The recent downpour has filled dams around the region to levels not seen in decades, with one such dam having an interesting history, according to local man Robert Lemon. The dam, to be found bordering the train line on the Harden side of the Cunningar silos, was used for many years as a water source for steam locomotives.
Robert says the dam was used for many years in the mid 20th Century, and featured a gravity fed, wooden piping system that followed the creek into town. Remnants of the piping system likely still remain in the creek. The dam bank still features a valve that was used to allow water to flow into the pipes, but it has since become sealed shut with time.
The dam, once it was no longer needed as a water source for the locomotive, became inhabited by large numbers of frogs, but a severe drought in the 1990’s would clear them out. Robert said he has not seen the dam return to it’s pre-drought level in decades, until recently, when the deluge saw a massive increase in the water level.
