NSWPlanned settlement
Warragamba
Sydney’s biggest dam needed a town, so the Water Board built one.
1947Dam workers’ township begins
WHAT STARTED IT
The Warragamba Gorge was chosen for a concrete gravity dam to give Sydney a secure water supply, and the workforce had to be housed on site. In 1947, before work on the wall itself had begun, the Water Board’s main task was building a township for the workers.
WHAT SUSTAINED IT
Workers were offered Water Board houses they could buy, and the plan allowed for about 600 cottages and a school for up to 1000 children. When the dam opened in 1960, the Premier said employees would be offered the houses they occupied.
TURNING POINTS
1947The Water Board offers dam workers the chance to buy their houses, and building the township becomes the main activity on site.
1948The Board reports plans for about 600 cottages, with a school for up to 1000 children.
1960Premier Bob Heffron opens Warragamba Dam after 12 years of construction.
WHAT IT DOES NOW
A small Wollondilly Shire town of about 1,200 people beside the dam wall. Haviland Park, developed with picnic areas in the 1960s, lies beside the dam.