Walka Water Works is a heritage-listed 19th-century pumping station at 55 Scobies Lane, Oakhampton Heights, City of Maitland, New South Wales, Australia. Originally built in 1887 to supply water to Newcastle and the lower Hunter Valley, it has since been restored and preserved and is part of Maitland City Council's Walka Recreation and Wildlife Reserve. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999.
History
Waterworks
The Newcastle Borough Council established a Water Committee to try to improve water supply to residents of the inner city area in February 1875 after a very dry period. In 1876, George Lloyd, the local representative in the Parliament of New South Wales raised the matter of government help to finance the construction of a water supply for Newcastle. To the surprise of many, other parliamentarians supported the motion. In 1877 Sir Henry Parkes sent noted British hydraulic engineer William Clark to advise on possible water sources for the Lower Hunter towns. Clark had been brought to NSW to advise on Sydney's water supply and drainage problems. Clark's report recommended Walka as the site for a water works which would supply 37 000 people at the estimated cost of 170 000 pounds.
The citizens of Newcastle were pleased with the scheme and its cost and quickly approved the plan. They sent a deputation to Parliament on 5 December 1877 with strong encouragement from John Robertson, the Colonial Secretary. Construction of a water supply was imminent. However, a new government came to power before the end of the year. Another deputation was sent to Sydney, but James Farnell and his government preferred to give preference to the construction of a second water supply in Sydney
At the end of 1878 a new government took over and a third deputation was sent to Parliament. By May 1879 the necessary surveys and cost estimates had been sufficiently advanced to allow the ordering of machinery and iron pipes but the government refused to bow to pressure from the Hunter region to sanction full expenditure. In 1881 the first steps were taken and the Newcastle and Buttai reservoirs were constructed. Land was resumed for the Walka works in June that year.
The Public Works Department called for tenders to construct the Walka reservoir and associated works in December 1882 and contracts were signed in April 1883. At least four contracting firms were involved, Messrs. T. Smith and M.Burley, George Blunt, James Russell and James Watt and Company. Smith and Burley were responsible for the tunnel which drew water from the river to the pumping station. George Blunt built the reservoir, filter beds and settling and clear water tanks and James Watt and Company of Birmingham supplied and erected the three pumping stations installed at Walka in 1886. James Russell completed the construction of the engine and boiler house although there is dispute as to whether Russell won the contract originally. It is argued that M. Parkhill, a relatively unknown contractor, was given the contract in 1885 but became insolvent, leaving the opportunity for Russell to take over.
The design for the complex was undertaken by notable English engineer Sir William Clark and was a major engineering project for the area at the time. Water was pumped from the Hunter River to a reservoir along a brick tunnel approximately in diameter and below ground. At full operation, it had three pumping engines (150 hp each and with a flywheel weighing 36 tonnes), two horizontal compound pumps and a triple expansion surface condensing pump engine. Water would be pumped from the river at Oakhampton up to the Walka reservoir (still visible as the Walka lake today), then pumped onwards to another reservoir away at Buttai; where it was "gravitationally distributed".
The waterworks served as the sole water supply of the Lower Hunter towns from 1887 until 1929 when it was superseded by the Tarro Pumping Station. Industrial development and an increasing population in the period resulted in a growth in demand for water and the need for considerable development and modification at the site. In 1892 the pumps were improved and a third pump was attached to the No.3 beam engine. This was also the year that the Hunter District Water Supply and Sewerage Board took over the works. In 1896-7 a second pipe was constructed between the Hunter River and the waterworks. In 1900 Newcastle was consuming double the water it had consumed in 1892.
The implementation of the waterworks scheme for drinking and washing made possible the provision of sewerage systems to the towns. This improved the health of the community by reducing the likelihood of disease and improving the cleanliness of the population and their urban environment.
Severe droughts in 1902 and 1905-6 produced supply problems and demonstrated that the Hunter River was no longer an adequate water source for the region. In 1908 the number of filter beds was increased from four to six and by 1910 it had become necessary at times to operate three beam pumping engines simultaneously. In 1913 more equipment was installed and a further four rapid water filters were installed in 1916. At peak operation the waterworks produced 3843 megalitres (in 1915).
As the population of the area continued to increase, other sources of supply were developed – namely Chichester Dam near Dungog. From 1923 to 1940 the waterworks were used as a backup water supply only.
In 1925 the complex was put on standby and with the onset of the Great Depression and the completion of Tarro pumping station at Tarro, the plant was shut down as an economy measure in 1931. After the Second World War in 1949 all the plant and machinery was sold for scrap, fetching £2,500.
Power Station Two years later, in 1951, the site was reopened as a temporary coal power station by the Electricity Commission to overcome post-war electricity shortages. What was described as a "package power plant" was bought from General Electric and imported from America. The plant was shipped out in pieces, then taken to the site by rail (to Maitland station) and a specially made truck. GE engineers also came out to assemble the plant.George, P p2
It began producing electricity in 1953. Three boilers ran on coal, and another ran on oil, though later this became a coal/oil combination. Two rail lines were built to the power station from the North Coast railway line.George, P p9
Using Walka as a power station was controversial. Initially the power station suffered from sinking foundations – leading to the temporary sacking of 120 workers, until it was agreed that the sinking was a result of recent rain.George, P p5 During construction, the workforce went on strike after a boilermaker union member was sacked for "misconduct" towards his foreman.George, P p7 This was eventually resolved, but in December 1953 the power station suffered another setback when one of its oil storage tanks collapsed in gale-force winds. The station was also unpopular with local vegetable growers, who complained about the amount of soot the station was producing.
The powerplant was decommissioned in 1976 and dismantled in 1978.
Recreation and Wildlife Reserve Not until 1984 were there definite attempts to reopen the site. At this time a Trust was formed, aiming to open the site and restore the Waterworks complex. The complex had been classified by the National Trust in 1976. Today the area is open as a free public reserve, with barbecues, picnics areas, a playground, walking trails and a 7 1/4 inch gauge miniature railway that operates passenger rides each Sunday. The reservoir and surrounding plant life make it a unique environment for birds and animals in the area.
Proposed Transformation into a Holiday Park In 2022, Maitland City Council partnered with Reflections Holiday Parks and Crown Lands on a plan to transform part of the heritage‑listed Walka Water Works site, into a holiday park and tourism destination, including caravan sites, eco‑cabins and glamping. This plan was deeply controversial, with many residents against the planned development. However, detailed studies of the site revealed asbestos contamination across the site. Maitland City Council chose in early 2024 to reprioritise the funding toward safety and remediation work rather than immediate development. This led Reflections Holidays Parks to withdraw from the project.
Key characteristics
Main pump house with distinctive chimney, ornate brickwork and Victorian Italianate architecture Large sandstone water reservoir Settling tanks and filter beds to purify water Miniature Railway
Description
The Walka Water Works site's curtilage is roughly diamond-shaped, including a hillside zone, footslopes to a U-shaped reservoir or dam, with the industrial complex of the water treatment works to the reservoir's north-west.
The group of buildings known as the Walka Waterworks are located within site boundaries north west of the dam.
The buildings and structures of the complex are generally constructed of load bearing brickwork, with trussed roof structures to the main engine houses, and roofed with corrugated iron.
Main Pump House
2 storey polychrome brick structure with walls up to 1 metre thick. It contains a basement approximately 10 metres deep. Six cast iron columns built to support the first floor remain but all other original features have been replaced or obscured by a raised floor, office partitions and a stairway constructed in the 1950s. The first floor retains sufficient fixtures to demonstrate its previous operations. Original sections of flooring remain as do cast iron cross beams, shoes, joists, decorative grills, timber floor joists and the pilaster which carried the overhaul beam crane. A large sandstone block is located within the wall above and below each pair of joists. The original colour scheme is still visible.
Boiler Room Attached to the northern end of the main pump house. The roof is double hipped and clad in corrugated iron and has been subject to modifications. Surviving features include the steam header access hole in the southern wall, column capitals, the flue, the access door to the engine room and an unusual configuration of windows beneath relieving arches in the brickwork.
Chimney Polychrome brick standing 36 metres tall. Square base translating through an octagonal section to become a tapering cylinder, terminating in finely corbelled brickwork. A flue leads to the chimney from the centre of the western wall of the boiler room.
Eastern Extension to Pumphouse Built in 1893 as an office. The original 9 pane windows have been replaced by 6 pane windows. An extremely unsympathetic entrance and set of stairs have been inserted in the southern wall. Internal amenities installed during the 1950s by the Electricity Commission and plumbing fittings remain.
Western Pumphouse Built in 1913, the building abuts the main pumphouse, its form and detail successfully reflecting the original building. The pump house required the bricking in of openings to the main pump house and removal or relocation of the original window joinery. The existing 9 pane windows on the western side of the building are probably the only remaining original windows of the complex. The internal brickwork is rendered and painted but along its eastern side it retains the profile of the exterior of the main pump house. The roof trusses of riveted steel are exposed. The southern wall is constructed of timber and corrugated iron to enable further expansion.
Workshop