Greater Burrinjuck Dam Site

Greater Burrinjuck Dam
Greater Burrinjuck Dam
	Location of Greater Burrinjuck Dam in New South Wales
Location	Burrinjuck, Yass Valley Shire, New South Wales, Australia
Coordinates	34°59′16″S148°37′56″E / 34.9879°S 148.6323°E Coordinates: 34°59′16″S148°37′56″E / 34.9879°S 148.6323°E
Owner	Department of Planning and Infrastructure
New South Wales Heritage Register
	Official name: Burrinjuck Dam Site (Greater); Burrinjuck Dam Site; Barren Jack Barrenjack
Type	state heritage (complex / group)
Designated	2 April 1999
Reference no.	959
Type	Water Supply Reservoir/ Dam
Category	Utilities - Water

Last updated March 25, 2019

Greater Burrinjuck Dam Site is a heritage-listed dam surrounds at Burrinjuck, Yass Valley Shire, New South Wales, Australia. It is also known as Burrinjuck Dam Site and Barren Jack or Barrenjack. The property is owned by Department of Planning and Infrastructure (State Government). It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999.^[1]

Burrinjuck is a village community in the far eastern part of the Riverina. It is situated by road, about 15 kilometres southwest from Woolgarlo and 28 kilometres south from Bookham. The name of the town is derived from an Aboriginal word meaning 'mountain with a rugged top'. At the 2016 census, the Burrinjuck area had a population of 19.

New South Wales is a state on the east coast of Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria to the south, and South Australia to the west. Its coast borders the Tasman Sea to the east. The Australian Capital Territory is an enclave within the state. New South Wales' state capital is Sydney, which is also Australia's most populous city. In September 2018, the population of New South Wales was over 8 million, making it Australia's most populous state. Just under two-thirds of the state's population, 5.1 million, live in the Greater Sydney area. Inhabitants of New South Wales are referred to as New South Welshmen.

The New South Wales State Heritage Register, also known as NSW State Heritage Register, is a heritage list of places in the state of New South Wales, Australia, that are protected by New South Wales legislation, generally covered by the Heritage Act, 1977 (NSW) and its 2010 amendments. The register is administered by the NSW Office of Environment and Heritage, a division of the Government of New South Wales Department of Planning and Environment.

History

The word "Burrinjuck" is a corruption of the Aboriginal word "Booren Yiack" which is the name of the precipitous mountain overlooking the dam site. Initially translated to "Barren Jack", the name was changed c.1910 to "Burrinjuck" as the Government considered the new name to be more in keeping for the promotion of the new Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area development and to encourage new immigrants to take up settlement there. Burrinjuck City, a temporary township, was established to house workers during the construction of Burrinjuck Dam. Later, the buildings on river flats, the original access road to the town and works, old sand haulage railway, etc. were inundated by the rising storage of the dam. Presently, many of the early structures and artefacts still remain on the Burrinjuck Dam site, both above and under water. Some of the structures that remain above water include some staff cottages, a church owned by Church of England, the children's graveyard site (early burial ground of some workers' children), Lake de Burgh dam (owned by State Rail?), the Barren Jack Creek Water Supply Dam, etc. The site also contains many rare species of native flora and fauna.^[2]^[1]

The Government of New South Wales, also referred to as the New South Wales Government or NSW Government, is the Australian state democratic administrative authority of New South Wales. It is currently held by a coalition of the Liberal Party and the National Party. The Government of New South Wales, a parliamentary constitutional monarchy, was formed in 1856 as prescribed in its Constitution, as amended from time to time. Since the Federation of Australia in 1901, New South Wales has been a state of the Commonwealth of Australia, and the Constitution of Australia regulates its relationship with the Commonwealth. Under the Australian Constitution, New South Wales ceded legislative and judicial supremacy to the Commonwealth, but retained powers in all matters not in conflict with the Commonwealth.

The Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area (MIA) is geographically located within the Riverina area of New South Wales. It was created to control and divert the flow of local river and creek systems for the purpose of food production. The main river systems feeding and fed by the area are the Murrumbidgee and the Tumut. It is one of the most diverse and productive regions in Australia contributing over A$5 billion annually to the Australian economy. The MIA was first established in 1912 after the commissioning of Burrinjuck Dam. Further expansion occurred in the 1970s with the completion of the Snowy Mountains Scheme and construction of Blowering Dam on the Tumut River, which meets the Murrumbidgee near Gundagai.

Burrinjuck Dam is a heritage-listed major gated concrete-walled gravity dam hydro-electric dam at Burrinjuck, Yass Valley Shire, New South Wales, Australia. It has three spillways across the Murrumbidgee River located in the South West Slopes region of New South Wales, Australia. The dam's purpose includes flood mitigation, hydro-power, irrigation, water supply and conservation. The impounded reservoir is called Lake Burrinjuck. It was designed by L.A.B. Wade and built from 1907 to 1927 by Lane & Peters, Sydney. It is also known as Barren Jack Dam and Barrenjack. The property is owned by Department of Planning and Infrastructure. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999.

Description

The greater Burrinjuck Dam site is about 60km by road from Yass in southern NSW, and covers an area of some 500sq. Miles. The site contains many rare species of flora and fauna. Apart from the Burrinjuck Dam and related structures, the site also contains many structures and artefacts, both above a nd under water, which are associated with the early construction phases of Burrinjuck Dam. These include railway remnants, Lake de Burgh locomotive water supply dam, Barren Jack Water Supply Dam, the children's graveyard, the quarry site, the Office and Conference Centre, a number of staff cottages, a church, etc.^[2]^[1]

The children's graveyard site is accessible through dense shrubs. The site is identified by wire fencing although the cutrilage is unclear. The ground within the fence is generally clear of shrubs and have clumps of daffodils planted at various spots. The daffodils are said to mark the spots of burial. Outside the fencing, the grounds contain evidence of stone terraces.^[1]

The curtilage for the Greater Burrinjuck Dam Site includes Burrinjuck Village, the visual catchment of the Burrinjuck village precinct and the visual catchment of the dam wall and its environs.^[3]^[1]

Further information

Preparation of a Conservation Management Plan and a detailed archaeological study incorporating the whole site are highly recommended.^[2]^[1]

Heritage listing

The Burrinjuck Dam site is significant for its natural and cultural resources. It is the site of the first irrigation water storage in New South wales. It contains many rare species of native flora and fauna, as well as many structures an artifacts (both above and under water) associated with the construction of the Burrinjuck Dam. The site contains European archaeological sites, and probably Aboriginal sites.^[2]^[1]

Greater Burrinjuck Dam was listed on the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999.^[1]

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References

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Burrinjuck Dam Site (Greater)". New South Wales State Heritage Register . Office of Environment and Heritage. H00959. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
1 2 3 4 DLWC S170 Register
↑ DLWC May 2003 - Description updated Jan 2013

Bibliography

Heritage Group: State Projects (1995). Land & Water Conservation Section 170 Register.

Attribution

This Wikipedia article was originally based on Burrinjuck Dam Site (Greater) , entry number 00959 in the New South Wales State Heritage Register published by the State of New South Wales and Office of Environment and Heritage 2018 under CC-BY 4.0 licence , accessed on 28 May 2018.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
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[nswshr-959-1] 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Burrinjuck Dam Site (Greater)". New South Wales State Heritage Register . Office of Environment and Heritage. H00959. Retrieved 28 May 2018.

[:0-2] 1 2 3 4 DLWC S170 Register

[nswshr-959-1-3] DLWC May 2003 - Description updated Jan 2013