Greater Burrinjuck Dam Site is a heritage-listed dam surrounds at Burrinjuck,

Yass Valley Shire Yass Valley Council is a local government area in the Southern Tablelands region of New South Wales, Australia. The area is located adjacent to the Hume and Barton Highways and the Main Southern railway line. The Shire includes the towns, a ...

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

, Australia. It is also known as Burrinjuck Dam Site and Barren Jack or Barrenjack. The property is owned by Department of Planning and Infrastructure (State Government). 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

The word "Burrinjuck" is a corruption of the Aboriginal word "Booren Yiack" which is the name of the precipitous mountain overlooking the dam site. Initially translated to "Barren Jack", the name was changed c.1910 to "Burrinjuck" as the

Government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...

considered the new name to be more in keeping for the promotion of the new

Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area The Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area (MIA) is geographically located within the Riverina area of New South Wales. It was created to control and divert the flow of local river and creek systems for the purpose of food production. The main river s ...

development and to encourage new immigrants to take up settlement there. Burrinjuck City, a temporary township, was established to house workers during the construction of

Burrinjuck Dam Burrinjuck Dam is a heritage-listed major gated concrete-walled gravity hydro-electric dam at Burrinjuck, Yass Valley Shire, New South Wales, Australia. It has three spillways across the Murrumbidgee River located in the South West Slopes regio ...

. Later, the buildings on river flats, the original access road to the town and works, old sand haulage railway, etc. were inundated by the rising storage of the dam. Presently, many of the early structures and artefacts still remain on the Burrinjuck Dam site, both above and under water. Some of the structures that remain above water include some staff cottages, a church owned by Church of England, the children's graveyard site (early burial ground of some workers' children), Lake de Burgh dam (owned by State Rail?), the Barren Jack Creek Water Supply Dam, etc. The site also contains many rare species of native flora and fauna.DLWC S170 Register

Description

The greater Burrinjuck Dam site is about 60km by road from Yass in southern NSW, and covers an area of some 500sq. Miles. The site contains many rare species of flora and fauna. Apart from the Burrinjuck Dam and related structures, the site also contains many structures and artefacts, both above a nd under water, which are associated with the early construction phases of Burrinjuck Dam. These include railway remnants, Lake de Burgh locomotive water supply dam, Barren Jack Water Supply Dam, the children's graveyard, the quarry site, the Office and Conference Centre, a number of staff cottages, a church, etc. The children's graveyard site is accessible through dense shrubs. The site is identified by wire fencing although the cutrilage is unclear. The ground within the fence is generally clear of shrubs and have clumps of daffodils planted at various spots. The daffodils are said to mark the spots of burial. Outside the fencing, the grounds contain evidence of stone terraces. The curtilage for the Greater Burrinjuck Dam Site includes Burrinjuck Village, the visual catchment of the Burrinjuck village precinct and the visual catchment of the dam wall and its environs.DLWC May 2003 - Description updated Jan 2013

Further information

Preparation of a Conservation Management Plan and a detailed archaeological study incorporating the whole site are highly recommended.

Heritage listing

The Burrinjuck Dam site is significant for its natural and cultural resources. It is the site of the first irrigation water storage in New South wales. It contains many rare species of native flora and fauna, as well as many structures an artifacts (both above and under water) associated with the construction of the Burrinjuck Dam. The site contains European archaeological sites, and probably Aboriginal sites. Greater Burrinjuck Dam was listed on the

on 2 April 1999.

References

Bibliography

Attribution

{{NSW-SHR-CC, name=Burrinjuck Dam Site (Greater), dno=5012042, id=00959, year=2018, accessdate=28 May 2018 New South Wales State Heritage Register Burrinjuck, New South Wales Dams in New South Wales Articles incorporating text from the New South Wales State Heritage Register