Ord River - Ord River Irrigation Scheme

Ord River Irrigation Scheme

The idea of damming the Ord was first mentioned over 100 years ago, when the Western Australia Commissioner of Tropical Agriculture, Adrian Despeissis, suggested,

Substantial wooden dams constructed on a double row of jarrah piles driven into the bed of the river, with a core wall of puddle clay between, would appear to form suitable weirs.

Between 1935 and 1942 drought affected the Kimberley Pastoral Industry and the Ord Scheme can thank this drought for its existence. The focus in 1937 was that a dam on the Ord could supplement the pastoral industry.

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