The Goldfields Water Scheme was designed and built under the supervision of C.Y. O’Connor 1898 and 1903 to pump fresh water from the Darling Range in Perth to the arid Goldfields. The scheme was built with eight seperate sections to overcome the difficulty of pumping water uphill over such a great distance. A dam, the pipeline and eight pump stations were the components of the scheme.

A dam known as the Mundaring Weir, was built on the Helena River to store water to be pumped to the Goldfields. O’Connor’s assistant, TC Hodgson considered 17 sites before choosing this one. In 1898, during the excavation of the weir foundations, a huge boulder was unexpectadly revealed. When it was removed a deep fault in the bedrock was found. Overcoming these problems delayed construction for one year. The concrete wall was completed in June 1902. A construction camp on the worksite was home to about 300 workers and their families during the building of the weir.

Pipeline

The pipes were made of steel plates imported from Germany and America. Two steel plates were bent to form semi-circles and joined using the locking bar system invented by Mephan Ferguson. The locking bar replaced the practice of riveting the plates together. This new system minimised the risk of leakage as no holes were drilled into the pipes and it also reduced internal friction as there were no rivet heads to slow the flow of water inside the pipes. Where possible, the pipeline was built alongside the route of the existing railwayline to enable the pipes to be easily transported. The length of the train carriages determined the length of the pipes(8.5m). The pipes were laid in trenches to reduce contraction and expansion caused by extreme temperatures. Lengths of pipe were joined as they were laid using a process that packed the joint with lead. Over 60 000 joints were required and this process was done by hand until a caulking machine that produced consistent joints and saved time and labour, the machine was invented by James Couston in 1901.

Pump Stations

Eight pump stations were built along the length of the pipeline. The water had to be pushed up and over the height of the Darling Range and then to the Goldfields- a lift of 340m and a distance of 540km! Number one pump station drew water directly from the Mundaring weir and number three used an existing railway dam. The other six stations had a large concrete tank to hold water which flowed from the previous pump station and from which water was then pumped to the next.

Approximate distances from the number one pump station:

No. 1   Mundaring Weir

No. 2   O’Connor     2km

No. 3   Cunderdin     120km

No. 4   Merredin     220km

No. 5   Yerbillon     270km

No. 6   Ghooli     345km

No. 7   Gilgai     395km

No.8   Dedari     465km

  Development of the scheme

  Since 1903

The pipeline has been upgraded

and the scheme extended since it

was first built. The pipes were

reconditioned or replaced during

the 1930s and 40s to overcome

corrosion problems. They were

lined with concrete, placed above

ground and the lead-packed joints

were replaced with welded joints.

Several sections of the pipe -

With a total of 64 km – were temporarily

replaced with wooden pipes

made of karri, which were used for

30 years