Beetaloo Reservoir in South Australia's mid north biggest concrete dam in the southern hemisphere in 1880s
The Beelatoo Reservoir in 1927. Its spillway was lowered in 1978. Inset: Commissioned by SA Water, artist Jessica Turner's work interprets the dreaming story of Nukunu Aboriginal people of two snakes (womba) as wrapped around the Beetaloo Reservoir to represent creeks, rivers and waterholes created in the area.
Images courtesy State Library of South Australia and SA Water
Beetaloo Reservoir’s concrete dam was the largest in the southern hemisphere when it was built between 1885-1890 to supply water to the mining and smelting works in the Copper Triangle on South Australia’s Yorke Peninsula. Near the mid-north town of Laura, Beetaloo was South Australia's first regional reservoir.
Copper had been discovered at Moonta on Yorke Peninsula in 1861. Local dams proved to be little value and all groundwater was saline. In desperation, sea water was boiled and the steam condensed as a source of drinkable water or water was carted by bullock dray from the limited supplies available 80 or more kilometres away at The Rocks near Balaklava on the Wakefield River and other places.
This forced the government to eventually decide to build a dam on the upper reaches of the Crystal Brook, inland from Port Pirie, and piping the water about 120 kilometres from there. The cost of construction was $331,200.
The mid 1880s saw high unemployment in parts of South Australia, especially among stone masons and general labourers,. The prompted an original plan was to build the new reservoir out of masonry. But, after seven quarries were opened to find suitable stone for the wall, masonry was abandoned in favour of concrete.
To help the unemployed labourers, the start of the project was rushed, with workers and supervisors were already on site before the final drawings had been prepared. During construction in 1886, 65mm of rain with hail "the size of tomatoes" fell on the catchment in two hours. A worker named Wilson trying to cross the swollen creek was swept to his death by the floodwaters.
Beetaloo also supplied water to Port Pirie, many small towns and a wide area of farmland. Baroota Reservoir, on the western edge of the southern Flinders Ranges, was built in 1921 to supply additional water to Port Pirie as part of the Beetaloo distribution network. Completed in 1921, Baroota didn't fill to the spillway until 1932. The original spillway was replaced in the mid 1950s and again in 1978.
By the end of the 20th Century, the 3.2 gigalitre Beetaloo reservoir was the smallest of SA Water’s 16 catchments in South Australia. It became an offline reservoir only, no longer supplying drinking water but an emergency source in the unlikely major failure of the Morgan-Whyalla pipeline. Baroota was still used for a small amount of irrigation.
Beetaloo Reservoir reserve was opened in the 21st Century to shore-based fishing.