The Engineering Works of the River Murray - National Engineering Landmark #26 Yarrawonga, Victoria, Australia
By Team MavEtJu on 10-Oct-15. Waypoint GA7551

The Engineering Works of the River Murray - National Engineering Landmark #26

The River Murray is one of Australia's major rivers. It rises in the Snowy Mountains and flows westwards along the border between New South Wales and Victoria into South Australia. There it turns southward and eventually flows into the Great Australian Bight, a total distance of 2500km.

This great river provided an important water transport route and had the potential to "make the deserts bloom". However in its natural state the flow was much diminished during recurrent droughts, and the calls for some control over its vagaries grew persisted.

After decades of fruitless debate in colonial times, the newly-created Federal Government brokered an agreement with the three States in 1914 to construct a series of locks and weirs. These structures would facilitate navigation up to Echuca in Victoria and to Hay on the Murrumbidgee River in New South Wales. The weirs would create ponds of water from which pumps would deliver water for irrigation. In addition the flow in the river was to be made more reliable by the construction of two large storages, one in the headwaters (Hume Dam) and one near the South Australian border (Lake Victoria).

The decline in river traffic meant that not all the weirs and locks were built. Instead a series of barrages was constructed across the Murray mouth to exclude salt water from the lower reaches of the river. In 1961 and 1979 the storage capacity was greatly increased to expand the irrigation areas and improve long term reliability.

The contents of the plaque:

THE ENGINEERING WORKS OF THE RIVER MURRAY

The inter-governmental conference on the waters of the River Murray of Xxxx in 19xx gave rise to one of the great engineering initiatives of the new Federation. The creation of the River Murray Commission in 1915 by the governments of the Commonwealth, New South Wales, South Australia (SA) and Victoria (VIC) established the framework under which the four governments would work together for the equitable efficient and sustainable use of the waters of the River Murray and lower Darling River. A comprehensive scheme of works, comprising Hume and Dartmouth Dams, Lake Victoria, Menindee Lakes and a series of locks, weirs and barrages from Yarrawonga to the Murray mouth, have been constructed to support irrigation, urban water supply, hydro-electric generation, navigation, recreation and flood mitigation throughout the Murray Valley. Their purpose continues to be to contribute to human welfare. The challenge remains for current and future generations to ensure that continuing operations sustain the health of the river's ecological community.

Similar plaques are at Hume Dam and Blanchertown Weir.

DEDICATED BY THE INSTITUTION OF ENGINEERS, AUSTRALIA AND MURRAY DARLING BASIN COMMISSION, 2001 – THE CENTENARY OF FEDERATION

When logging this virtual, please add a photo of yourself or your GPSr at the plaque.

For more information, please see the nomination PDF at the Heritage Register at the Engineers Australia website: Nomination