Berembed Weir is a heritage-listed reservoir on the

Murrumbidgee River The Murrumbidgee River () is a major tributary of the Murray River within the Murray–Darling basin and the second longest river in Australia. It flows through the Australian state of New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory, desce ...

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City of Wagga Wagga City of Wagga Wagga is a local government area in the Riverina region of southern New South Wales, Australia. The Mayor of the City of Wagga Wagga is Cr. Dallas Tout, an independent politician. City, town and localities The City of Wagga Wagg ...

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, Australia. It was designed by

Ernest de Burgh Ernest Macartney de Burgh (; ; 18 January 1863 – 3 April 1929) was an Irish-born Australian civil engineer, chief-engineer for water supply and sewerage in New South Wales. Early life De Burgh was the youngest son of the Rev. William de Burg ...

and built from 1909 to 1910 by the New South Wales Department of Public Works. It is also known as Berembed Diversion Weir. It was added to the

New South Wales State Heritage Register The New South Wales State Heritage Register, also known as NSW State Heritage Register, is a heritage list of places in the state of New South Wales, Australia, that are protected by New South Wales legislation, generally covered by the Heritag ...

on 2 April 1999.

History

Berembed Diversion Weir is the main weir built under the Barren Jack and Murrumbidgee Canals Construction Act 1906. It was to divert water from the

into the Main Canal via an offtake regulator. The Weir was designed and its construction supervised by the Rivers Water Supply & Drainage Branch of the New South Wales Department of Public Works in 1909-10. Berembed is an Aboriginal name for "a heap of rocks". It was where the low hills near the river stood well above the flood levels and a wide granite bar extended under the river bed and banks. The Principal Chief Engineer, L. A. B. Wade, decided that this was a good combination for the siting of a diversion weir to divert water down the main supply canal. The Diversion Weir comprised a weir proper with 55 collapsible Chanoine wooden wickets, a lock chamber capable of taking barges or steamers up to 100 ft. (30.48m) long, and a sluiceway. An off-take regulator was built at right angle to the weir at the head of the Main Canal. In 1976-7, the weir was refurbished and the wooden wickets were replaced with fixed concrete which extends across the southern two-thirds of the river's width. In 1977, the Berembed Picnic Grounds was officially opened by Lin Gordon,

Minister for Water Resources The Australian Minister for the Environment and Water is a position which is currently held by Tanya Plibersek in the Albanese ministry since 1 June 2022, following the Australian federal election in 2022. In the Government of Australia, the ...

.(DLWC S170 Register) The staff cottage was destroyed by fire in 2012.

Description

The Weir is founded on a solid

granite Granite () is a coarse-grained (phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies undergro ...

bar extending across the river. It is 82.3m (270') between abutments, and is divided into a sluiceway 12.19m (40') wide, a lock chamber 12.19m (40') wide, and a concrete weir 50.29m (165') wide. The sluiceway and lock chamber area each controlled at their upstream ends by single iron-framed sluice gates of the "Stoney" pattern manufactured by

Ransomes & Rapier Ransomes & Rapier was a major British manufacturer of railway equipment and later cranes, from 1869 to 1987. Originally an offshoot of the major engineering company Ransome's it was based at Waterside Works in Ipswich, Suffolk. Ransome's split R ...

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. The total lift of the gates is 10.67m (35'). The original lock-gates at the downstream end of the lock chamber have been removed. The off-take regulator has 10 gates. The gates were originally of tallow-wood and were each in 3 leaves. These gates and the lifting gear were constructed at the Government Fitzroy Dock in Sydney. The gates have since been replaced. The site contains other early structures such as staff cottage, timber pilings, wicket memorial, and rare native flora and fauna.

Heritage listing

Berembed Division Weir is an integral and important part of the ambitious scheme launched under the Barren Jack and Murrimbidgee Canals Act 1906. It is an important structure in the control and diversion of water flow into the Main Canal to the Murrimbidgee Irrigation Area and surrounding districts. Berembed Weir was listed on the

on 2 April 1999.

References

Bibliography

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Attribution