35-655: The Canning Jarrah Timber Company was a timber and timber railway company operating in the Darling Range in Western Australia in the 1890s. The company was registered in London in 1898. It built the Upper Darling Range railway . The railway developed the communities of Canning Mills , Kalamunda , and nearby locations, enabling delivery of materials to Perth ; this included timber and other produce. The railway
70-402: A substation and chlorination facility were decommissioned. New treatment facilities included pre-treatment, filtration, chlorination, stabilisation and fluoridation . The old facilities were not able to sustain increasing water demands and current Australian drinking water guidelines. Aesthetic water qualities such as colour, taste and odour had deteriorated over the years. Mundaring Weir was
105-567: Is a concrete gravity dam (and historically the adjoining locality) located 39 kilometres (24 mi) from Perth , Western Australia in the Darling Scarp . The dam and reservoir form the boundary between the suburbs of Reservoir and Sawyers Valley . The dam impounds the Helena River . A soldier, Ensign Robert Dale , became the first European to explore the region in 1829. European populations did not grow significantly until construction of
140-550: The Archaean Yilgarn Craton in the east from the younger Pinjarra Orogen and overlying Phanerozoic Perth Basin to the west. The Darling Fault is exposed for over 1,000 kilometres (620 mi), from the area east of Shark Bay , to the southern coast of Western Australia east of Albany . The location of the scarp must once have coincided with the location of the fault , but the scarp has since eroded about 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) eastwards. The original location of
175-649: The Serpentine National Park , John Forrest National Park and the Greenmount National Park , or were simply known as State Forests (e.g. State Forest No.42). Following a change in 2005, the separate parks have been known as the "Parks of the Darling Range", and take up 23,948 hectares on the scarp. Further in August 2008 the parks were given indigenous names: Mundaring Weir Mundaring Weir
210-572: The Swan River Colony occurred in the 1830s. The best known of these is the expedition of Ensign Robert Dale , who appears to have gone from a point near Guildford , to the south side of Greenmount Hill and up through the Helena Valley . The Darling Scarp originated as the local expression, in the Perth area, of the extensive Darling Fault , a major and ancient geological discontinuity separating
245-638: The Water Authority of Western Australia 's operations at the Weir maintained housing for its workers. There is a youth hostel (built at the site of the now defunct primary school), an art gallery in the area, and many picnicking spots. There is still rangers' housing at the site, along with functioning pumping stations and water treatment facilities. The 963 kilometres (598 mi) walking trail Bibbulmun Track commences in Kalamunda following Piesse Brook , then along
280-594: The "edge" of the scarp are those that sit at its western edge, and in most cases command excellent views of the Swan Coastal Plain : The suburbs near Midland and Kalamunda are often referred to as the Perth Hills . The suburbs to the south of Kalamunda are the locations of the main Perth Metropolitan television station transmission towers. There is also another site at Mount Lennard near Collie that Services
315-421: The 1830s show the scarp labelled " General Darlings Range"; this later became Darling Range, a name by which the formation was still commonly known in the late 20th century despite common understanding of it being an escarpment. There is also a tendency to identify the locations on or to the east of the scarp as being in the " Perth Hills " (or simply "The Hills"). The earliest traverses by British settlers in
350-464: The Southwest areas including Bunbury . Also in the late twentieth century, dieback affecting jarrah timber in particular infected large tracts of the forest. Currently only the restriction of vehicle access has proved effective in slowing the spread of this disease. This gained greater acceptance and publicity through the decision to allow Rally Australia to operate along services roads provided that
385-518: The dam in the late 1890s. This involved the building of a Mundaring Weir railway line from Mundaring to the Mundaring Weir site. The Irish Australian engineer C. Y. O'Connor was involved in the design of a scheme that transported water to the Eastern Goldfields of Coolgardie and Kalgoorlie in the eastern part of Western Australia. The weir was completed in 1903. The lake created by
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#1732909891572420-527: The dam was known as the Helena River Reservoir , it was renamed as Lake C.Y. O'Connor in 2004. The owner of the dam, the Water Corporation , refers to the weir as Mundaring Dam on its website, but no other authority, such as Geographic Names, or Geoscience Australia uses this term. The Shire of Mundaring uses an image of the Mundaring Weir in its logo. Work commenced to raise the dam in
455-421: The early 2000s, Greenmount National Park and John Forrest National Park were repeatedly burnt by bushfires - in most cases through suspected arson. A network of reserves of crown lands on the escarpment have been connected into a regional park to maintain and conserve parts of the escarpment. In most cases the reserves or parks had individual names prior to being incorporated into the larger park, for example
490-479: The early to mid-twentieth century numerous rock quarries existed on the edge of the escarpment - visible and affecting both the aesthetics and the environment of the escarpment. In the area where the Helena River emerges from its valley to the sandplain , there are still four quarries evident, despite being unused as quarries for fifty years or more. Mountain and Stathams quarries are now managed as rock climbing locations. There have also been visible quarries on
525-701: The east of the Swan Coastal Plain and Perth , Western Australia . The escarpment extends generally north of Bindoon , to the south of Pemberton . The adjacent Darling Plateau goes easterly to include Mount Bakewell near York and Mount Saddleback near Boddington . It was named after the Governor of New South Wales , Lieutenant-General Ralph Darling . The feature was first recorded as General Darling Range by Charles Fraser , Government Botanist with Captain James Stirling aboard HMS Success in March 1827. Maps from
560-663: The easternmost limit of the various aquifers present in the Perth Basin sediments, most notably the Southwest Yarragadee Aquifer . The scarp forms a divide between the hypersaline groundwaters typical of the Yilgarn Craton basement from the fresh ground waters of the Perth Basin. Some dams along the scarp are contaminated by seepage of saline water from the granite into the base of the dam's water column and must be periodically flushed to preserve water quality. Also in
595-419: The fault, are of Cenozoic age, and are composed of materials such as sandy limestone , travertine and dune sand on which the city of Perth is built, including sand dunes of Pleistocene age formed during the last glacial period . This area is also a distinct physiographic section of the larger Yilgarn Block province, which in turn is part of the larger West Australian Shield division. The Scarp, like
630-457: The hills, giving higher rainfalls in settlements in the ranges compared with their coastal neighbours. The scarp is part of the Jarrah Forest bioregion. The natural vegetation of the scarp is predominantly jarrah–marri forest , characterised by jarrah ( Eucalyptus marginata ) and marri ( Corymbia calophylla ), with bullich ( Eucalyptus megacarpa ) and blackbutt ( Eucalyptus patens ) in
665-615: The late 1940s, and was completed in November 1951. In the early 1970s the downstream dam from the weir —the Lower Helena Pumpback Dam —was constructed. It last overflowed into the Helena Valley in 1996. In the first fifty years overflows were a regular occurrence. The 1950s raising of the weir affected overflows, but they continued. In the 1960s the weir regularly overflowed. Like any structure of its age and design,
700-453: The lower zig-zag section of the end of the railway line (which can still be seen when the capacity of the dams falls below approximately 35%) feature prominently in postcards of numerous weekend and special picnic excursion trains that travelled to the weir from the 1910s until the late 1940s. The steepness of the Mundaring weir railway line restricted the capacity of the railways to conduct
735-435: The monitoring tunnels. The weir leaks, and the photos below show consistent stain/moisture points between 2008, 2010, 2020 and 2024, where water moves through the structure: A new pump station with an initial capacity of 165,000 cubic metres (5,800,000 cu ft) per day, and an ultimate capacity of 240,000 cubic metres (8,500,000 cu ft) per day, commenced operations in March 2014. The existing two pump stations,
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#1732909891572770-512: The picnic trains, as the Msa Garratt locomotives were the most suitable, but in short supply, at times when the weir was overflowing in the 1940s. The railway line was closed in 1952. Additionally, a tramway, using timber rails, was constructed to convey sawn timber from a mill 3 miles (4.8 km) from the site of what is today known as The Dell in Paulls Valley to the weir from where it
805-453: The rest of south west Australia, has a Mediterranean climate, with mild rainy winters and warm dry summers. Average annual rainfall is 1300 mm along the scarp, declining to the east and north. Often the Bureau of Meteorology identifies different weather for "the hills" in comparison to that of the Swan Coastal Plain . Also, in traditionally hot summers, strong easterly winds travelling across
840-542: The scarp have presented serious issues for planes using the Perth Airport because of the alignment of the runways. On 2 September 1999, the number one engine of a Qantas Boeing 747 , en route from Sydney Airport coming into land on Runway 06/24, struck the runway surface upon landing, due to wind shear caused by rolling winds on the Darling Scarp. In addition, orographic uplift is produced when rain clouds move over
875-476: The scarp in the Gosnells and Herne Hill areas. Legislative restrictions upon such developments were initiated in the late twentieth century to prevent further visible scars on the western face of the scarp. In the late twentieth century, the proving of bauxite deposits correlating to the extensive jarrah forests saw wide-ranging protests against the proposals to mine the forests. Campaign to Save Native Forests
910-590: The scarp is indicated in places by an unusual landform known as the Ridge Hill Shelf . The Darling Plateau is covered by lateritic materials that cover the underlying geology. The Archaean granites and gneisses of the Yilgarn Craton form the high ground of the Perth Hills and can be observed in road cuts, with good examples in the Mundaring Weir area. The only exposed sediments of the Perth Basin, west of
945-635: The south side of the Helena valley. Crossing the weir wall the track follows the northern side of C.Y.O'Connor lake before turning south and continuing the journey to Albany . The history and context of the whole Goldfields Water Supply Scheme was celebrated by the Golden Pipeline project, where the Water Corporation had the National Trust of Australia (WA) create an " interpretation " of the history of
980-655: The supporting communities existed along the escarpment because of the high quality jarrah forests. In the early twentieth century, most of the main rivers flowing off the escarpment had mainly been used for dams for water supply for metropolitan Perth. The dams on the scarp include: The only free flowing water from the Darling Range in the Peel Region is the Dirk Brook in Keysbrook and the Murray River . The scarp also defines
1015-469: The terminus of the Mundaring Weir branch railway , which was originally constructed by the Public Works Department of WA for the transport of materials for the construction of the dam. It was only after the completion of the weir that the location became popular with picnickers and sightseers, as the project caught the imagination of the public in Perth. The landscaped grounds of the weir, and
1050-695: The valleys. The Darling Range ghost gum ( Eucalyptus laeliae ) is endemic to the western slopes of the scarp. Heath is found on granite outcrops. Low woodlands of Banksia grow on sand sheets. Native mammals include the quenda ( Isoodon fusciventer ), chuditch ( Dasyurus geoffroii ), woylie ( Bettongia penicillata ogilbyi ), and brush-tailed phascogale ( Phascogale tapoatafa wambenger ). Quokka ( Setonix brachyurus ) and western ringtail possum ( Pseudocheirus occidentalis ) are often restricted to riparian areas. The Darling escarpment has been exploited for stone quarries , forestry and bauxite mining. Extensive timber railways and timber mills and
1085-454: The vehicles had a thorough wash including the under carriage at the end of each stage. In late 2004, the largest bushfire in the northern Jarrah Forest for at least 100 years created significant issues for the forest as well. As a result of this fire intensity the Government increased the volume of controlled burns along the entire escarpment to reduce the buildup of flammable materials. In
Canning Jarrah Timber Company - Misplaced Pages Continue
1120-399: The weir requires monitoring and repairs and maintenance. On the original structure the central small building was used for aspects of monitoring the weir's internal status – it was rebuilt on the heightening of the dam, although it was no longer used for its original purpose. In 2009 two face wall entrance points were created on either side (north and south) of the face to facilitate access to
1155-479: Was one group to oppose the activity. The lengthy process of protest forced the government and miners to check their original proposals, and wide-ranging processes to guard segments of the jarrah forests from mining ensued. The current mining activity in the region is extensive - the main mines being Huntly and Willowdale. The building and developing of rail access across the scarp developed three separate main routes over eighty years. The localities or suburbs on
1190-577: Was railed on the above railway line. It opened in 1909 and closed in 1913. The old "Pumping Station Number 1" is now the C Y O'Connor Museum run by the National Trust . There is also the Kookaburra outdoor cinema , and the Department of Environment and Conservation has the Hills Forest activity centre, as well as a regional administrative office. Before rationalisation of its work force at this locality,
1225-509: Was taken over by the Western Australian Government Railways in 1903. The company was absorbed into Millars Karri and Jarrah Forests Limited in 1902. This article about rail transport in Western Australia is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Darling Range The Darling Scarp , also referred to as the Darling Range or Darling Ranges , is a low escarpment running north–south to
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