art project the suburb has since become famous for.

The initial pilot project saw 20 Stobie poles painted, which was later extended as part of SA’s Jubilee in 1986. 

“The pole is a particular form that allows for painting and community sharing within an environment,” she told the ABC in 1987.

“It’s a nice human scale and people aren’t very frightened of using it as a place to express their ideas.

“But it is also uniquely South Australian, designed by Cyril Stobie … and it’s a project really that’s about people sharing and showing their creativity.”

At the time Stobie pole artwork drew criticism from then Liberal cabinet member Alexander Downer.

A particular piece by South Australian artist Clifton Pugh in 1984, depicting a naked Adam and Eve, was heavily criticised by members of the community in the ’80s for its “sexual overtones” and the fact he did not seek approval beforehand.

The Stobie pole was later purchased by arts director Barry Young who spent close to $3,000 in 1987 to buy and transport the pole away from its original location — all in order to preserve Pugh’s artwork. 

Nowadays, artists or community groups can apply online to SA Power Networks to paint a Stobie pole by also submitting a drawing of the proposed artwork.

It’s a tradition in the state that has been supported by various councils who often facilitate the program.

“I think the ability to paint Stobie poles is a really great community initiative that communities really have responded to, so you see them right across Adelaide where local communities or even just a few people in a street have got together and gone to their council, got approval for a design and made the Stobie pole look a little bit different and represent something that they are interested in representing to their community,” Mr Roberts said.

Greening Hindmarsh has been painting artwork on Stobie poles for about 20 years.

The group’s coordinator, Cheryl Jaeschke, said community members would have painted hundreds of Stobie poles over that time.

While initially they just painted artwork on the poles the artists are now going back over some of their original paintings with mosaics.

“In that 20-year span you see the deterioration of the original Stobie poles art that we did, so we tend to mosaic over what we had previously painted so that the image is still there but with more permanency,” Ms Jaeschke said.

“We’re all just people from the community with an interest for art, but probably a little bit broader interest in actually improving the streetscape and the lived environment of where we are.

“[Stobie poles] make a really good canvas, although it actually does have some limitations … because of the narrow width and the height. But we’re never short of ideas.”