Midwest, Goldfields, Wildflowers Trundle - Part 6 - Niagra Dam & Karalee Rock - Western Australia

 Hello dear blogging friends. I hope you and yours are doing well. I thought before the year finishes I better finish off our Wildflower-Midwest-Goldfields Trundle. But I see now there is going to be two posts to finish this off. If you didn't see the last post you can revisit here - Part 5 - Leonora, and Gwalia, Western Australia

We are going to be free camping for the next few nights. Here is the map again - we have just left Leonora and are heading south through the goldfields area towards Niagra Dam and then passing through Kalgoorlie to Karalee Rock on the Great Eastern Highway before turning north to Beringbooding and Elachbutting Rock before returning home via Bruce Rock. 

Niagara Dam is located about 83 kilometres south of our last stop, Leonora, and 191 kms north of Kalgoorlie via the Kookynie Road. It is a great place to stop for a picnic, or to free camp overnight or for a few days. We discovered this little oasis years ago and have camped here several times. There are plenty of places to set up camp and we have found it to be a quiet camp. As we didn't have a long way to go from Leonora, we had a lazy get up and arrived at Niagra before lunch-time. 

The 30,000,000 gallon Dam was built in 1897 with cement hauled on 400 camels from Coolgardie by the Afghan cameleer Abdul Waid. The Dam was to provide water for the now abandoned goldmining town of Niagara, the surrounding district, and for the steam locomotives using the railway linking Kalgoorlie, Menzies and the northern goldfields. John Alway pegged the first gold lease in the Niagara area in January 1895, followed rapidly by other mining leases.

Underground water was found at Kookynie soon after Niagara Dam was completed, and the Dam proved unreliable due to intermittent rainfall.  Named after a nearby waterfall which proved to only flow after heavy rain, Niagara was a little different to its gigantic namesake.

There are two walk trails – the Round the Dam Trail (1150 metres) and the Breakaway Trail (1600 metres). The walks are relatively easy and are well marked with steel marker posts approximately every 70 metres letting you explore and learn about the landscape through the interpretive panels. The path takes you across the dam wall - no jumping or diving. 

These rocky outcrops are called breakaways - Breakaways are a notable feature of inland Western Australia. Softer soils have gradually eroded through the repeated action of wind and water. Only those areas with a hard laterite (ironstone/granite) top have resisted this reshaping erosion.

There was a gorgeous display of the Tall Mulla Mulla - Ptilotus exaltatus which is prolific through midwest and northern Western Australia. It always signals to me when we travel north that we have travelled out of the south west. They are one of my favourites. There are around 100 varieties of Mulla Mulla. I have added a few more to my photo list since I wrote this post in 2017. 

And some birds - we think the one on the left is the Grey-headed honeyeater and on the right is the Cockatiel weiro (often a household pet as it responds well to people). 

It was a beautiful still, quiet night and we toasted marshmallows over our campfire. 

The next morning we headed south to Kalgoorlie, passing through Menzies around 60kms from Niagra Dam. There is an interesting story to read on my blog about the Menzies Town Hall clock here - Menzies - Town hall without a clock. As you can see it now has a clock - but didn't have for around 100 years. 

We only stopped in the gold mining town of Kalgoorlie briefly before heading west to our next stop Karalee Rock - around 372km from Niagra Dam - arriving early afternoon. 

Located not far off the Great Eastern Highway 177 km west of Kalgoorlie, we have camped at Karalee Rock several times over the years, and it is one of my favourite free camps.  We decided to stay for two nights. 

There is plenty of places to set up with lovely shady camp sites suitable for caravans, camper trailers and tents. The only disappointment was that the toilets weren't operating. It is a popular site to camp so I hope they fix them soon. 

There are walk trails around and over the rock. And plenty of opportunity to take photos of wildflowers, including orchids in season. Orchids can particularly be found in the rock gardens were water collects on the rock. We enjoyed pointing some of these tiny orchids out to some other visitors to the rock. 

Below you can see, clockwise from top left - Thelymitra antennifera - Lemon scented sun orchids (I love their little faces), we think is the blue Cyanicula amplexans – Dainty Blue Orchid, Prasophyllum gracile - Little Laughing Leek (so tiny), and the Caladenia roei - Clown orchids (I love their stripy trousers). 

Karalee Rock is one of the stopping points along the Golden Pipeline Heritage Trail which follows the 560 kilometre Perth to Kalgoorlie pipeline, and is one of a number of rain water rock catchments built in the 1890s to service the steam trains on the Eastern Railway from Perth to the Goldfields. The rock's history goes back thousands of years to when Aboriginal people camped here and collected water from the rock’s gnamma holes and soaks.

When the railway between Southern Cross and Kalgoorlie was completed in 1896 a series of rock walls, an aqueduct and 48.3 million litre dam was constructed at Karalee to collect rain water off the two granite rocks and provide water for steam trains en route to Kalgoorlie. 

Six kilometres of granite slab walls up to a metre high, all cut from the rock itself and laid by hand, surround Karalee Rock forming a rain catchment. 

These walls direct rain water to flow off the rock into the dam via a large semi-circular steel flume aqueduct, which was hand riveted at each joint.  The water was then pumped 3.6 kilometres south to the railway siding. The construction was an enormous achievement of both manual labour and horsepower.  

And more wildflowers - it really is a lovely place to stop and relax, walk or just sit and read under the shade. 

You often see Ornate Dragon lizards darting across granite rocks - you need to be quick to get their photo

And last year when we were camped at Karalee we came across a Tiger Snake slithering across the rock. Deadly poisonous - you don't want to get tangled up with one of these. Stand still and back away slowly.

I hope you have enjoy this part of our Midwest, Goldfields and Wildflowers Trundle. Next time I will take you to Beringbooding and Elachbutting Rocks for the final part of our tour. 

These are free camping spots with basic facilities, be self-sufficient: gas BBQ, fire rings, bins, long-drop toilets, chemical toilet dump point. Bring own firewood and be aware of fire bans. Please be respectful of other campers. Please take away your rubbish. 

You might also like:

Perth to Kalgoorlie Pipeline - the need for water on the goldfields - 2013

Menzies: Town Hall without a clock - 2019

Camping at Karalee Rock - 2018

Is there a snake in your camp - don't get bitten!  -2018

Midwest, Goldfields, Wildflower Trundle - Part 5 - Leonora and Gwalia - 2024

Camp food - Western Australian wheatbelt granite outcrops -2012

For the love of Mulla Mulla - 2017

Thank you so much for stopping by. I hope you are enjoying my continuing tour.  I value your comments and look forward to hearing from you. I will try to visit your blogs in return. Have a wonderful week.

 

I am linking up to the link-ups below. Please click on the links to see fabulous contributions from around the world - virtual touring at its best!
   

Mosaic Monday @ Soul & Mind & So On

Saturdays Critters - Viewing Nature With Eileen

Travel Tuesday

Talking About It Tuesdays @ Slices of Life

ThroughMy Lens 
Image-in-ing
My corner of the world through my camera 
Wednesday Around the World at Communal Global hosted by Randomosity. 
       and Little bird - Pienilintu
Thankful Thursday 
Welcome to Nature Thursday

Hello there! I love reading your comments. If you scroll down to the bottom you can comment too! I would love to hear from you.

Until then, enjoy your day... it won't be back. 

The need for water on the goldfields - Perth to Kalgoorlie Pipeline Project - Western Australia

Welcome back. 
Last week we continued our tour north from Cave Hill along the Woodlines to Coolgardie and I told you a little about the goldrushes and the Perth to Kalgoorlie Pipeline. 
Click here if you missed it - Coolgardie - Gold Fever

Most Australians have probably heard of the Perth to Kalgoorlie pipeline in Western Australia. It is a feature of the Great Eastern Highway as you travel between Perth and Kalgoorlie. You can follow the Golden Pipeline Heritage Trail and stop at interpretive sites along the way where you can learn more about this huge engineering project.

When gold was discovered at Coolgardie and Kalgoorlie, thousands of prospectors flocked to the goldfields. In the arid and hot dry conditions of the goldfields, water was scarce and was sold by the can and became more expensive than whiskey. Water supplies from artesian bores, wells (such as Hunt's well at Gnarlbine - see previous post) and condensing plants, provided some water, but not enough for the thousands of people and livestock at the goldfields The lack of fresh water led to poor sanitation and diseases such as typhoid. 

John Aspinall in 1895 described condensed water as "inspid, resembling boiled water with a dash of galvanized iron and several other unrecognizable substances including smoke".

In 1895 the first plans were prepared by Engineer-in-Chief CY O'Connor, for an engineering feat that would stagger the world — an attempt to pump fresh water uphill 560 kilometres from Mundaring Weir in the Darling Ranges near Perth to the goldfields of Coolgardie and Kalgoorlie.

The story of the CY O'Connor and the pipeline is revered in WA history. Built between 1898 and 1903, the pipeline has delivered water to Kagloorlie for over 100 years.

What I didn't know was that sections of the pipe were replaced with wooden pipes wrapped in wire in the 1930s.  As we travelled along the Golden Pipeline Heritage Trail, just east of Yellowdine we found coils of wire laying by the old pipeline and wondered what they had been used for. 

The original pipes were constructed from steel but over the years corrosion and leakage occurred. During the 1930s the pipes were lifted, repaired or replaced, lined with concrete, re-laid above ground on concrete blocks and the lead-packed joints were replaced with welded joints. 

 

 Unemployment was very high during the Depression. The Goldfields Water Supply Department was put under political pressure to replace damaged sections with wooden pipes, providing jobs, boosting the timber industry and saving costs. 

 

The wooden pipes were made of karri planks bound together with galvanised wire, and then coated with tar and bitumen. 64 kilometres of wooden pipes were used in low pressure sections. However they were plagued with leakage problems, termite damage and dry rot, and were all replaced in 1971.

Where possible the pipeline was built alongside the route of the existing railway line to enable the pipes to be easily transported. Interestingly, the length of the train carriages determined the length of the pipes (28 feet or 8.5 metres). Eight pump stations were built along the length of the pipeline to push the water along the pipe. Below you can see the old Merredin Pumping station. 

 CY O'Connor was a great visionary and is much revered in Western Australian history.  He was responsible for planning and building major public works during the 1890s that stimulated the development of Western Australia including the Fremantle Harbour.  

The pipeline project was one of Australia's greatest engineering feats of the nineteenth century. Sadly he never lived to see the pipeline operating. Funding delays, political resistance and extreme criticism took a toll on O’Connor and he tragically took his life in the ocean near Fremantle on 10 March 1902, ten months before the pipeline’s completion. 

CY O'Connor

Lord and Lady Forrest officially opened the scheme ten months after O'Connor's death, in three separate ceremonies at Mundaring, Coolgardie and Kalgoorlie on 22 and 24 January 1903. The scheme cost £2 655 220, only slightly more than O'Connor's estimate made seven years earlier (which did not include the extension to Kalgoorlie). 

Today the Goldfields and Agricultural Areas Water Supply Scheme supplies water for domestic, stock and mining purposes to 33,000 rural and town services, to over 100 000 people throughout the goldfields and surrounding agricultural areas, through 8,000 km of pipe over an area covering 44 000 square kilometres. An average of 90 million litres of water is pumped daily taking 5-11 days to reach Kalgoorlie. The pipe network holds 300 million litres of water.

Below you can see the end of the pipe at the Mt Charlotte Reservoir in Kalgoorlie and a view of Kalgoorlie from Mt Charlotte. Today, Mount Charlotte Reservoir is used as a reserve tank. A new main holding tank is located on Mt Percy to the north.

 To learn more, please go to: Golden Pipeline
Valuing Heritage - the Pipeline 

The boys enjoyed exploring the pipeline too!
Thank you for stopping by - I hope you have enjoyed the continuation of our tour. 

 I look forward to hearing from you.

My story about the Perth to Kalgoorlie pipeline was published in "Curious Australis" - January 2014 edition of On The Road magazine. 

I am linking up to Mosaic Monday, Our World Tuesday and Travel Photo Thursday.  Please click on the links to see other contributions from around the world - Mosaic Monday -  Our World Tuesday   Travel Photo Thursday

You might also like - 

Kalgoorlie - History written in gold

Golden West Discovery Trail - red dirt and gold fields