AGY-991 | Hunter District Water Supply and Sewerage Board

Full description

The original scheme for the supply of water to Newcastle and its district was designed in 1877. A pumping plant was installed at Walka, near West Maitland, close to the Hunter River, with water being pumped to a reservoir at Buttai (1). Before the creation of the Hunter District Water Supply and Sewerage Board the Harbours and Rivers Department of the Public Works Department sold water to "115 private consumers", plus seven municipal councils within the Hunter District for distribution to the public. Revenue collection was hampered by the absence of any set water rate and a lack of water meters (2).

The Hunter District Water and Sewerage Act, 1892 (55 Vic. No. 27), (3) established the Hunter District Water Supply and Sewerage Board as a special authority to administer the Walka Water Supply Scheme on the Hunter River. The Board took over control of the water supply - Walka pumping and treatment station and secondary water supply works on 1 July 1892. One of its most urgent responsibilities was the provision of proper sewerage facilities to replace cesspits and sanitary pans.

The Board consisted of seven members, three "Official Members" appointed by the Governor, with one being designated as President of the Board. The other four "Municipal Members" were elected by the Municipal Councils of the Newcastle district (4).

From 1892 to 1938 the Board was affiliated with the Department of Public Works which carried out all capital works programs on behalf of the Government. The close relationship between the Board and Public Works Department could lead to "curious administrative positions". With the construction of Chichester Dam the Mason Allard Royal Commission into the Public Service questioned the triple role of builder, client and supplier conferred on the Chief Engineer of the Public Works Department in Newcastle who was also the President of the Hunter District Water and Sewerage Board and the Director of the Walsh Island Dockyard (5).

Public moneys for sewerage schemes were scarce and sewage infrastructure was slow to develop, for example those in Cessnock were completed in the 1930s, Cessnock in 1931, Stockton in 1932, Maitland and Lorn in 1935. The 1935 sewerage projects were funded by the Commonwealth State Unemployed Relief Scheme (6). Approval for the Wallsend Sewerage Scheme was given on 21 January 1937.

In 1937 an Advisory Committee was appointed by the Minister of Public Works to examine the Hunter District Water Supply and Sewerage Board's Finances. The Committee consisted of two representatives from the Department of Public Works, two representatives from the Hunter District Water Supply and Sewerage Board, and an independent chairperson. The finances under review included the Board's annual revenue, capital indebtedness, and sinking funds.

The Hunter District Water, Sewerage and Drainage Act No. 11, 1938 repealed the previous Act and constituted the Hunter District Water Board, as an independent financing and constructing authority with powers to set up its own staff, borrow moneys and acquire equipment to carry out water, sewerage and drainage projects.

FOOTNOTES:
(1) Hunter District Water Board Annual Report for the year ended 30 June 1938 in Parliamentary Papers of the Legislative Assembly of New South Wales, Vol. 3, 1940-41, p. 512.
(2) Testimony of Mr E. A. Fry, Secretary and Accountant of the Hunter District Water Supply and Sewerage Board in First Progress Report of the Select Committee on the Hunter District Water Supply and Sewerage Works in the Votes and Proceedings of the Legislative Assembly, Vol. 5 1894-95, p. 1318.
(3) Assented to 31 March 1892, NSW Government Gazette, 7 April 1892, pp. 2867-2914.
(4) Report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the management of the Hunter District Water Supply and Sewerage Board in the Votes and Proceedings of the Legislative Assembly, Vol. 5, 1897, p. 205.
(5) Third Sectional Report of the Royal Commission (Mr. G. Mason Allard) to inquire into the Public Service of New South Wales upon the Administration of the Public Works Department in the Joint Volumes of the Parliamentary Papers of the Legislative Council and Legislative Assembly of New South Wales, Vol.4, 1919, pp. 143-144.
(6) These sewerage schemes were supported by Acts of Parliament - the Cessnock Sewerage Act of 1931, the Stockton Sewerage Act of 1932, and the Maitland District Sewerage Act of 1935. See the Annual Report of the Hunter District Water Supply and Sewerage Board for the year ended 30 June 1936, in the Joint Volumes of the Parliamentary Papers of the Legislative Council and Legislative Assembly of New South Wales, Vol. 5, 1937-38, pp. 174-175.