We know that water is an essential service that we need to survive. Today we can access safe drinking water simply by turning on the tap. But this certainly wasn’t the experience for our predecessors.
Each of the towns that we service has its own unique water story, with its own heroes and pioneers of the water supply. Across the history of the region, we can see the influences that significant events had on the water supply, such as the Gold Rush, early settlers, the railways and immigration.
We are still learning from the Traditional Owners of the land; from their longstanding history and knowledge of water, and their use and management of water.
Through our research we’ve attempted to capture the water story that has shaped the community of each of the towns that we service today. We can learn from the engineering challenges and celebrate the successes and feats of the past. Knowing our history is an important part of who we are, and plays a role in in getting our future right.
Water Story is aimed at being a living document. We created a website (rather than a book) for the express purpose of enabling us to update and add information as we learn more about the history of supplying water to north east Victoria’s many and varied towns.
The content of Water Story is an interpretation of a range of sources – online research, heritage societies, corporate records, newspapers, local libraries and the oral history of current and former staff. While every attempt has been made to verify the veracity of the information, we acknowledge that all these systems are imperfect, so if you have more information about any of these events we encourage you to contact us.
We’re also keen to hear from members of the community and others in the area who worked in the water industry. We’d love to hear from Traditional Owners of the land, and from Aboriginal and Strait Islander communities and learn more about their history of the local waterways and catchments. If you’d like to contribute to Our Water Story, please contact via the contact page.
