AGY-1139 | Water Conservation and Irrigation Commission [I]

Full description

The Irrigation (Amendment) Act, 1916, (Act No.22 1916) which received assent on 20 April 1916, replaced the Commissioner for Water Conservation and Irrigation with the Water Conservation and Irrigation Commission consisting of the Minister for Agriculture (Chairman) and two other Commissioners. (1) The work of the Water Conservation and Irrigation Commission included - a) River gauging, and the investigation of proposed water conservation and irrigation schemes b) Construction, maintenance and control of the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area, the Coomealla Irrigation Area, the Hay Irrigation Area, and the Wentworth Irrigation Area c) Overseeing water conservation works constructed by the State, but administered by Local Trusts d) Construction and maintenance of water conservation works provided as National Works by the state e) Control of artesian and shallow boring f) Licensing of private works for stock and domestic water supply, irrigation, and other purposes g) Provision of businesses such as abattoirs, agricultural nurseries, and supply stores h) Provision of public utilities such as domestic water supply, electricity supply, a sanitary department, plus live stock for settlers i) Managing Public Accommodation Houses until 1925 j) authorising granting leases including Irrigation Farm Leases, Irrigation Act Leases, Farm Land Leases, Permissive Occupancy Leases, Town Land Leases, Non-Irrigable Land Leases (also known as Dry Area Leases) k) organising land purchases and lease conversions to freehold title from 1924 l) Controlling and managing Soldier Settlement on Irrigation areas The Commission assumed responsibility for accommodating returned soldiers on the Irrigation Areas after negotiation with the Lands Department. A small section of the Curlwaa Irrigation Area was allotted for the settlement of returned soldiers while a "Soldiers Camp" was established near Griffith to provide irrigation farm training. (2) Returned soldiers were also allowed to train on Government Experimental Farms. (3) By 1920 the Commission had provided 1,000 irrigation farms to returned soldiers. In the same year a Demonstration Farm at Yenda was opened to educate soldier settlers and also provide fodder for the Commission's horses. (4) The Water Conservation and Irrigation Commission also provided leasehold land at Beelbangera in the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area to the Red Cross Society to establish a "Farm Colony for the after care of Returned Soldiers who had been previously affected with tuberculosis". (5) In 1924 the Red Cross War Chest Farm Colony was presented to the Government who then allocated the institution to the control of the Department of Agriculture. (6) The Land Administration Branch was reorganised in 1931 with a large part of its work concentrated in the Commission's Head Office in Sydney. In response to the economic crisis of the Great Depression the Water Conservation and Irrigation Commission reduced the level of settler's indebtedness, lowered interest rates, and gave concessions on rent owed. (7) An Inquiry into the Water Conservation and Irrigation conducted by the Water Conservation and Irrigation Advisory Committee during 1933 led to a number of changes in the Commission's activities from 1 December 1934 which included the transfer of (8) - a) Financing of settlers was transferred to the Rural Bank b) Major engineering works which did not require irrigation expertise would be undertaken by the Department of Public Works c) The Commission's consent to dealings in connection with freehold lands and in respect of which there are no moneys owing to the Crown or Commission was no longer required d) Single holdings in the Hay Irrigation Area could be enlarged beyond the old maximum of 40 acres e) Removal of restrictions for land purchasing and in the charging of water rates The Rural Bank (Agency) Act, 1934 (Act No. 56 1934) commenced on 1 July 1935 with moneys owing to the Water Conservation and Irrigation Commission becoming moneys owing to the Rural Bank's newly formed Irrigation Agency. These transferred finances covered "rents, charges for water, instalments of purchase money, monetary advances and interest in respect of land occupied on the Murrumbidgee, Hay, Curlwaa and Coomealla Irrigation Areas; plus the sinking of shallow bores, and rates and charges for water in districts constituted under Part IV of the Water Act 1912-30". (9) The Leeton Fruit Cannery was established in 1914, however, the factory was found "quite inadequate" in processing the 1916-17 peach crop and a larger installation was completed in 1918. (10) The Cannery was under Commission control until its sale in 1935 to the Leeton Co-operative Cannery Limited. (11) This was done through the State Cannery (Sale) Act, 1935 (Act No.38 1935) which became law on 11 April 1935. The Irrigation Holdings (Freehold) Act, 1924 (Act No.51 1924) provided for the granting of freehold title in the irrigation areas through either original application or conversion of an existing lease. The unimproved value of properties was fixed by agreement between the Water Conservation and Irrigation Commission and lessee or titleholder. Any valuation disputes were to be resolved by appeal to the Land and Valuation Court. (12) In partnership with the then Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (Cth) an Irrigation Research Station was established in 1924 at Griffith to investigate horticulture, irrigation methods, pasture protection, soil characteristics, and salt damage to soil. The Wyangala Dam was designed by the Water Conservation and Irrigation Commission and built by the Commission's engineers with its construction workers drawn from a Migration Scheme with Great Britain. Work commenced late in 1928, and was completed on 30 June 1935. (13) The Jemalong Diversions Weir on the Lachlan River was opened on 30 November 1940 diverting water for domestic and stock purposes to the 215,000 acres of the Jemalong and Wyldes Districts. (14) During the Second World War the Commission was involved in the construction of a series of defence works such as aerodromes, fortifications, and munition factories which led to a suspension of its normal work program. In 1942 distributary and escape works for the Berriquin and Deniboota Irrigation Districts, remedial measures and new construction work at the Burrinjuck Dam, and construction of the Keepit Dam on the Namoi River were halted until 1946. A series of new projects were also commenced with the cessation of hostilities they included - a) 40 weirs in Barwon and Darling Rivers between Queensland and Victoria (15) b) Water conserving storage in Lake Ballyrogan (16) c) Glenbawn Dam (across the Hunter River approximately eight miles above the junction of the Hunter and Page's Rivers) (17) d) Burrendong Dam (across the Macquarie River approximately 20 miles upstream from the town of Wellington) (18) e) The settlement of Returned Servicemen on Irrigation Farms The Farm Water Supplies Act, 1946 (Act No.22 1946) received assent on 4 April 1946, made provision for the Water Conservation and Irrigation Commission to build and improve water supplies to farms for domestic, stock, and irrigation purposes. The Commission defined all projects through evaluation of a farm's requirements and the estimation of the money required. The Rural bank's Irrigation Agency funded the projects. This involved either construction by the Commission, hiring and machinery to the farmer, or engaging a private contractor. (19) The Conservation Authority of New South Wales Act, 1949 (No.8 1949) came into force on 1 June 1949 with the Minister for Conservation ceasing to be Chairman of the Water Conservation and Irrigation Commission. The control of water conservation (other than town and domestic supplies) was vested in a reconstituted Water Conservation and Irrigation Commission consisting of three Commissioners appointed by the Governor. FOOTNOTES (1) Annual Report of the Water Conservation and Irrigation Commission for the year ended 30 June 1916 in the Joint Volumes of Papers presented to the Legislative Council and Legislative Assembly 1916 Vol. 6 page 7. (2) Annual Report of the Water Conservation and Irrigation Commission for the year ended 30 June 1918 in the Joint Volumes of Papers presented to the Legislative Council and Legislative Assembly 1918 Vol. 6 page 388. (3) Annual Report of the Water Conservation and Irrigation Commission for the year ended 30 June 1919 in the Joint Volumes of Papers presented to the Legislative Council and Legislative Assembly 1919 Vol. 4 page 340. (4) Annual Report of the Water Conservation and Irrigation Commission for the year ended 30 June 1920 in the Joint Volumes of Papers presented to the Legislative Council and Legislative Assembly Second Session 1920 Vol. 4 page 895. (5) Annual Report of the Water Conservation and Irrigation Commission for the year ended 30 June 1920 in the Joint Volumes of Papers presented to the Legislative Council and Legislative Assembly Second Session 1920 Vol. 4 page 911. (6) Annual Report of the Water Conservation and Irrigation Commission for the year ended 30 June 1924 in the Joint Volumes of Papers presented to the Legislative Council and Legislative Assembly 1924 Vol. 4 page 261. (7) Annual Report of the Water Conservation and Irrigation Commission for the year ended 30 June 1933 in the Joint Volumes of Papers presented to the Legislative Council and Legislative Assembly 1933-34 Vol. 1 page 830. (8) Annual Report of the Water Conservation and Irrigation Commission for the year ended 30 June 1934 in the Joint Volumes of Papers presented to the Legislative Council and Legislative Assembly 1934-35 Vol. 3 pp. 419-420. (9) Annual Report of the Water Conservation and Irrigation Commission for the year ended 30 June 1935 in the Joint Volumes of Papers presented to the Legislative Council and Legislative Assembly 1935-36 Vol. 3 page 555. (10) Annual Report of the Water Conservation and Irrigation Commission for the year ended 30 June 1918 in the Joint Volumes of Papers presented to the Legislative Council and Legislative Assembly 1918 Vol. 6 page 390. (11) Walker, Laurie 'Irrigation in New South Wales, 1888 to 1940' Royal Australian Historical Society Journal and Proceedings, Vol XXVII 1941 Part III page 205. (12) Annual Report of the Water Conservation and Irrigation Commission for the year ended 30 June 1925 in the Joint Volumes of Papers presented to the Legislative Council and Legislative Assembly 1925-26 Vol. 3 page 626. (13) Op cit. page 223. (14) Op cit. page 223. (15) Darling Rivers Waters Act (No.27 1945) (16) Lake Ballyrogan Storage Act (No.21 1946) (17) Glenbawn Dam Act (No.30 1946) (18) Burrendong Dam Act (No.31 1946) (19) Annual Report of the Water Conservation and Irrigation Commission for the year ended 30 June 1946 in the Joint Volumes of Papers presented to the Legislative Council and Legislative Assembly 1946-47 Vol. 1 page 475.