KINYPANIEL WEIR
BOORT-WEDDLERBURN ROAD, BROOT
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Statement of Significance
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KINYPANIEL WEIR - History
Dry conditions in the late 1870s prompted calls to build a weir across the Loddon River at Fernihurst to raise the water level and divert water down Kinypaniel Creek to Lake Boort. As drought conditions worsened in the early 1880s, the Loddon United Waterworks Trust was established (in July 1882) to develop water supplies in the district. The Trust let a contract to deepen a channel between the Loddon and Kinypaniel Creek that had originally been excavated by the pastoral tenants in 1851 and known as ‘Blackfellows Cutting’. Concurrent construction began in 1883 of both a temporary sandbag weir and, 200 metres downstream, a permanent timber weir across the bed of the Loddon River below the junction with Kinypaniel Creek. The temporary weir consisted of six heavy tree trunks placed across the river between two huge trees on the banks, with stakes driven in front of the logs and 2000 sandbags laid in front. The river had backed up 6 km and was 4 m deep in front of the weir when the weir failed and burst on 30 April 1883, flooding the permanent works lower down the river (The Argus 1 May 1883:6c). The temporary weir was soon repaired and on Sunday morning, 3 June 1883, water began running into Kinypaniel Creek on its way down to Lake Boort (The Argus 4 June 1883:4b). Construction of the permanent weir was completed by October 1884. The timber structure was 66 feet (20 m) wide at the main crest and 15 feet (4.5 m) above the riverbed, with water passing down by three steps to the level of the river. Protective timbers rose vertically 6 feet (1.8 m) each side of the main crest. A sluice-gate was placed in the Kinypaniel cutting to regulate the flow of water down the creek to the north and west. It consisted originally of a timber-lined pipe fitted with two iron gates in wooden frames with lifting screws. The trapezoidal profile of the weir on both the upstream and downstream faces was a common feature of weirs at the time, which served to protect adjacent riverbanks from scouring by floodwater. The weir backed up the Loddon River for c.15 km and sent water down Kinypaniel Creek to Lake Boort, Woolshed Lake, Lake Lyndger, Lake Yando and Lake Leaghur, converting an intermittent natural supply into a permanent managed supply. The Kinypaniel Weir became a ‘National work’ under the Irrigation Act 1886, as it commanded such a large area of country that it came under the authority of Parliament and the direct control of the Board of Land and Works. In 1911 the State Rivers and Water Supply Commission replaced the timber sluice-gate with a concrete structure, which remains in situ. The Kinypaniel Weir had begun to fail by 1928. A channel was constructed, 5 km in length, from the Western Waranga Channel to deliver water into Kinypaniel Creek below the weir. Construction of another channel in 1947 rendered the Kinypaniel Weir obsolete.KINYPANIEL WEIR - Interpretation of Site
The Kinypaniel Weir was built to raise the level of the Loddon River to divert water down Kinypaniel Creek to Lake Boort and beyond. Archaeological remains at the Kinypaniel Weir represent the main phases of the site’s history: 1-Blackfellows Cutting between the Loddon and Kinypaniel Creek was constructed in 1851 by the pastoral squatters at Boort Station (Henry and Frederic Godfrey) and Fernihurst Station (John Hunter Kerr). The cutting was enlarged in 1883 to accommodate flow devices. 2-The temporary weir on the Loddon was completed in June 1883. 3-The permanent weir was built about 200 metres downstream and was completed by October 1884. 4-The timber sluice-gate at Blackfellows Cutting was replaced with a concrete installation in 1911. 5-Kinypaniel Weir became obsolete by the 1940s and fell into ruin. The site of the Kinypaniel Weir today is part of the Loddon River Water Frontage Reserve.
Heritage Inventory Description
KINYPANIEL WEIR - Heritage Inventory Description
The Kinypaniel Weir consists of substantial in situ timber posts and other elements of the original weir preserved in the bed and banks of the Loddon River; an associated earth embankment; intact concrete culverts and lifting screws at the head of Kinypaniel Creek; and the formation of ‘BlackFellows Cutting’ between the Loddon River and Kinypaniel Creek. In addition, timber posts of the temporary weir built in 1883 are preserved about 200 metres upstream of the permanent weir.
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