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1920
15 April 1920
Kandos Water Supply
FROM THE UPPER CUDGEGONG PROPOSED SCHEME. ACCEPTABLE TO ALL PARTIES.
KANDOS, Thursday.
An inquiry was held at the Rylstone Police Court yesterday by Mr. Warden Burke into the subject of the applications by the New South Wales Lime, Cement and Coal Co. for leases and providing lands on the upper portion of the Cudgegong River for the purpose of weir construction, water conservation, and pumping station.
The applicant company was represented by Mr. G. W. R. McDonald, M.L.C. (one of the directors), and there were present Mr. Oakden (manager of the company) and Mr. Richards (Kandos works manager). Mr. C. A. Hardwick (instructed by Messrs. McPherson and Bawden, of Mudgee) appeared for Mr. W. R. Jones and eighty other persons, settlers and residents along the course of the Cudgegong as far as Mudgee, who had signed a petition against the proposals.
Mr. J. O. Ferguson, the owner of the lands on either side of the stream at the proposed site, appeared in person.
Mr. Engineer King, of the Water Conservation Branch, Public Works Department, represented the Crown.
After the inquiry had been formally opened, it was arranged that the parties and their representatives should confer with Mr. A. King as to the nature of the company's proposals, and their possible effect on the supply of water in the river, and for this purpose an adjournment was made.
It is understood that Mr. King's proposals at the conference were found to be acceptable to the parties.
Evidence was entered upon and given by Mr. Oakden and Mr. McDonald on behalf of the company; also by Mr. Engineer King; and by Messrs. W. R. Jones, T. Jennings (President of Rylstone Shire), and Mr. J. O. Ferguson, on behalf of the objectors.
The various parties, however, signified, their concurrence in the proposals laid down by Mr. King.
The Warden decided to recommend the granting of a lease at the site applied for for water conservation and pumping station and that the conditions laid down by Mr. King and agreed to by the parties, should be embodied as special conditions in any lease to be granted.
Mr. King's proposal was briefly as follows: -
"That the company should erect a retaining weir of a capacity or approximately twenty million gallons, at a site some little distance upstream from where they propose to place it, and also erect a gauging weir some further distance upstream, and also another gauging weir below what is known as Ferguson's Hole. Provision will be made that although the company will be pumping from Ferguson's Hole, the water there must be kept at running summer level, and this will be checked by the gauges respectively at the up and down streams, whereas so that at least two million gallons per day if available and flowing in at the top of the weir must be discharged from the outlet below Ferguson's. This will apply in the case of the supply being less than two million gallons, but in any such case the company would be prohibited from pumping during that time.
Mr. King said from tests made he found that the present approximate water flow at that part was one million gallons per day. Therefore, whilst the Kandos Company will be assured of the ample supply to keep their industries going under this scheme, the position of settlers and other persons along the stream will be at all events maintained, and possibly be bettered as compared with what it is under present conditions.
Mr. King's proposals also included a provision that in the event of the Crown or the Shire Council desiring to purchase water from the company, for supplies for town or district, they might do so at a cost not exceeding 1/3 per one thousand gallons, the purchasers providing, all necessary meters, connections, and the cost of any additions necessary to the weir.
Mr. Jennings (Shire President) stated that these proposals would prove acceptable to his Council, and, he thought, to the people interested throughout the area.
The inquiry lasted until 5 o'clock in the afternoon1
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25 August 1920
A slight accident occurred on Wednesday on the water scheme. A man was walking beside the tractor which is excavating the trenches for the pipes, and got his leg injured, by one of the treads of the tractor2
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Work in connection with the water scheme is still pushing on as fast as possible, well over eight miles of pipes have now been laid. Mr. Richards, of the Cement Co. (who is a brother of the late Lord Mayor of Sydney) has taken over charge of the water scheme, Mr. Floyd Richards having departed for America. It is said that the output of the Cement Company for the past month constitutes a record in its history3
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1921
17 February 1921
Cement Works.
DIRECTORS VISIT KANDOS. INSPECTION OF THE WEIR.
The directors of the New South Wales Lime and Cement (Kandos cement) Company, visited Kandos on Tuesday. They motored to Cudgegong head waters in the morning and inspected the weir that is to take the place of the weir destroyed by floods, which is being built and which is almost completed. In the afternoon they made a general inspection of the works, and of the extensions in progress, the completion of which will enable the Company to double their output of cement4 .
18 May 1921
KANDOS.
(From Our Own Correspondent.)
Last Wednesday marked the inauguration of the pipeline service from the Cudgegong river to the local cement works. This work has been under construction during the past 12 months, and costs approximately £38, 000, being built by the Wood Pipe Co. Mr. Richards was in charge during the early part of the work and on his return to Sydney was succeeded by Mr. Gregory. The test took place on Wednesday, when the pumping house ran for three hours, and on Thursday, when it was in operation during the whole of the day. This should remove a great deal of anxiety from the local management in regard to future supplies, when it is remembered what the water shortage during 1919 and the first half of 1920 cost the company5
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2009
17 January 2009
Secrets of the swamp Traveller NSW - DESTINATION WOLLEMI
Sean Mooney settles into a riverside camp where all the hard work has been done.
My wife's face isn't exactly a picture of happiness when I suggest we take the kids camping in a swamp. I shouldn't have been surprised by her lack of enthusiasm, given swamps generally mean mud and mosquitoes. And occasionally - at least in the movies - banjos and bloodshed.
I can report, however, that Dunns Swamp, a beautiful backwater on the western fringes of Wollemi National Park, is cursed by none of these things. In fact it's not a swampy place at all, which makes you wonder if the person who named it was trying to deter others. You can't blame them really - we discovered it's the kind of spot you want to keep to yourself.
I manage to persuade my family with descriptions of what the tourism operator, Wollemi Afloat, assures me will be a "hassle-free" camping experience. This pleased them greatly; it means they won't have to witness dad fumbling about in the dark looking for lost tent pegs.
We pack the car with sleeping bags, clothes and food, which is all we'll need for our two-night stay on the banks of the Cudgegong River. Four hours later we're driving along Narrango Road, which winds through surprisingly lush farmland near the town of Rylstone, about 50 kilometres south-east of Mudgee. High rock walls and stands of grey gums close in around the last few kilometres of the gravel road that lead us to Dunns Swamp camping area.
We're greeted by Bruce Marshall, owner of Wollemi Afloat and the lucky fellow setting up our campsite. He's chosen a top spot right by the water, protected from the wind by one of the great rock formations, or pagodas, that populate this region.
I count my blessings when I see our well-appointed campsite and blessed we turned out to be - the kids' tent is a leftover from World Youth Day. Marshall later confesses it had been going for a song after the papal frenzy subsided. A holy waterproof tent - things are looking up.
We're welcomed with gift packs of local produce (how did they know I'm a beetroot relish aficionado?) and bags stuffed with glowsticks, lollies and stickers for the kids.
Marshall has thought of everything, from soft airbeds to a marquee covering a dinner table bearing all the cutlery and cooking gear we could want. Bamboo torches lend the campsite a tropical charm after dusk. There is an ice-filled Esky awaiting our provisions, a fireplace stocked with wood, a hotplate and billy, a gas-powered barbecue and - the ultimate outdoor luxury - a hot-water bush shower. Only as the sun dips below the hilltops do we notice our shelter is adorned with solar-powered fairy lights. Nice touch.
The Wollemi Campers Package isn't cheap: two nights costs $440 for up to four people. A family of four with their own gear can camp at Dunns Swamp for $16 a night, so you would expect something special. The campers' package price includes a river cruise and unlimited use of canoes, both of which are absolute musts.
We spend the following days exploring what some claim to be the state's cleanest reservoir. We paddle past purple swamp hens hiding in the reeds, keen-eyed cormorants fishing from the rocks and herons on the hunt in the shallows.
We join Wollemi Afloat's business partner, Tony Crease, for a cruise on the twin-engined Swamphen up to Kandos Weir. Crease explains that Dunns Swamp was formed by the trapped waters of a weir, established in the 1920s when the river was dammed to provide water for a cement works. He also tells us tales of the land's traditional owners, the Wiradjuri tribe. Indeed, evidence of Aboriginal habitation could be found right beside our campsite, with hand stencils visible on the Campsite Rocks Walking Circuit.
This walk, and most others in the area, passes some spectacular rock pagodas. One of the first things you notice when you look at these impressive formations is the number of native cypress pines growing around them. This means bushfires haven't ravaged the area for some time, as the pines don't regenerate after a blaze.
In the evenings we feast on toasted marshmallows and locally grown pistachios, while keeping an eye out for nocturnal animals. We don't have far to go - a large wombat ambles through our campsite a couple of times. We try to spot the platypuses, spotted-tailed quolls, gliders and bandicoots that are said to inhabit Dunns Swamp but without any luck.
Most of the campers we meet are return visitors - the ranks of which we will be joining the next time we have a few days free to swap the city for the swamp.
FAST FACTS
Getting there
Dunns Swamp is a four-hour drive from Sydney, via Lithgow and Rylstone. The road is sealed all the way except for the last few kilometres which are unpaved with a few potholes - but it's nothing the family car can't handle.
Staying there
You can stay at Dunns Swamp camping area as part of the comprehensive Wollemi Campers Package ($440 for up to four people for two nights), or independently ($5 for adults and $3 for children a night). Phone Wollemi Afloat on 6373 4300 or NSW National Parks And Wildlife Service in Mudgee on 6372 7199.
Eating there
Catch golden perch, catfish or blackfish and cook on the barbecue - but take some back-up sausages just in case the fish aren't biting6 .