Wivenhoe Dam

Plans to dam the Brisbane River at Wivenhoe to provide water for the capital and to mitigate the effects of seasonal flooding in the stream existed since the 1890’s when preliminary survey work was carried out after the disastrous floods of 1893. However, it was a dam at the Stanley River a short distance upstream from its junction with the Brisbane River that was constructed, the Somerset Dam.

It was not until 1971 that firm proposals developed for a dam at Wivenhoe or Middle Creek. In that year, the Co-ordinator Generals Department presented a report recommending the construction of Wivenhoe Dam. By 1973, acquisition of property was needed for the submerged area and flood margin was underway, and by 1977, the first contracts had been let for the construction of the dam. The Co-ordinator General’s Department expected the dam to begin filling by 1982 and construction to be completed two years later.

More than 31,500 hectares of land was required for the dam, 230 seperate properties were affected by the structure. In addition, it was necessary to relocate more than 65 kilometres of major roads and to construct new high-level bridges. More than 90 kilometres of scenic country along the Brisbane River was lost in the flooding of the dam.