DESCRIPTION
Niagara Dam is located on the Kookynie road and is a great place for a picnic or a stop over for a night or two if
you want to make use of the campsite.
Facilities include toilets, bins, seats, tables and water after decent rains. There are two campsites, one at the top of the dam and the other down below the wall. There is much more room at the lower area and there are flushing toilets at both locations.
There are walk trails around the dam including the 1600 metre Breakwaway trail and the 1150 metre round the dam trail.
When there is water in the dam it is possible to swim BUT care should be taken not to submerge your head or get water up your nose as amoebic meningitis (a potentially fatal disease) can be contracted in any body of still fresh water that is untreated.
The dam could once hold almost 39 million gallons of water and is located in one of the few good natural basin areas on the goldfields. The dam wall is 61 feet high, 570 feet long and 23 feet thick at the base.
The dam was constructed in the 1890s by H. Nelson and the price for construction was supposed to be 24,413 pounds 17/0 shillings. In the end due to mis-calculation by the PWD of the depth of bedrock, the cost blew out to 42,000 pounds. Water was one of the biggest issues on the goldfields and to construct the dam a large amount of concrete was needed. With no other transport available, most of the material was brought in by Abdul Waid and his 400 camels.
The dam was gazetted on May 6th 1897 but the actual date for completion of construction is not known.
Not long after the dam was completed a good source of underground water was found near Kookynie, the gold near Niagara ran out and the site did not really live up to expectations. Although it may not have served its intended role, the dam is a very welcome picturesque stop off for travellers today.
The name of the dam is an example of outback humour as there is a small waterfall in the area that only flowed after very heavy rains and was usually dry. Naming the falls and dam after the large, world famous falls in North America was typical of wry bush humour.
The dam wall developed a leak and it was decided by the local shire not to repair it. This means that the dam rarely reaches anything like full capacity these days and the water level is usually quite low.
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OTHER INFORMATION
ACTIVITIES
Walking, Swimming, Camping, Bird Watching, Wildflowers.
OTHER INFO.
Located off the Kookynie Road.
Local Government : Shire of Menzies
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