Cape Leeuwin Waterwheel

Statement of Significance

The following is an extract from the Heritage Council of WA’s Assessment Documentation for the place: Cape Leeuwin Waterwheel, comprising a timber waterwheel, supported on a limestone base together with a timber flume that carries water from a nearby spring, is considered to have cultural heritage significance for the following reasons: • the use of a waterwheel to drive a pump to deliver fresh water is unique in Western Australia; • the place was an essential part of the Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse precinct which became an important component in a national system of coastal lights and therefore, by association, contributed to the safety of mariners and coastal shipping; • the industrial aesthetic of the gradually calcifying waterwheel, together with the adjacent lighthouse, provide a visual contrast to the surrounding natural environment; • the place has strong social significance for the local community who have continued to maintain the structure over the years; • the place displays an innovative use of waterwheel technology and is an excellent representative example of waterwheel technology; and, • the place has strong associations with M.C. Davies who built the lighthouse and quarters and may have designed the waterwheel.

Physical Description

The following is an extract from the Heritage Council of WA’s Assessment Documentation for the place:The water wheel sits just above the high tide line in a small cove approximately one kilometre to the north of the Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse Quarters. This area lies within the Leeuwin–Naturaliste National Park. The lighthouse can just be seen when looking south from the water wheel. The timber flume, which carried the water to the wheel, extends out eastward from the wheel and disappears in the low brush which is found throughout this area.The flume consists of three timber planks that have been screwed together to form a base and two sides. Cross-ties have been screwed to the top of the flume at regular intervals. The wheel assembly is located just above the high water mark. The flume rests on the ground, except close to the wheel where it is supported on limestone piers, as the land falls down towards sea level.At the base of the water wheel, on the southern side, there is evidence of the remains of the hydraulic ram. The air chamber is still in situ. Beyond the waterwheel, to the south, a small portion of concrete remains on the shoreline, displaying a long impression which was probably made by a pipe. This evidence indicates the line that the water pipe took from the waterwheel to the lighthouse keeper’s quarters.The waterwheel’s shaft rests between two limestone walls. Both the wheel and the walls have become heavily encrusted with lime which has been deposited over the years by the water which flows over the wheel. This accumulation has led to the wheel gradually becoming inoperable. Seepage along the wooden flume has also encrusted the limestone piers.The limestone coating affords the timber wheel some protection. It is considered to be in a stable condition at present. The flume appears to be a recent reconstruction, possibly dating from 1998 when CALM carried out work to allow water to flow over the wheel again. The timber flume extends some 60 metres into the scrub at which point it is replaced by a fibreglass trough. It is not known how far this trough extends into the scrub.

History

The following is an extract from the Heritage Council of WA’s Assessment Documentation for the place:Maurice Davies grew up in the Victorian goldfields and became a building supplier and contractor. He moved to Adelaide where he went into partnership with John Wishart. In 1875, Davies moved to Western Australia and as M C Davies & Co established a large timber milling business in the south west.Following the European settlement of Australia in 1788, lighthouses had gradually been erected at strategic locations around the coast. The majority of these lights were erected in the eastern colonies, generally at the expense of the colony in which the light was located. In 1873, at an inter-colonial conference, it was agreed that there was a need for two new lighthouses at Cape Naturaliste and Cape Hamelin that would benefit shipping heading towards the eastern colonies, and that the cost of erecting them should be borne by all the colonies and not just Western Australia.M C Davies also saw a need for a light near the south-west cape as his timber mills exported large quantities of timber from ports in this area. He began urging the construction of a light in 1881.However, when Sir John Forrest sought monetary support from the eastern colonies, he found themunwilling to assist. It was not until 1893 that the Western Australian Government was able to afford the cost of erecting a light with Cape Leeuwin being chosen as the most suitable site.Cape Leeuwin was a remote location in the 1890s and the only reliable water source was a fresh water spring located some miles to the north of the lighthouse site. One component of the contract stipulated the construction of a waterwheel which would provide water to the site. Maurice Davies and his partner John Wishart won the tender to erect a lighthouse, quarters and a waterwheel to supply water to the site, for the sum of £7,782.11s.6p. The contract period was to run from 2 April 1895 to 1 February 1896. The cost of erecting the wheel was to be borne by the contractors.The waterwheel was completed by the time the lighthouse was officially dedicated on 10 December 1896 and after the opening of the lighthouse, the official party visited the waterwheel for an inspection of the apparatus. Water was drawn from a freshwater spring lying to the east, located slightly above sea level and carried via a wooden flume to the waterwheel. The wheel supplied power to a hydraulic ram which then pumped water up to the lighthouse keepers quarters.In the 1920s an oil engine was included in this operation. The wheel was bypassed by pipe leading to the hydraulic ram directly. In 1978 the lighthouse and cottages were connected to the Augusta town water supply. Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse was automated in 1982 and the keepers were withdrawn. Cape Leeuwin Waterwheel has become a popular tourist spot that is visited regularly by national and international tourists and also members of the local community. The Department of Conservation and Land management (CALM) began rudimentary maintenance operations in the late eighties in a bid to halt the deterioration of the waterwheel due to the decline in the amount of water available from Leeuwin Spring. The use of the spring water for the town water supply and the increasing draw down on the water resource led to the drying out of the timber flume and the waterwheel. This caused some of the lime deposit to flake off, exposing the timber to weathering. The local business association and CALM staff replaced the timber sections of the flume and extended its length in an attempt to obtain additional water flow over the wheel. Following this, CALM installed a pipeline from a toilet block to the east of the site and erected a trickle irrigation sprinkler system, which was designed to prevent the flume timbers from splitting. This proved ineffective due to the insufficient volume of water available through the water supply system from the toilet block. In 1999, the Water Corporation and CALM staff erected a separate pipeline directly from Leeuwin Spring to the flume in a bid to ensure the flume and waterwheel were kept moist at all times.In 2002 the place was entered on the HCWA Register of Heritage Places.

Integrity/Authenticity

Medium: The use has been altered, but the original use is still clearly evident through interpretation of the fabric. Medium: The place has had some alterations, but the original intent/character is still clearly evident.

Condition

Fair *Assessed from streetscape survey only

Uses

Historic Themes

Creation Date

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