The Goulburn Weir has been awarded international heritage status by the International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage (ICID).
The weir on the Goulburn River about 8km north of Nagambie in central Victoria was built between 1887 and 1891 and is Australia’s oldest major irrigation structure. Its embankment is 127 m long and 15 m high with a total capacity of 25,500 ML.
Managing Director of Goulburn-Murray Water (GMW), Pat Lennon, said the dams, weirs and other man-made works that are selected to be listed by the ICID as official Heritage Irrigation Structures also have to be more than 100 years old.
“Goulburn Weir will take its place alongside structures as famous as the Aswan Dam in Egypt – bigger than anything the world had ever seen when initially completed in 1901 – to weirs and canals in China that have served civilisations for a thousand years or more,” he said.
“A feature of Heritage Irrigation Structure listing is that, unlike some world heritage honours, the ICID recognises these are working structures that not only deserve preservation but also require upgrading and maintenance to continue to serve communities. So when Goulburn Weir was refurbished in 1988 with new steel gates and other improvements, experts ensured some of its original features were retained and won an Engineering Excellence Award for this attention to its history and charm.”
Lennon said GMW, which has a permanent storage office at Goulburn Weir, would continue to protect the structure’s heritage and keep it in peak operating condition.
“Goulburn Weir’s selection as a Heritage Irrigation Structure by ICID experts is an important reminder of its value, not only to Victorians and Australia but now the wider world.”
The ICID made the announcement at its triennial conference in Mexico City earlier this month.
[The Goulburn Weir supplies properties in the Shepparton and Central Goulburn Irrigation Districts. Photo: GMW]