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Category: Dam

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Glennies Creek Dam Singleton

Lake St Claire

Glennies Creek Dam Singleton

Recent rain in March 2022 has caused floods along the east coast of Australia, actually the whole summer of 2021/22 has been wet. The resulting damage has been extensive to many communities. Of course, this has followed on from drought, bushfires and low dam levels in previous years. The local Glennies Creek Dam which supplies Singleton dropped to under 35% full at one stage and was back up to 75% in February. The flooding rain has pushed this up to 96% which will be a great relief to everyone in the area, despite the damage caused.

History of Glennies Creek Dam

Due to increasing demand, Glennies Creek was constructed to supplement the Upper Hunter’s water supply from Glenbawn Dam. Glennies Creek Dam is a curved rock-fill embankment wall with a concrete slab on the upstream face. The wall is 535 metres long and 67 metres high.

The dam’s small 233 square kilometre catchment includes the Mount Royal National Park. In comparison, Glenbawn Dam has a catchment of 1,300 square kilometres although it has a capacity of 750GL compared to Glennies’ 283GL.

The water stored behind the dam is called Lake St. Claire.

Photos of the dam and lake in March 2022

Located 25 minutes from Singleton in the New South Wales Hunter Valley, Lake St Claire is popular with locals for boating, camping and fishing. Because of its proximity to Singleton it is a great day trip.

The landscape around Singleton is very green for this time of year. Usually, the end of summer sees the landscape looking dull brown and dead . This year however, because of the rain everything is a lush green.

Driving to the dam wall, we parked at the small carpark and went exploring. You are able to walk over the dam wall to the far side of the lake. This is great as you can take pictures from lots of different angles.

Further along the road is a camping ground and boat ramp, which has become very popular as the water level has risen.

Countryside around Lake St Claire
Countryside around Lake St Claire
Glennies Creek Dam Wall Singleton
Glennies Creek Dam Wall
Glennies Creek Dam Wall Singleton
Looking over Glennies Creek Dam Wall
Glennies Creek Dam Wall Singleton
Glennies Creek Dam Wall
Lake St Claire
Lake St Claire
Lake St Claire
Lake St Claire
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Mount Paris Dam Wall Tasmania

Mount Paris Dam Wall

Mount Paris Dam Wall

Mount Paris Dam Wall, on the Mt Paris Road, is the only surviving pillar and slab dam in Tasmania. Built across the Cascade River using only shovels and wheelbarrows in 1937, it was originally named the Morning Star Dam. An 11 Km water race connected it with the Mt Paris Mine. The mine closed in 1970 and the dam fell into disuse. A hole blasted into the 16 metre high wall in 1985 released the water, improving the flow of the Cascade River. In the middle of the dam, most of the vegetation has now grown back, the only indication it was ever any different is the dam wall which still rises starkly before you in the middle of the bush.

How to Get There

Driving from Launceston is a 90 minute drive, while Hobart is three and a half hour drive away. Our day started at St Helens and the Bay of Fires on the east coast and only took one hour. The final part of the drive on Mount Paris Dam Road is on dirt, so be careful and drive to the conditions. The drive takes you through logging areas which are re-growth managed forests, where you will see clear felled trees. You will also see the stages of re-growth where the forestry management have replanted trees for future use.

Dirt Road
Mount Paris Dam Road

Car Park and Bush Track

A small sign indicated the direction to a carpark along a small dirt track. From here, a short walk takes you to the dam wall and the Cascade River.

Bush Track
Track Down From the Car Park

The Dam Wall

The old dam wall stands in stark contrast to the forest growing around it. Now completely surrounded by tall trees and ferns, the concrete wall looks like something from a lost city. The breaches in the wall allow you to walk through to the other side, where the dam once flooded the forest. This area has also regrown so that it is hard to see where it was flooded.

  • Mount Paris Dam Wall
  • The Dam Wall and Cascade River
  • Hole in the Mount Paris Dam Wall
  • Cascade River Flowing Through the Breach in the Dam Wall
    Cascade River Flowing Through the Breach in the Dam Wall
  • Cascade River Flowing Through the Breach in the Dam Wall
    Ferns Growing Near the Breach in the Dam Wall
  • Cascade River Flowing Through the Breach in the Dam Wall
    Cascade River Flowing Through the Breach in the Dam Wall

What Did We Think?

This was an amazing stop which we were very pleased to have done. The dam area is quite surreal, because of its large concrete structure in the middle of a forest.

To read other posts about Tasmania, click here.

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Cordeaux Dam New South Wales Australia

Upstream Wall of Cordeaux Dam

Cordeaux Dam

Constructed between 1918 and 1926, Cordeaux Dam provides water to Macarthur and Illawarra regions, the Wollondilly Shire, and metropolitan Sydney.

Egyptian-Style gateways and housings on the dam wall enhance the appearance of the structure and reflect the time of construction, as many Australian soldiers served in Egypt during World War One.

Cordeaux Dam was listed on the New South Wales State Heritage Register in November 1999, because of the architectural, social and engineering values. Not only does it supply water, but it has great historical and current social value.

How to Get There

Located 90 minutes from Sydney and 30 minutes from Wollongong, it is a nice place to stop on your way to Picton Road. From the entrance, follow the road to the upper car park, where you can stop, or continue to the lower park and the dam wall. Shelters and seats at both locations provide shade and great picnic areas as well as toilet facilities.

The Dam

After Parking at the lower level, we walked across the dam wall, which let us see the architecture up close. Walking the length of the wall enabled us to see the spillway and the housings in detail. Brass plaques on the housings and gateways provide details on the dam, which informs visitors about its construction.

Specifications for Cordeaux Dam:

  • Total capacity: 9.364×10−5 billion gigalitres; 24,736 billion US gallons (20,597×109 imp gal).
  • Greatest depth of water: 52 metres (170 ft).
  • Greatest height of wall: 58 metres (191 ft) (above foundations).
  • Length of crest including pylons: 404 metres (1,327 ft).
  • Area of lake: 781 hectares (1,931 acres) (when full).
  • Top water level 304 metres (996 ft) AHD .
  • Completed in 1926.
  • Cost: A£945,000 ($1,908,000).
  • Concrete in wall: 215,176 cubic metres (281,440 cu yd).
  • Length of spillway weir: 152 metres (500 ft).
  • Width of crest: 5 metres (16.5 ft).
  • Width of base: 46 metres (150 ft).

Dam Grounds Opening Times

  • 10 am to 5 pm daily
  • Extended hours, 10 am to 7 pm, on weekends and public holidays during daylight saving time
  • Entry is free
  • Entry is not permitted 15 minutes prior to closing time
  • Before travelling check that the dam is not undergoing maintenance and closed
  • Upstream Wall of Cordeaux Dam
    Upstream Wall of Cordeaux Dam
  • Downstream Wall of Cordeaux Dam
    Downstream Wall of Cordeaux Dam
  • Roadway at the Top of the Dam Wall
    Roadway at the Top of the Dam Wall
  • Plaque of the Dam's Specifications
    Plaque of the Dam’s Specifications

What Did We Think?

We though it was a great place to stop on our trip to Jervis Bay, because the dam wall is interesting and the picnic tables and shade areas are well set up.

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To see what else there is to do in New South Wales, please see some of our other stories.