Western Australia’s Engineering Marvel: Mundaring Weir

Last Friday, me and my wife had a day off and the weather was very good, autumn was on its way after a months of unusual dry weather. She insisted we go on a scenic drive to somewhere near as it was a beautiful day to observe the natural beauty of Perth. We decided to go to Mundaring Weir which was about 37 kilometer drive from our home and 40 km from Perth CBD.

Mundaring Weir is a popular reservoir and dam located in the Darling Scarp. The concrete gravity dam is one of the finest Australian engineering marvel. The genius behind it was an Irish engineer, C. Y. O'Connor who was also involved in the construction of Fremantle Harbour in Western Australia.

Everything about the project can be found around the place including the Pump Station 1 museum. There are so many interactive displays that show the Goldfields Water Supply Scheme and the chief engineer magnificent works. The dam was built to provide Coolgardie and Kalgoorlie with water supply as goldmines were discovered there and was changing the face of Western Australia development. It was a great challenge to accommodate the growing population. The project was finished in 1903 but the engineer took his life due to many criticisms faced. You can see his statue in Mundaring Weir where you can pay homage to him for his brilliant works. There is a 556 kilometer pipeline from this place to Kalgoorlie to supply the place with water. The dam has been going many redevelopments due to the increasing demand.

From the height of Mundaring Weir walk you can enjoy the massive concrete wall - you will get light-headed due to fear of height looking at those downward slopy wall from such a height. The dam obstructs Helena river creating a reservoir. Even the reservoir looks so beautiful and calm from the above. While Helena river is the main tributary, much of the water supply is contributed by the rainfall.

The place is also suitable to have a picnic with your loved ones. They have all the things in place like bbq facilities. It's so beautiful and not crowded especially during the weekdays. It open early in the morning at 8:30 AM but closes by 4:00 or 4:30 PM and sometimes can even close due to adverse weather. The place got a beautiful walking trails, hiking trails, cyclist trails where you can emerge into the virgin Australian bushland that is still in pristine condition. You can get to see native birds, animals, plants and obviously Kangaroos.