Junction Reefs Dam facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Junction Reefs Dam |
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| Location | Belubula River, Lyndhurst, Blayney Shire, New South Wales, Australia |
| Built | 1897–1896 |
| Architect | Oscar Shulze |
| Owner | Department of Planning and Infrastructure |
| Official name: Junction Reefs Dam, Land in the vicinity of; Belubula Dam | |
| Type | state heritage (landscape) |
| Designated | 2 April 1999 |
| Reference no. | 702 |
| Type | Historic Landscape |
| Category | Landscape - Cultural |
| Builders | Oscar Shulze |
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The Junction Reefs Dam is a very old dam in New South Wales, Australia. It is located on the Belubula River near Lyndhurst. This dam is special because it was the first multi-arch dam ever built in Australia. It was designed by Oscar Schulze and finished in 1896. People also call it the Belubula Dam. Today, the New South Wales government owns this important historical site. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register in 1999.
Contents
Dam History
The area around Junction Reefs on the Belubula River has been a place for gold mining since the 1870s. To help with mining, the Belubula Dam was built in 1896. It took about nine months to complete.
Building the Dam
The dam was built in a deep, narrow valley. It stood about 61 meters above the gold crushing mill. About 40 workers built the dam. They were supervised by a well-known engineer named Oscar Schulze.
This arched dam was the first of its kind in Australia. Schulze was a forward-thinking person. He believed in using better windmills and waterwheels for big industries. He also spoke out against using steam, gas, and petroleum engines when other energy sources were available. The Junction Reefs Dam and its water power system gave him a chance to show his ideas. He wanted to prove how his theories could help the mining industry.
After the dam was finished, Schulze gave a speech in Melbourne in 1897. He explained how he came up with the final design for the dam. The brick buttress design was chosen because it was the cheapest and fastest to build. Good clay for bricks was found right next to the dam site. Once built, the dam held back water for 2 kilometers up the river. It stored enough water to keep the mining machines running for three months, even if the river stopped flowing.
Dam Structure
The Belubula Dam is quite large. Its total length along the top, including the overflow area, is 431 feet (about 131 meters). The dam is straight, not curved, when you look at it from above. The highest point of the dam, from its deepest base, is 60 feet (about 18 meters). The brick part of the dam is 36 feet 9 inches (about 11 meters) high.
Buttresses and Arches
The dam has six large supports called buttresses. These buttresses are 28 feet (about 8.5 meters) apart from each other. Each buttress is 40 feet (about 12 meters) long. They are 12 feet (about 3.6 meters) wide at the top. The front walls of the dam's foundations get a bit thicker as they go down.
On top of these foundations, the buttresses were built with bricks. Each buttress forms a curved shape, like a part of a circle. They get thinner from the center to the outside, from 8 feet 6 inches (about 2.6 meters) to 4 feet (about 1.2 meters) thick.
These buttresses act like piers or columns. They support five brick arches that are shaped like ellipses. These arches also get thinner as they go up, from 4 feet (about 1.2 meters) thick at the bottom to 1 foot 7 inches (about 0.5 meters) at the top. They lean at a 60-degree angle. The spaces between these arches were filled with concrete. This concrete covers the top of the arches, making them 2 feet 7 inches (about 0.8 meters) thick at their thinnest part.
Dam Extensions and Features
On each side of the main dam, the ground rises. The dam wall continues for about 100 feet (about 30 meters) into the hillsides. These parts are made of concrete. They have the same 60-degree lean on the water side as the arches. However, they are almost straight up and down on the back side. The top width of these extensions is 2 feet (about 0.6 meters).
The main part of the dam is 347 feet (about 106 meters) long. It has a straight, smooth, cemented face on the water side. The back of the dam has ribs, showing five open spaces under the arches between the buttresses.
An overflow area, called a bye-wash, was built on the east side of the dam. It is 65 feet (about 20 meters) wide and has five openings for water to flow through. A wall was also built on a rock foundation to guide the water away from the dam. The design also allowed for very large floods to flow over the dam between the buttresses.
Water Management
During construction, a channel was left open. This channel, now arched over, works as an emergency water exit. A special part of the main wall has a 5-foot (about 1.5 meters) well. This well allows the dam's reservoir to be emptied down to the level of the main water pipe. A thick wooden lid usually covers this well. It can be lifted using a powerful hydraulic ram, which is like a strong pump.
The main water outlet goes through the dam wall. It is a 24-inch (about 61 cm) cast-iron pipe. The entrance to this pipe is a brick tunnel that gets wider and rises. This tunnel, along with the emergency outlet and two smaller flushing pipes, is covered by a wooden grate. This grate is shaped like a stepped roof and is surrounded by a basin to collect sediment. An earth dam was built across the river bed above the main dam. This temporary dam helped to move the river away from the construction site when needed.
Construction Materials and Cost
The dam used about 6,000 cubic yards (about 4,587 cubic meters) of concrete and 500,000 bricks. About 5,000 barrels of cement were also used. Not as much cement was needed because large rocks were placed in the concrete. These rocks made up about one-fifth to one-third of the concrete's total volume. The total cost to build the dam was less than £9,000.
To stop the reservoir from filling up with silt (mud and sand), a special wooden structure will be built across the valley at its upper end. Some she-oak trees were left standing in the river bed there to help support this structure. All other trees in the reservoir area were cleared away.
In 1998, the dam wall was reported to be in excellent condition. Even though the water storage area is mostly filled with silt, the dam wall itself is still strong. It has held up well for over 100 years. Some old mining machinery can still be found nearby.
The dam is on government land. There is hope that it could become a public park in the future. It might even have a mining visitor center and picnic areas.
Heritage Importance
Industrial archaeology in Australia helps us learn about the jobs and businesses of early European settlers. Looking at old industrial sites shows us how New South Wales developed. The Central West Region was one of the first inland areas settled in NSW. Its old sites give us physical proof of history. This is especially true for industrial remains. They show how English technologies were brought to Australia and changed to fit local conditions.
Gold Rush Connection
The Junction Reefs Dam was built because of the New South Wales gold rush in this area. Its main goal was to provide water power. This allowed gold mining to continue more steadily in the Lyndhurst goldfield. Gold rushes had a huge impact on the land. They changed the look of the environment. They also brought more money, both for people and for public projects like buildings and infrastructure. Gold rushes also led to the rise and fall of communities.
Unique Design
The Junction Reefs Dam was the first multi-arched dam built in Australia in 1897. This makes it very special and unique in New South Wales.
The Junction Reefs Dam is considered very important to the state of New South Wales. It was listed on the New South Wales State Heritage Register in 1999 because it met several important standards:
- It shows how cultural or natural history developed in New South Wales.
* From an engineering point of view, it is very important as the first multi-arch dam in Australia. * For mining, it is historically important because it shows how water power was used to run machines for processing gold ore.
- It shows great creative or technical skill in New South Wales.
* The dam looks beautiful because of its graceful design, using arches and curved brick buttresses.
- It has a strong connection with a community or group in New South Wales.
* The designer, Oscar Schulze, was a visionary. He understood the value of clean energy like water power. He preferred it over expensive, non-renewable sources like coal, wood, or oil. He was strong-willed and went ahead with his ideas, even when other engineers criticized him.
- It can teach us more about the history of New South Wales.
* The dam can help us learn about old dam-building methods. It also shows how water power was used instead of steam, oil, or diesel power.
- It is rare or uncommon in New South Wales.
* The dam is unique to NSW. It was the first of its kind built in Australia.
- It shows the main features of important cultural or natural places in New South Wales.
* The dam is a classic example of how mining engineering technology developed and improved in Australia.
Engineering Award
The Junction Reefs Dam received a special award called an Engineering Heritage National Marker. This award came from Engineers Australia as part of their Engineering Heritage Recognition Program.
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