The Hume Dam and Lake Hume

James Ryan
3544829
MHI 2018

Fig 1. The power station (bottom left),

Hume Dam wall (left) and embankment
(centre background) 2018

A Significant Place in Australian History

The ‘Hume Dam across the Murray River [was] one of the largest in the British Empire’.i The Dam holds
Lake Hume at bay, which is approximately four times the size of Sydney Harbourii and stands as a testa-
ment to Australian engineering. It is an integral piece of infrastructure for water management in the Murray-
Darling Basin, which covers 14 percent of Australia and contains around 40 percent of Australia’s agricultur-
al production.iii Initially designed to control water for irrigation along the Murray River it was later increased
in capacity and had a hydro-electric power station constructed as part of the dam, these later improvements
allowed for affordable power generation and the growth of a booming tourism industry. However, there were
unforeseen problems that arose from the dam’s construction in the form of damage to both the environment
and to historical sites of cultural significance.

Dam Construction
Named in honour of Hamilton Hume, one of the first
European explorers to travel through the Albury Wodonga
region,iv the Hume Dam was the largest section of an enor-
mous irrigation project undertaken by Victoria (Vic), New
South Wales (N.S.W) and South Australia (S.A).v The
Hume Dam was key in moderating water flow along the
Murray River through a system of 35 locks and weirs (Fig
2).vi Preparation for the dam’s construction took four years
from its initial approval on the 17th of August 1915,vii this
was largely due to important investigative work needing to
be undertaken before final construction approval could be
granted. It had to be ascertained whether sufficient fresh
water supply to prevent salinity in lower river areas, partic-
ularly in S.A, could be achieved.viii
Fig 2. Man standing in almost dry Murray river bed
before construction
 Testing the viability and suitability of the Mitta Mitta and
Murray River junction as a dam site that could provide the re-
quired amount of water storage took approximately 200 testing
bores,ix which once completed, had settled all questions posed
by the River Murray Commission to approve commencement of
construction works on the 25th of April 1919. Construction finally
began on the 28th of November 1919 (Fig 3) with the Minister of
Public Works in Vic estimating that the construction works would
take fifteen years to complete.x The Dam in fact took sixteen
years to complete and was officially
opened on the 28th of November Fig 3. Commemorative plaque on
1936. (Fig 3) the Dam Wall

The water in Lake Hume cover an area approxi-

mately 50 miles of the Murray Valley and around
25 miles of the Mitta Mitta Valley, which when
combined submerges a total area of 44,000
acres.xi The constructed infrastructure of the Hume
Dam consists of the South Wing Wall which is
1,042 feet of concrete along with an earthen em-
bankment reinforced with concrete at a length of
3,827 feet (Fig 4), together the wall and embank-
ment total a length of 5,300 feet.xii It was a massive
engineering feet and an important employment op-
portunity for post WWI Australian society. It was
the largest dam in the Southern Hemisphere re-
quiring thousands of workers from the local region
and from around Australia costing a total of
£5,500,000,xiii which was £500,000 under original
construction estimates.xiv
The rigorous planning that took place prior to the
dam’s construction was vital in future proofing the
project. Initially the dam was to hold 1,250,000
acre feet of water,xv however, at a conference held
by representatives of the involved states in Can-
berra on the 19th February 1930 it was announced
that the dam could be increased to a capacity of
2,000,000 acre feet.xvi Along with increasing the
amount of water storage in the future, provisions
were put in place to allow for further utilisation of
the lake in the form of hydro-electricity which would
‘provide power and light for a considerable area
[of] both New South Wales and Victoria.’xvii
Power station upgrade
and birth of a new industry
On the 28th of February 1950 the N.S.W
Cabinet agreed to the construction of the hydro
power station within the Hume Dam.xviii It was
estimated that construction would cost
£2,100,000 which would be funded by the
N.S.W Southern Electricity Supply System and
that the State Electricity Commission of Vic
would provide equal share of annual running
costs for the power station.xix The power station
was completed in 1957. To ensure that the pro-
posed hydro scheme would not leave local resi-
dence and future growth in the region at a dis-
advantage, the N.S.W Country Party member
for Murray Joe Lawson insisted that residence
in the region be given preference to the power
generated by the dam.xx He had specific con-
cerns with the power supply connection at Bur-
rinjuck which would then be syphoned by the
more power-hungry city of Sydney. Lawson in-
sisted that ‘The availa-bility of cheap electric
power for pumping purposes… would en-able
the extension of irrigation into higher areas, and
make their proper development a sound com-
mercial pro-position.’xxii

Fig 4. reinforcement inside soil embankment

2
As previously mentioned, along with the power station’s construction at the Hume Dam,
the capacity of the lake was increased to 2,000,000 acre feet. This proposed increase in
water level meant a decision had to be made as to the fate of the town of Tallangatta, the
town would be submerged unless it relocated.xxiii To help sell the move the Victorian
Premier declared in 1952 that Lake Hume could potentially become a great tourist attrac-
tion.xxiv Relocation of the town to Bolga began in the early 1950s, (Fig 5) this site on the
edge of the lake was chosen due to the deeper waters present off shore which would re-
sult in less frequent mud flat exposer on shorexxv and would help facilitate a growing tour-
ism industry for the town.

Fig 5. Pearson residence being relocated from Old Tallangatta to Bolga (New Tallangatta)

As predicted the tourism industry grew around Lake Hume, however, tourism was not al-
ways consistent mainly due to drought (which I will discuss in further detail later). Albury/
Wodonga and the surrounding towns that benefited from tourism found that unpredictable
water levels created a ‘major obstacle to their objectives’ for growth in the tourism sec-
tor.xxvi In 1988 an economic study was undertaken by the Murray Darling Basin Commis-
sion (MDBC) to explore the viability of recreational tourism on Lake Hume and the poten-
tial impact it could pose to power generation and agricultural irrigation. xxvii The study
found that if water in the dam could be kept at a minimum of 85 percent capacity the
whole region would gain $2.2 million from tourism, but, this would cause a loss to irriga-
tion and power of $67 million and $800,000 respectively. Based on the results of the
study, the MDBC decided to alter the way in which they held water in Lake Hume which
has ultimately benefited the tourism industry. In Wodonga alone, the tourism industry has
grown to generate over $814 million annuallyxxviii from the 2,584,293 visitors to the re-
gion,xxix while tourism and industries associated with the lake also account for almost 10
percent of Wodonga’s total employment.xxx

3
 Unforeseen Consequences
Despite the agricultural, power and eco-
nomic benefits gained from the Hume Dam’s
construction there has been significant cultural,
historical and environmental impacts. Drought is
a part of Australian life, so much so that control-
ling water by means of major construction works
such as the Hume Dam have become a neces-
sity to minimise drought impact. But despite
these attempts to regulate drought impact it
hasn’t prevented them, drought’s have occurred
approximately every 20 years since the dam’s
construction. The worst of these occurring in the
1960s, 80s and 2000s. In 1968 Lake Hume was
almost empty by the end of February,xxxi this
also occurred in February 1983 and again in
2007 when the lake dropped to less than two
percent capacity.xxxii The drought in the 2000s
lasted almost a decade and became known as
the ‘millennium drought’,xxxiii the drought’s sever-
ity prompted the Federal Government to act.
Prime Minster John Howard initiated a $10 bil-
lion National Plan for Water Security in 2007
transforming the MDBC into the Murray-Darling
Basin Authority, the Authority became federal
rather than state controlled and was responsible
for maintaining sustainability of the entire Mur-
ray-Darling Basin’s water resources.xxxiv McCor-
mick states that the Authorities main purpose is
to ensure that ‘The social, economic and envi-
ronmental outcomes of the water resources
must not be compromised’xxxv and must outline
and implement strategies to manage climate
related water issues.xxxvi However, despite the
Authorities best efforts to sustainably manage
resources such as Lake Hume, the way in
which filling and releasing of water occurs along
with the recreational use of the lake has left cul-
tural and historical sites vulnerable.
Fig 7. Erosion caused by exposure and wave action
As mentioned earlier the town of Tallangatta
had to be moved due to the dam’s increase in
size, but this was not the only town impacted. Dur-
ing early construction of the dam the town of
Bowna was in the submersion area and would
have to relocate, but in 1933, before European or
Indigenous occupants moved, the area began to
fill due to partial construction of the dam and
heavy rainfall.xxxvii Important historical artefacts
from both the settlers and Wiradjuri people that
had been living in and around Bowna were lost to
the waters of Lake Hume.xxxviii (Fig 6)
Fig 6. Men playing cards behind the White
Horse Hotel in Bowna
The way in which Lake Hume’s water is man-
aged through fluctuating water levels means
that this archaeological site is exposed to
damaging wave action from both natural and
recreational wave production.xxxix O’Halloran
and Spennemann claim that ‘Wave action
causes damage to unconsolidated banks and
shorelines, and in this way produces instabili-
ties in cultural sites situated there, affecting
their preservation.’xI The naturally exposed
shorelines (not reinforced) of Lake Hume are
prone to soil erosion, which can change
shoreline slope and increase the impact of
wave action.xIi As erosion increases in the lake
the protective sedimentary layers covering
artefacts continues to be removed exposing
the artefacts to biochemical agents and wave
action displacement that causes further de-
cay.xIii (Fig 7)
4
The Old Bowna site was surveyed during the ‘millennium drought’ when the lake’s water
levels were particularly low leading to the discovery of many artefacts, in 1999 ‘74 Aborig-
inal artefacts [were discovered] among several historic artefacts and modern debris within
a 20m section of the site… in 2000... 96 Aboriginal artefacts were identified, again with
historic artefacts and modern debris.’xIiii (Fig 8) These discoveries reinforce the limited
historical information available that suggests that European and Indigenous people lived
in close proximity to one another in the Bowna area. This is only one site among undoubt-
edly countless others in the vast Murray Valley that are under threat of destruction if ac-
tion isn’t taken to curb the impact of the lake’s waters on sites of historical significance.

Fig 8. Old Bowna archiological site (mostly submerged)

Conclusion
The Hume Dam and Lake Hume were undoubtedly a feat of engineering in the early half
of the 20th century and it has served an important roll in trying to manage water supply
for irrigation particularly for the lower Murray. The latter addition of a hydro-electric power
station to the dam and the increased water capacity helped provide affordable energy for
the region while also enabling a secondary industry, tourism, to grow in the region. How-
ever, there have been unforeseen consequences concerning the dam’s construction such
as the inability to predict and control droughts, which seem to be frequent and increasing
in intensity. There is also the environmental impact on land surrounding the dam in the
form of erosion due to the way in which water is managed, constantly filling and draining
the dam is taking its toll. Also, there is the cultural impact from accidentally prematurely
flooding Old Bowna and the environmental/recreational impacts on European and Wirad-
juri artefacts in the site. Action must be taken to preserve and prevent any further dam-
age to culturally significant sites in the Lake Hume area.

5
Endnotes
i
‘The Hume Dam’, Northern Champion, 23 Jul 1932, 7, Trove [online database], accessed 4 Sep. 2018.
ii
Ibid.
iii
Bill McCormick, ‘Murray-Darling Basin Management’, Parliament of Australia, (2013) <https://www.aph.gov.au/
About_Parliament/Parliamentary_Departments/Parliamentary_Library/pubs/BriefingBook44p/MurryDarlingBasin>,
para. 1, accessed 6 Sep. 2018.
iv
‘The Hume Dam’, Northern Champion, 23 Jul 1932, 7, Trove [online database], accessed 4 Sep. 2018.
v
Ibid.
vi
Ibid.
vii
‘The Hume Dam’, Albury Banner and Wodonga Express, 12 Dec 1919, 28, Trove [online database], accessed 5 Sep.
2018.
viii
‘Murray River Development’, Daily Advertiser, 19 Feb 1930, 4, Trove [online database], accessed 4 Sep. 2018.
ix
‘The Hume Dam’, Albury Banner and Wodonga Express, 12 Dec 1919, 28, Trove [online database], accessed 5 Sep.
2018.
x
Ibid.
xi
‘The Hume Dam’, Northern Champion, 23 Jul 1932, 7, Trove [online database], accessed 4 Sep. 2018.
xii
Ibid.
xiii
‘Hume Dam is Silting Up’, Weekly Times, 2 May 1945, 13, Trove [online database], accessed 5 Sep. 2018.
xiv
‘The Hume Dam’, Northern Champion, 23 Jul 1932, 7, Trove [online database], accessed 4 Sep. 2018.
xv
‘Hume Dam is Silting Up’, Weekly Times, 2 May 1945, 13, Trove [online database], accessed 5 Sep. 2018.
xvi
‘Murray River Development’, Daily Advertiser, 19 Feb 1930, 4, Trove [online database], accessed 4 Sep. 2018.
xvii
‘The Hume Dam’, Northern Champion, 23 Jul 1932, 7, Trove [online database], accessed 4 Sep. 2018.
xviii
‘Power Station at Hume Dam’, Cobram Courier, 3 Mar 1950, 3, Trove [online database], accessed 10 Sep. 2018.
xix
Ibid.
xx
‘Hume Dam Hydro Electricity’, Corowa Free Press, 14 Mar 1950, 1, Trove [online database], accessed 5 Sep. 2018.
xxi
Ibid.
xxii
Ibid.
xxiii
SMEC, The Narrows Technical Feasibility Study Report Phase One3.2 (2015), <https://www.towong.vic.gov.au/
major-projects/feasibility-studies/images/Narrows-Report---Phase-One-02032017-FINAL-rev3.pdf>, 3, accessed 5
Sep. 2018.
xxv
Ibid. 3-4
xxvi
Ibid.
xxvii
Ibid. 5
xxviii
Ibid.
xxix
Wodonga Council, Albury Wodonga Visitor Economy Trends 2017 (2017), <https://www.wodonga.vic.gov.au/
business-investment/statistics-publications/tourism-trends-pub.asp>, 3, accessed 3 Sep. 2018.
xxix
Ibid. 7
xxx
City of Wodonga, Economy Profile (2018), <https://www.economyprofile.com.au/wodonga/tourism/
employment>, 1, accessed 3 Sep. 2018.
xxxi
SMEC, The Narrows Technical Feasibility Study Report Phase One3.2 (2015), <https://www.towong.vic.gov.au/
major-projects/feasibility-studies/images/Narrows-Report---Phase-One-02032017-FINAL-rev3.pdf>, 4, accessed 5
Sep. 2018.
xxxii
Murray-Darling Basin Authority, ‘historical data’, Murray-Darling Basin Authority, (5 Sep. 2018) <https://
riverdata.mdba.gov.au/hume-dam>, accessed 5 Sep. 2018.
xxxiii
Bill McCormick, ‘Murray-Darling Basin Management’, Parliament of Australia, (2013) <https://www.aph.gov.au/
About_Parliament/Parliamentary_Departments/Parliamentary_Library/pubs/BriefingBook44p/MurryDarlingBasin>,
para. 2, accessed 6 Sep. 2018.
xxxiv
Ibid. 5
xxxv
Ibid.
xxxvi
Ibid.
xxxvii
Charmain O’Halloran and Dirk H.R. Spennemann, ‘Wave Action Impact on Archaeological Sites in a Freshwater
Reservoir: The Case of Lake Hume, New South Wales’, Australian Archaeology, 54/1 (2002), 6.
xxxviii
Ibid.
xxxix
Ibid. 7-8
xI
Ibid. 6
xIi
Ibid. 7
xIii
Ibid.
xIiii
Ibid. 8
6
Bibliography

Primary

‘The Hume Dam’, Northern Champion, 23 Jul 1932, 7, Trove [online database], accessed
4 Sep. 2018.

‘The Hume Dam’, Albury Banner and Wodonga Express, 12 Dec 1919, 28, Trove [online
database], accessed 5 Sep. 2018.

‘Murray River Development’, Daily Advertiser, 19 Feb 1930, 4, Trove [online database],
accessed 4 Sep. 2018.

‘Hume Dam is Silting Up’, Weekly Times, 2 May 1945, 13, Trove [online database], ac-
cessed 5 Sep. 2018.

‘Power Station at Hume Dam’, Cobram Courier, 3 Mar 1950, 3, Trove [online database],
accessed 10 Sep.

‘Hume Dam Hydro Electricity’, Corowa Free Press, 14 Mar 1950, 1, Trove [online data-
base], accessed 5 Sep. 2018.

Secondary

O’Halloran, Charmain and Spennemann, Dirk H.R, ‘Wave Action Impact on Archaeologi-
cal Sites in a Freshwater Reservoir: The Case of Lake Hume, New South Wales’, Austral-
ian Archaeology, 54/1 (2002), 6.

City of Wodonga, Economy Profile (2018), <https://www.economyprofile.com.au/

wodonga/tourism/employment>, accessed 3 Sep. 2018.

McCormick, Bill ‘Murray-Darling Basin Management’, Parliament of Australia, (2013)

<https://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Parliamentary_Departments/
Parliamentary_Library/pubs/BriefingBook44p/MurryDarlingBasin>, accessed 6 Sep. 2018.

Murray-Darling Basin Authority, ‘historical data’, Murray-Darling Basin Authority, (5 Sep.

2018) <https://riverdata.mdba.gov.au/hume-dam>, accessed 5 Sep. 2018.

SMEC, The Narrows Technical Feasibility Study Report Phase One3.2 (2015), <https://
www.towong.vic.gov.au/major-projects/feasibility-studies/images/Narrows-Report---Phase
-One-02032017-FINAL-rev3.pdf>, accessed 5 Sep. 2018.

Wodonga Council, Albury Wodonga Visitor Economy Trends 2017 (2017), <https://
www.wodonga.vic.gov.au/business-investment/statistics-publications/tourism-trends-
pub.asp>, accessed 3 Sep. 2018.

7
Images

Fig 1. Copyright James Ryan 2018

Fig 2. Wilf Henty 18882-1941, photographer, Murray River, man standing on edge during
drought, ca. 1901-ca. 1940, H2002.106/100, Pictures Collection, State Library Victoria
[online database], accessed 10 Sep. 2018.

Fig 3. Copyright James Ryan 2018

Fig 4. Victoria State Rivers Water Supply Commission photographer, Construction of

Hume Weir, ca. 1900-ca. 1940, rwg/u2119, State Library Victoria [online database], ac-
cessed 10 Sep. 2018.

Fig 5. Victoria State Rivers Water Supply Commission photographer, Pearson’s Resi-
dence during Removal to Bolga, 1954, RWP/16742, State Library Victoria [online data-
base], accessed 10 Sep. 2018.

Fig 6. Unknown, Bowna NSW, Unknown, At Work and Play - 00701, State Library of New
South Wales [online database], accessed 10 Sep. 2018.

Fig 7. Copyright James Ryan 2018

Fig 8. Copyright James Ryan 2018