Foundation of a capital

Frederick Campbell and Ernest de Burgh are not household names when it comes to Canberra’s early days but they should be. Without the championing efforts of these two men the nation’s capital would have most likely been located near Tumut or Dalgety.

Early consideration for the site of the National Capital focused on three things:

1. an ample water supply,
2. access to transport routes and
3. the site had to be located between Sydney and Melbourne.

The Canberra site had all these things but without proof that its water supply was superior to the other options it would be difficult convincing the decision makers.

Frederick Campbell, a member of a well-respected family and owner of Yarralumla Station (where the suburb of Yarralumla is now located, his 40-room house at Yarralumla which is now the residence of the Governer-General) was the first to make significant influence on the decision when he presented to a NSW inquiry in 1900 on the subject of the site of the National Capital. Campbell stated ‘The Cotter River supplies water of the purest quality; it could hardly be contaminated being in a rough country, where farming could not be carried out. The River was not affected by drought. There is a collecting lagoon at its heald largely fed by springs.’  Having lived through the worst of the Federation Drought (which occurred from 1895 to 1902), any river that had flowed throughout was viewed very favourably.

As deliberations continued, other voices were added in favour of the Cotter River but few resonated as loudly as Ernest de Burgh’s. In 1907, Ernest was directed to explore if there was any truth to claims (mainly from proponents of other site locations) that Canberra’s water supply was inadequate to sustain a large city. Ernest was an engineer but also a great communicator and in his report he stated, ‘it is impossible to imagine a catchment from which a purer supply of water could be obtained. The water is soft, and even in times of fresh (after flood), is clear and of good colour…There are few cities in the world where such a magnificent supply of pure water is available. From an absolutely uninhabited catchment, I have pointed out that an average of 85,000,000 gallons (386 megalitres) of water per day, or seventeen times the requirements for 50,000 persons, runs down the Cotter River…’  Ernest’s report was widely quoted and became a central document in the ongoing debate that would eventually result in a final tally of 19 votes for Canberra and 17 votes for Tumut (which had been substituted for the equally popular Dalgety site in the final vote) and the rest as they say is history…

“When you think that over an area approx. 9 miles in diameter which will be the city of Canberra, all sewerage and water supply is already laid on and that when any house is erected it can be at once supplied with water, electric light and connected to the sewerage system no matter where it is erected, you get an idea of the foresight which has been shown in the layout and preparation for the building of our capital. The longer you stay in Canberra and the more you see of it the better you like it. It is a city wonderful in conception and great in execution. As the policy is to allow no deviation however small from the plans as first prepared, we may certainly hope to see here in Australia the perfectly planned and built city.”

This is an excerpt from a letter, written by William Allison Glover (8 June 1906 - 16 July 1988), known as Bill, to his parents in Ballarat. It provided an eyewitness account of the transfer of the seat of government from Melbourne to Canberra, and a description of the young capital city of Australia. Bill marvels at many things in the letter but is greatly impressed with the planning and forethought that has gone in to designing the water and sewer systems.

Bill was born in Victoria and educated at Ballarat High School. As a member of the Melbourne University Rifles (later Melbourne University Regiment), Bill travelled to Canberra in May 1927 to attend the opening of Parliament House.

In 1915, in the early days of Canberra a decision needed to be made about what type of sewerage system would serve the community. The Public Works Committee had to make a decision between three options. The first option was to build a tunnel from the city to Weston Creek, treat sewage at Weston Creek and release the treated water for irrigation. The second option was similar but the tunnel would end at Yarralumla and the third option was to treat the sewage in the city and use the treated water to fill ornamental lakes. In the end, the first option was selected in March 1915.

The tunnel, which came to be known as the Main Outfall Sewer, began construction in 1915 but work was suspended in 1917 to divert resources to the war effort. By 1922, work had recommenced on the outfall sewer in preparation for Parliament relocating to Canberra. At this time work on an additional line, running from Parliament House and connecting with the Main Outfall Sewer at Yarralumla, also commenced. Construction on both of these lines was completed prior to the first seating of Parliament in Canberra in 1927.

In 1924, two additional sewer lines were also proposed and eventually constructed. These lines were the basis of Canberra’s sewer network for a number of years until the 1960s when a range of minor sewerage systems which had been built across the city were replaced by two new treatment plants at Fyshwick and Belconnen.

In addition to these plants, the original plant at Weston Creek was still operational and despite being upgraded, the plant was no longer appropriate to service the needs of the rapidly growing Canberra community. A review of sewerage operations recommended that individual treatment plants should be replaced by one large plant that could handle the expected increase in population and treat sewage to a high quality.

Construction began on a centralised plant in 1975 and in 1978, the Lower Molonglo Water Quality Control Centre was completed. At that same time, the Belconnen treatment plant was decommissioned. Other additions to Canberra’s sewerage network include the construction of Tuggeranong Sewer Tunnel in 1975, to connect Tuggeranong to the line at Weston Creek and another line, known as the Molonglo Interceptor Sewer, which runs from Weston Creek to the Lower Molonglo Water Quality Centre, completed in 1976.