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Goldfields Water Supply Scheme

Author

Heritage Council

Place Number

16610
There no heritage location found in the Google fusion table.

Location

Mundaring

Location Details

P25251 Goldfields Water Supply Scheme is part of this place and is on the National Heritage List. Starts in Mundaring, at Mundaring Weir and travels through the Shires of Mundaring, Northam, Cunderdin, Tammin, Kellerberrin, Merredin, Westonia, Yilgarn, Coolgardie and Kalgoorlie-Boulder.

Other Name(s)

Golden Pipeline

Local Government

Mundaring

Region

Metropolitan

Construction Date

Constructed from 1898

Demolition Year

N/A

Statutory Heritage Listings

Type Status Date Documents More information
State Register Registered 08 Dec 2022 Register Entry
Assessment Documentation

Heritage Council Decisions and Deliberations

Type Status Date Documents
(no listings)

Other Heritage Listings and Surveys

Type Status Date Grading/Management More information
Category Description
(no listings)

Statement of Significance

The Goldfields Water Supply Scheme, demonstrates exceptional technical achievement as one of the longest overland pipeline schemes attempted in the nineteenth century, both in Australia and the world, and was recognised as an outstanding engineering achievement;
The has exceptional value in demonstrating the historical importance of the provision of water to settlements along the route from Mundaring to the Eastern Goldfields,
The construction and operation of the Pipeline had considerable importance in contributing to the sense of place for the people of Western Australia, and visitors to the State, as a highly valued tourist destination, the educational, cultural and aesthetic aspects of which are appreciated by history and engineering enthusiasts and teachers to this day;
Individual elements of the place, including the existing interpretation associated with the Golden Pipeline Heritage Trail, museums, archaeological sites and remaining buildings and infrastructure, collectively have exceptional potential to communicate the history of the Goldfields Water Supply Scheme and its importance to Western Australia;
The place is associated with a number of notable figures in Western Australian history, including the Scheme's designer CY O'Connor, State and Federal politician Lord John Forrest, the Director of the Public Works Department HW Venn and former Superintendent of Public Works, architect George Temple Poole, who each contributed to the successful completion of the Goldfields Water Supply Scheme; and
The place is an exceptional example of applied science, technical excellence and innovative design, reflecting the ongoing ingenuity and innovation demonstrated by the talented and committed engineers employed by the Goldfields Water Supply Branch, Public Works Department and other iterations of the Water Corporation in the provision of water in the State. The longevity of the scheme is associated with innovators Mephan Ferguson, James Couston, engineers Norman Fernie and Reg Keating, and James Mathers.

Values

• The place is an excellent example of an initiative by the Western Australian Government to provide water to the Goldfields at the turn of the century.
• The place is rare as one of the largest pipelines in Western Australia, possibly the largest that supplies water.
• The place has aesthetic value as a landmark feature extending from Mundaring to Kalgoorlie.
• The place is rare and has scientific value as an innovative engineering design and construction method of a pipeline from the early 20th Century.
• The place is rare as a long-distance water pipeline in Australia built in the early 1900’s.

Physical Description

The Goldfields Water Supply Scheme extends in a discontiguous precinct across the 560km linear water pipeline, commencing at Mundaring Weir (1902, 1951) in the Helena Valley and terminating at Mount Charlotte Reservoir (1902) in Kalgoorlie-Boulder. Comprising six extant original Steam Pump Stations (1902) at Mundaring, Cunderdin, Merredin, Yerbillon, Ghooli and Dedari; the sites of two demolished Steam Pump Stations (1902) at O’Connor and Gilgai; Reservoirs and Tanks at O’Connor, Sawyers Valley, Bakers Hill, West Northam, Cunderdin, Merredin, Yerbillon, Ghooli, Bronti, Gilgai, Koorawawalyee, Dedari, Toorak, and Bullabulling; second generation Electric Pump Station at Merredin , and other community sites, ancillary structures; equipment and machinery, archaeological sites; and discontiguous portions of the main pipeline conduit associated with the construction and operation of the Scheme from 1902 to the present.

History

Phase I - Construction of the Goldfields Water Supply Scheme (1898 - 1903)
Phase II – Problem Solving and Agricultural Expansion (1904 - 1940)
Phase III – Comprehensive Water Supply Scheme, Upgrades & Refurbishments (1946 - 2013)
Phase IV - Heritage Recognition and The Golden Pipeline (1992 - 2011)

Integrity/Authenticity

High

Condition

Good

Associations

Name Type Year From Year To
Charles Yelverton O'Connor Architect 1898 1902

State Heritage Office library entries

Library Id Title Medium Year Of Publication
6452 Mundaring Weir Precinct masterplan : final master plan report. Heritage Study {Other} 2002
7358 Conservation plan for Goldfields Water Supply Scheme. Volume II, place M : No. 8 Pumping Station, Dedari. Heritage Study {Cons'n Plan} 1999
11426 Goldfields Water Supply Volume III Heritage Study {Cons'n Plan} 1999
4897 Conservation plan for Karalee Rock Water Catchment (Goldfields Water Supply Scheme - place J). Heritage Study {Cons'n Plan} 2000
7359 Conservation plan for Goldfields Water Supply Scheme. Volume II, place N : Bullabulling reservoir. Heritage Study {Cons'n Plan} 1999
9248 Constructing Australia: Triumphs and tragedies in building a nation. C D Rom 2007
6390 Pipe-dream to pipeline : the eventful life of Nathaniel W. Harper. Book 2001
3680 Conservation plan for No. 3 Pumping Station, Cunderdin. Heritage Study {Cons'n Plan} 1998
1774 An exploratory bibliography of the Goldfields Water Supply of Western Australia (draft). Report 1982
4504 Conservation plan for Mount Charlotte Reservoir (Goldfields water supply scheme - place O). Heritage Study {Cons'n Plan} 2000
11762 Goldfields Water Supply Scheme, Main conduit, Western Australia Heritage Study {Cons'n Plan} 2016
6788 Conservation plan for Koorarawalyee water catchment and railway station (Draft) (Goldfields Water Supply Scheme - place U). Heritage Study {Cons'n Plan} 2001
9806 Mundaring Weir water Supply interpretation precinct design. Book 2010
7350 Conservation plan for West Northam regulating tanks : (Goldfields Water Supply Scheme - place T) (draft). Heritage Study {Cons'n Plan} 2001
7356 Conservation plan for Goldfields Water Supply Scheme. Volume II, place I : No. 6 Pumping Station, Ghooli. Heritage Study {Cons'n Plan} 1999
7547 Celebrating 100 years of the Goldfields Water Supply Scheme. Brochure 2003
7354 Conservation plan for Goldfields Water Supply Scheme. Volume II, place G : No. 4 Pumping Station, Merredin. Heritage Study {Cons'n Plan} 1999
7351 Conservation plan for Toorak Hill reservoir : (Goldfields Water Supply Scheme - place V) (draft). Heritage Study {Cons'n Plan} 2001
7352 Conservation plan for Goldfields Water Supply Scheme. Volume II, place A : No. 1 Pumping Station Mundaring. Heritage Study {Cons'n Plan} 1999
7348 Conservation plan for Sawyers Valley summit tanks : (Goldfields Water Supply Scheme - place R) (draft). Heritage Study {Cons'n Plan} 2001
6675 Mundaring Weir : conservation plan (draft). Heritage Study {Cons'n Plan} 2000
1608 Conservation and interpretation plan for No.1 Pumping Station Mundaring. Heritage Study {Cons'n Plan} 1996
5988 Centenary of the Goldfields Water Supply Scheme 1903-2003. Brochure 2003
7444 The agricultural areas, Great Southern towns and Goldfields Water Supply Scheme : souvenir to commemorate the completion of the project. Book 1961
10170 The origins of the Eastern Goldfields water scheme in Western Australia: an exercise in the interpretation of historical evidence. Book 1954
4644 Conservation plan for Goldfields Water Supply Scheme : volume 1. Heritage Study {Cons'n Plan} 1999
7357 Conservation plan for Goldfields Water Supply Scheme. Volume II, place K : No. 7 Pumping Station, Gilgai. Heritage Study {Cons'n Plan} 1999
8902 River of steel. A history of the Western Australian Goldfields and Agricultural Water Supply 1903 - 2003. Book 2007
7355 Conservation plan for Goldfields Water Supply Scheme. Volume II, place H : No. 5 Pumping Station, Yerbillon. Heritage Study {Cons'n Plan} 1999
7353 Conservation plan for Goldfields Water Supply Scheme. Volume II, place B : No. 2 Pumping Station, O'Connor. Heritage Study {Cons'n Plan} 1999
7349 Conservation plan for Bakers Hill regulating tank : (Goldfields Water Supply Scheme - place S) (draft). Heritage Study {Cons'n Plan} 2001
6794 Conservation plan for Bullabulling township and railway catchment. (draft) : a supplement to the Bullabulling Reservoir conservation plan (Goldfields Water Supply Scheme - place N). Heritage Study {Cons'n Plan} 2001
9899 Mundaring Weir water supply improvement project: heritage management strategy. Heritage Study {Other} 2011
6326 The golden pipeline heritage trail guide : a time capsule of water, gold and Western Australia. Book 2002
4693 Goldfields Water Supply heritage project. Book 1999
5544 Golden Pipeline interpretation plan. Heritage Study {Other} 2001

Place Type

Other Built Type

Uses

Epoch General Specific
Original Use GOVERNMENTAL Power Station
Present Use GOVERNMENTAL Pumping Station
Present Use EDUCATIONAL Museum

Architectural Styles

Style
Vernacular

Construction Materials

Type General Specific
Wall BRICK Common Brick
Wall METAL Steel
Roof METAL Corrugated Iron

Historic Themes

General Specific
SOCIAL & CIVIC ACTIVITIES Community services & utilities
DEMOGRAPHIC SETTLEMENT & MOBILITY Technology & technological change
DEMOGRAPHIC SETTLEMENT & MOBILITY Resource exploitation & depletion
DEMOGRAPHIC SETTLEMENT & MOBILITY Exploration & surveying

Creation Date

08 Jul 2002

Publish place record online (inHerit):

Approved

Last Update

08 Jul 2022

Disclaimer

This information is provided voluntarily as a public service. The information provided is made available in good faith and is derived from sources believed to be reliable and accurate. However, the information is provided solely on the basis that readers will be responsible for making their own assessment of the matters discussed herein and are advised to verify all relevant representations, statements and information.