A dam is a water reservoir in the ground, confined by a barrier, embankment or excavation, on a pastoral property or similar. The term is found widely in South African, Australian [1] and New Zealand English, and several other English dialects, such as that of Yorkshire. [2]
The term can be found in the old English folk song Three Jolly Rogues :
The miller was drowned in his dam,
The weaver was hung by his yarn
The expression "farm dam" has this meaning unambiguously, and where the barrier or embankment is intended, it may be referred to as the "dam wall".
Examples from Australia: [3] [4] [5]
On Wednesday, the 3rd inst., an inquest was held at the house of Mr. H. Lamshed, J.P. near Maitland, on the body of William Lamshed, who was drowned in his father's dam on that morning.
The machinery is now idle, owing to the water in the dam having dried up, but everything is in readiness for a start as soon as the rain sets in.
— Adelaide Observer (1870)
Will anything be done to dredge out silt from Stephens Creek and so increase its capacity? — Definitely no. Such an operation is never worth-while. It is always cheaper to dig a new dam.
— Barrier Miner (1943)
An example from New Zealand: [6]
A farmer, Wilfred Wylam Emslie, aged 60, was drowned on Saturday in a dam on a farm at Ōakura, while attempting to rescue sheep. Resuscitation attempts failed.
— Auckland Star (1931)
Examples from South Africa: [7]
Every Karroo house has a dam near it, and on a large farm there are generally three or four more of these reservoirs in different parts of the land.
— Home life on an ostrich farm (1890)
In the distance we could see the glimmering blue waters of a huge dam.
— Lady Sarah Wilson, South African memories (1909)
Water? We’ve a dam full to spare... The dam, situated between beautiful rolling hills, has numerous picnic sites around it and the dam itself is stocked with black bass and bluegill.
— Daily Dispatch (1925)
A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use, aquaculture, and navigability. Hydropower is often used in conjunction with dams to generate electricity. A dam can also be used to collect or store water which can be evenly distributed between locations. Dams generally serve the primary purpose of retaining water, while other structures such as floodgates or levees are used to manage or prevent water flow into specific land regions.
The Yorke Peninsula, known as Guuranda by the original inhabitants, the Narungga people, is a peninsula located northwest and west of Adelaide in South Australia, between Spencer Gulf on the west and Gulf St Vincent on the east. The peninsula is separated from Kangaroo Island to the south by Investigator Strait.
South Australian English is the variety of English spoken in the Australian state of South Australia. As with the other regional varieties within Australian English, these have distinctive vocabularies. To a lesser degree, there are also some differences in phonology (pronunciation). There is also significant influence from minority groups within the state, such as the ethnic German community, a sizeable amount of which speak Barossa German.
The common yabby is an Australian freshwater crustacean in the Parastacidae family. It is listed as a vulnerable species of crayfish by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), though the wild yabby populations remain strong, and have expanded into new habitats created by reservoirs and farm dams.
Happy Valley is a metropolitan suburb of Adelaide, South Australia. It is located 20 km south of the Central Business District of Adelaide.
Paskeville is a town on South Australia's Yorke Peninsula. It is located approximately 20 km east of Kadina on the Copper Coast Highway towards Adelaide. At the 2016 census, Paskeville had a population of 178. The town's district is administratively divided between the Copper Coast Council and the District Council of Barunga West.
Tooma Dam is a major ungated earthen embankment dam across the Tooma River in the Snowy Mountains of New South Wales, Australia. The dam's main purpose is for the generation of hydro-power and is one of the sixteen major dams that comprise the Snowy Mountains Scheme, a vast hydroelectricity and irrigation complex constructed in south-east Australia between 1949 and 1974 and now run by Snowy Hydro.
Maitland is a town on the Yorke Peninsula in South Australia. By road, it is 168 km (104 mi) west of Adelaide, 164 km (102 mi) south of Port Pirie and 46 km (29 mi) north of Minlaton. The town lies in the traditional lands of the Narungga, whose name for the district is Maggiwarda.
The City of Broken Hill is a local government area in the Far West region of New South Wales, Australia. The area contains an isolated mining city, Broken Hill, located in the outback of New South Wales and is surrounded by the Unincorporated Far West Region. The city is located adjacent to the Silver City and Barrier Highways and the Broken Hill railway line.
Geehi Dam is a major ungated rockfill embankment dam across the Geehi River in the Snowy Mountains of New South Wales, Australia. The reservoir impounded by the dam is known as Geehi Reservoir.
Henry Yorke Sparks was a pioneer businessman of South Australia, and a director of the South Australian Company,
The Tod Reservoir is located on the Eyre Peninsula in South Australia, in the localities of Whites Flat and Koppio, 27 km north of Port Lincoln. It is situated on the Tod River, the only stream on Eyre Peninsula, South Australia providing reliable flows; the reservoir is supplied by concrete channels fed from weirs constructed across the Tod River and its major tributary, Pillaworta Creek. The river was named after Robert Tod, who discovered it during explorations in 1839. The Tod River flows into Louth Bay in Spencer Gulf. The reservoir is listed on the South Australian Heritage Register.
Oulnina Station is a pastoral lease that operates as a sheep station in South Australia.
Henry George Tossell was an Australian politician who represented the South Australian House of Assembly multi-member seat of Yorke Peninsula from 1915 to 1930 for the Liberal Union and Liberal Federation.
Chowilla Dam was a proposed water storage reservoir on the Murray River in the 1960s. The dam wall would have been in South Australia, but the reservoir behind it would have stretched upstream into Victoria and New South Wales. The site was selected in 1960. Early preparations for its construction were conducted before the project was halted. These included a 23 km service railway from the Barmera railway line, which was dismantled without ever actually being used.
Henry Lamshed was a farmer and politician in colonial South Australia.
John Warren, frequently styled "Captain Warren" or "Captain Jack" after the traditional mining practice, was a mining engineer and mine manager in Australia.
Thomas John Greenway FIC was an English metallurgist and mining manager in Australia, closely associated with the development of the Broken Hill mines.
Charles James Fox BA was a newspaper editor and owner in Australia.
The Beetaloo Reservoir is a currently unused reservoir in the southern Flinders Ranges locality of Beetaloo Valley in the hills east of Port Pirie in the Mid North region of South Australia.