HUME DAM CONSTRUCTION CAMP
BONEGILLA ROAD BONEGILLA, WODONGA CITY
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Statement of Significance
This record has minimal details. Please look to the right-hand-side bar for any further details about this record.
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HUME DAM CONSTRUCTION CAMP - History
According to previous site inventory:
The construction of Hume Dam began in 1919, many of the World War I veterans arrived to build the reservoir (Wodonga City: A Jubilee History, Howard Jones 1998). The dam, completed in 1936, brought around 700 dam workers and their families to Wodonga, most of them settled in Wodonga and Mitta Junction Village. (Howard Jones, p5). The latter is the location of the Camp Site.
The Camp Site history is detailed in two archaeological reports:
Austral Archaeology (1997) and (1998).
These archaeological assessments were commissioned by the Murray-Darling Basin Commission through the Department of Land & Water Conservation. The survey (Austral 1997) present the results of a historical and archaeological survey of the former Mitta Junction township and the works site associated with the construction of the Hume Weir between 1919 and 1936 (Austral 1997:1). At the time of the survey the Department of Land& Water Conservation were undertaking remedial work on the Hume Dam and the report made recommendations on the conservation requirements, future management, interpretive potential and the necessity of some further work.
§ The report identified three particular sites as requiring archaeological excavation prior to their being impacted upon by the proposed activities associated with the remedial works currently being carried out on the dam wall.
§ These included the Camp Ganger's Quarters, Stableman's Quarters and the Industrial Dump (see site plan Austral 1998:4).
The archaeological excavations were reported on in Austral 1998 - under the Consent to Excavate (CE 98-10) issued by Heritage Victoria. This reports also made recommendations relating to artefacts recovered during thee excavations and those held at various locations around the dam (Austral 1998:45-46).
HUME DAM CONSTRUCTION CAMP - Interpretation of Site
Based on the inspection of Google aerials, there seems to be little change to the western section of the site, with the location of the township of Mitta Junction, the Stableman's Quarter's District and the workmen's camp seemingly preserved. All these areas are associated with the 1919-1936 construction camp. The eastern section of the site appears to have been affected by recent remedial works and it is likely that features such as the former access track, the Camp Ganger's Quarter's precinct and dump have been destroyed.
HUME DAM CONSTRUCTION CAMP - Archaeological Significance
Medium to High (the latter as per original assessment) significance - the Hume Dam is one of the earliest civic projects developed after Federation. While documentation and prior assessments provide a relatively well known chronology of the place, the remains of the construction camp were both an industrial and a domestic base for the dam project and have the potential to provide a comparative reference regarding one of the major national projects, as well as day to day life of the people who lived there.
HUME DAM CONSTRUCTION CAMP - Historical Significance
National significance - the Hume Dam is one of the earliest developments after Federation. It was the 2nd largest dam in the world at the time of its construction.
Heritage Inventory Description
HUME DAM CONSTRUCTION CAMP - Heritage Inventory Description
Site could not be accessed at the time of NE 2010 assessment (see page 7). Original card suggests it consists of the footings related to the workers camp occupied during the 1919-1936 construction of the Hume Dam.
Consists of the footings relating to the 1919-1936 construction camp occupied during construction of the Hume Dam Visible above grass are railway tracks, concrete supports, metal pipes and loading bays. Rectangular shaped depressions are visible.
Heritage Inventory Significance: National
Recorded by: L McKenzie Date Recorded: 08AUG1996
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HUME DAM CONSTRUCTION CAMPVictorian Heritage Inventory
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HUME DAM RACE TRACKVictorian Heritage Inventory
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