Smith, Pam, Aidan Ash, Donald Pate (Department of Archaeology, Flinders University), Maggy Ragless and Doug Lane (Mitcham Heritage Research Centre, City of Mitcham)

Brownhill Creek Water Scheme, 1878-1930: A Water Supply System in Colonial South Australia

The site of Adelaide, the capital of colonial South Australia, was chosen because of the availability of quality water. For the first few years after colonisation in 1836, water was obtained from the River Torrens, from wells and from rainwater tanks. As the population grew, water carriers carted water from the river, selling it to householders for up to 3s per 50 gallons. It was, however, soon apparent that the exisiting supplies were inadequate. In the 1840s and 1850s a number of water schemes were proposed, including a water works on Brownhill Creek; this was eventually commissioned in 1878. The scheme comprised a 30,000 gallon water storage tank, stone dam and settling pond on Ellison's Creek, a branch of Brownhill Creek, about 2 miles of 6 inch cast iron pipeline imported from Scotland and a high-level reservoir above Mitcham. By 1930 the system was obsolete and by 2002, when this project was initiated, the water storage tank, dam, dam wall and most of the pipes were buried under sediment and their locations forgotten. Aim: The aim of this collaborative project was to locate and record the 19th century water works and the pipeline route from Ellison Gully to the plains. Method: Whilst undertaking an analysis of the regional cultural landscape a water works easement was identified on a nineteenth century map. Five field trips were undertaken during 2002 and 2003 to locate and record the water works. The identification of the tanks, settling pond, dam wall and water pipe and of complex site formation processes were revealed by clearing dense undergrowth, probing with a metal probe, tracing with a metal detector and collecting and testing sediment samples. Results: The locations of all features associated with the water works were identified, documented and entered on a GIS database. Sections of the pipeline were visible in the creek, whilst other sections were located using a metal detector. The pipeline ended at the Mitcham high-level reservoir, a local feature. The intense sedimentation was shown to be a feature of the Brownhill Creek catchment resulting from land clearance and colonial agricultural practices.

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