HISTORICAL OUTLINE - Tlffi BRISBANE RIVER

F U N C T I O N S O F T H E B R I S B A N E R I V E R Tm Brisbane River has many £unctions to per£orm

namely in ·six broad categories:-

(a) Water Supply (Industrial, Domestic & Irrigation) (b) Drainage

Commercial purposes) (d) Port Facilities

(e ) Recreation

(£) Public Transport (A) WATER SUPPLY

This £unction of the Brisbane River is one 0£ the most important. In the early days 0£ Brisbane (around 1839) water was obtained from a series of water holes

along a creek which had its source in what is now the Roma St.

Railways, and ran through the site of the present City Hall and entered the river at Creek Street. An earth dam

near the former site of the Brisbane Markets in Roma Street provided some storage. A water main ran from the dam to the site 0£ the Treasury Buildings. This main was just a series 0£ hard, hollowed out, grey ironbark logs.

Water was also obtained from a quarry spring near the Grammar School and other water holes in Victoria Park.

.. 29. -

By 1863 the water supply problem was acute and Brisl:e.ne's first Board 0£ Waterworks was con- stituted. The first task o:f this Authority was the construction 0£ the Enoggera Reservoir

across the head 0£ Enoggera Creek. This was completed in 1866 and provided a storage capacity 0£ 1,000 million gallons. For twenty years the Enoggera Reservoir served the City's purposes. The storage was increased by the construction o:f a :further earth dam acra; s Gold Cx;eek adjacent to the Enoggera catchment, providing another 400 million gallons £or storage. These two reservoirs still :form part 0£ the City's system today.

In 1890 it was decided to use the Brisbane River for further water. Mt. Crosby was selected £or a pumping station. In addition to the Brisbane supply, water was delivered in bulk to the Ipswich City Council since 1922, Redclif£e City Council since 1943, Albert Shire since 1963.

A large electrically operating pumping station

has replaced the earlier plant at Mt. Crosby. To maintain.

an adequate depth 0£ water at this Weirto permit the operation of this plant water may be released when required from :two

dams further upstream. · The two reservoirs are Lake Manchester and Somerset Dam. Lake Manchester Dam is situated 1¾ miles from the confluence of Cabbage Tree approximately 12 miles al:Dve the Mt. Crosby Pumping station. The dam is built

AgnctJltur11l ft11ts

(

MhOGERAH

f DAM

\ \

,.., !

'JIC' \

\ Sc11lo of rriles

: 0 '

... , f i

. '

·..._,...\j

-

Resen1oor 11re11 -Moogerah Dem C11tC:Yl'ltnl eree -Wamll C,eok Roads

__..._

Ralfwllys

LOCALITY MAP

The pumps are capable of lifting approximately ten million gallons daily to the Treatment Plant, 380 feet a to ve the river level. This pumping station is the biggest of its kind in Australia.

It is proposed to amplify the supply to the Brisbane Water Supply System by developing the North Pine River as a source of

supply.

From the pumping station the ⁰water is distributed to 23 service r eservoirs which have a total capacity of 47 million gallons. From these reservoirs water is distributed to the area served by the mains gradually decreasing in size. Problems

concerning the s ize and disposition of mains in a district alf~

from the nature of the existing and anticipated development in the area.

Many industrial concerns require services of a size which w:>uld supply hundreds of ordinary dwellings. The majority of

industries today use water in some form or other. The Tennyson and New Farm and Bulirnba Power Houses use a tremendous amount

of water for rooling purposes. Borthwicks, the Abottoirs and the Gravel Depots, together with the Fish Board utilise water to a great extent and their position on the river banks is rightly justified.

There are only small irrigation schemes which feed off the Somerset Daro, but in August 1964 the Moogerah Dan appm xirnately 64 miles south-west of Brisbane situated on Reynolds Creek, a tributary of Warr i l l Creek flowing into the Bremer River, was opened.

The dam is a multi purpose project designed to provide permanent water for private irrigators and industrial areas and ensure a measure of flood mitigation in the catchment area of the fertile Warrill Valley.

Expansion of irrigation has been restricted because of inadequate supplies from natural flow and frequent necessity to impose restrictions on pumping for irrigation. Water is brought to 66 land holders who would otherwise have faced excessive costs in obtaining water from the streams.

The catchment area of this dam is 88 square miles. The reservoir has an area of 2,J:80 acres with a storage capacity of 20,000 ~illion gallons. Supplies to the landholders are metered and allocated on a licencing basis. Landholders are required t o pay for 75% of the annual licenced volume. At present 126

irrigation licences use water from streams served by the dam.

Provision has been made to supply the S.E.A. of Queensland with 8,000 acre feet of water per annum for cooling and other

purposes at the thermal power stat ion under construction at Swanbank. The authority will draw water 1rom a location on the Bremer River through its own pumping equipment and rising main from the point of diversion to the pumping station.

The dam will also provide an assured supply of water for urban use in the towns of Boonah, Kalbar for which water is drawn by the Shire Council from a pumping station at

s.7

miles on

Reynolds Creek.

Expansion o:f irrigation is expect2d to :follow the current pattern o:f lucern £or hay and other fodders :for dairying and other livestock production as well as a wide range of vegetable production.

The area is particularly .ell suited :for expansion in view of its proximity to the expanding markets of the capital city

of Brisbane and the large urban centre of Ipswich with a population 0£ over 50,000.

Expanded irrigation will not only result in increased production :from the valley lands hit will benefit livestock·

production ins.irrounding dry land areas.

As will be seen :from the foregoing the supply of water to Brisbane and surrounding districts is a very costly undertaking.

Water is the cheapest commodity available and work is constantly in progress to ensure that the city has a reasonable supply at all times.

(B) DRAINAGE

At the moment the Brisbane River is not an open sewer, but this could happen in the future i f strict control is not

exercised in the dispersal o:f industrial wastes and sewers into the river.

In the United States, this situation is a very serious one and the Hudson River in particular is almost in the catagory mentioned above.

Of course the case o:f the Hudson River is slightly different to that of the Brisbane River. The Hudson River is part of a

'3CUM ON THE KUDSON RIVE.I< U.S.A .

wide network of inland waterways which have cities the size of Brisbane encroaching on its banks. The Great Lakes are also part of this waterway and starting from t he source , c i t ies

obtain water from the river and lakes and a large proportion is poured back in the form of industrial wastes . Most times very little control being exercised on their distribution. Moving towards the Atlantic the progressive use and rotation of water continues. By the time New York is reached the water is full of bacteria, slime and slush not fit for human consumption or the maintaining of fish.

The above statement is a very gloomy picture to paint but this is just emphasising the importance of dispersal of sewer and waste. water into the River.

Within the Central City a~ea of Brisbane there are approximately thirty stormwater lines entering the river. There is no limitation to the number of lines entering the river except in the case of industrial wastes.

There is fairly strict control on any sewerage or industrial waste water entering the tidal water of the Brisbane River, this control being administered by the Harto urs and Marine Department . Many wastes have to pass through a filtration medium before

entering the river.

In the case of the Tennyson and New Farm Power Houses, water from the river is passed through and used as cooling medium for the turbines. Any \tater collected from the river and by the nature of such usage becomes contaminated must be purified before entering the river.

We in Brisbane or £or that matter in Australia are very fortunate that we do not have an inland waterway. If this was the case there would be very many problems to solve in

the control 0£ e££luent entering the river not only in Brisbane but other towns associated with i t .

The main sewerage system £or Brisbane £lows out at the mouth 0£ the river known as Luggage Point. Originally there were disputes as to the location 0£ the outfall. At one time Parker Island just downstream £rom the Hamil ton Wharves a::ea was suggested as an outfall but finally, on the 4th November, 1913 a Government o££icial a£ter returning from overseas, considered the question 0£ the outfall and was 0£ the opinion that the site 0£ Luggage Point selected by the board was the best that could be found.

There are two syphons carrying sewerage across the river, one being located upstream and the other running from Bulimba on the south to Hamilton on the north bank. The syphon consists 0£ a gallery 8' O" in diameter and 1976 feet 1.ong £ram sha£t to shaft carrying two 28¹¹ diameter steel mains and one 12" main at depth of 195 £ eet below ground level.

It was in 1846 that the Steamer "Experiment" ran a regular shipping service between Brisbane and Ipswich. This proved to be an un£inancial success. Since this time River traffic has increased in volume and importance every year. There are many companies which use the river as a means 0£ transportation 0£

raw materials and £or transportation 0£ people in the form 0£

Ferry Services.

Among these companies a re The Queensl,and Cement and Lime Co. Ltd., Riverside Coal, Moreton Tug & Lighter Co. Pty. Ltd., Hayles Cruises Pty. Ltd. Other companies which make use 0£ the

river £or overseas trade are the Oil Refineries, namely Amoco and Ampol, the recently constructed A

.c.

F. & Shirley's Fertilizer Plant, the Fish Board, Evans Deakin and many others.

1

QUEENSLAND CEMENT & LIME CO. LTD.

The Queensland Cement & Lime Co. Ltd. began their operations in 1931. The coralline deposits surrounding Mud Island in

Moreton Bay are of prime importance £or the development of Queensl and. It is most advantageous that the raw material is

so close to Bri sbane. With the£ actory situated at Darra it has proved to be a very economical proposition.

The whole deposit round Mud Island i s uniform in character.

It is 18 feet to 20 feet in thickness over the area between high and low water. The Company has three vessels operating

'

the dredge "Coral" which was used as a tank landing ship during World War 11. In 1950 it was purchased by the company and

converted into a suction dredger. At the stern o:f the dredger are two mooring posts which enable. the vessel tooo pivoted and turned in an arc as required.

The suet ion ladder is 80 :feet long and carries two cutters and suction pipes. The ladder is hinged and controlled :for cutting and.feeding the coral to the pump.

The "Cementco" was purchased by the company in 1948. It

has six propellors and six rudders, and cruising speed o:f

7 ½

^knots

The hopper capacity o:f the "Cementco" is 2,000 tons.

"Morib" is a carrier or 800 tons capacity. It was originally used in Malaya and the Far East and purchased by the company

in 1953.

DRr;DGING AND CARRYING

The "CementCo" is moored alongside the "Coral" which is stationed at Mud Island. The delivery pipe from the "Coral" is connected to the loading pipe o:f the "Cement co" and the dredging pump is started. The approximate time o:f loading the "Cement co"

is 2 hours 40 minutes. Once loading is completed the "Cementco"

proceeds to the Company's Whar:f at Oxley. The river ttr ip o:f 40 miles taking 5 hours. At the whar:f the "Cement co" is moored, the hopper doors opened, and the coral rumped in the river where it is recovered by whar:f cranes.

A:ft er unloading the "Cementc,:>" returns t o t he "Coral" the return t r ip taking approXimately 4½ hours.

// RIVER'510E

,,

c..DAL. OIL FUEL LIG.t·frSE..

The full round trip is 12½ to 13 hours. This operation is carried out on every tide from Monday to Friday. Al l in all 800,000 dry tons a year are dredged from Mud Island.

RIVERSIDE COAL TRANSPORT CO. PTY. LTD.

Another firm which operates extensivel y on the river is Riverside Coal Transport Co. Pty. Ltd. This firm is mainly

concerned with the Transportation of Coal from the upper reaches of the river to New Farm and Bulimba power houses,

to general towing work on the river.

in addition

There are four colleries from which coal is obtained namely Rylance,Abermain,Moreton,and rivoli Colleries,all in the vicinity of the Junction of the Bremer and Brisbane Rivers. Four tugs are operating at the moment namely the'Hustler", "Carslyle",

"Olympia", and "Bremer" with :five barges, two being self propelled.

Once again Riverside Coal use the tides to their advantage, and all their vessels have to be of a reasonably shallow draught to enable them to encounter such difficulties as S2venteen

Mile Rocks and other shallows.

Besides coal transportation Riverside Coal dredge :for silica sand in the Callopie Passage of Moreton Bay, and large quantities of this are supplied to James Hardie & Co. Pty. Ltd.,

With the advent of the Ampol and A.mi>cDoil refineries,

Riverside Coal have been vo rking in conjunction with them i n t he in the bunkering of overseas vessels. These vessels generally anchor outside the Pile Light and the oil field :freighters proceed to this point.

GRAVEL ~ 5AND "DS:fOT NEAR W\U.\AM JOLL'( SR11>GE

SAN't> ~ GRAVEL DEPOT.

This saves many shipping companies the expense 0£ port £e~s which can be very costly especially if the ship is in port during a wharf labourers strike. It also assists in the development

o~ not only the refining industry 1but of the port itself.

General towing work is also carried o u t ~ Rivers:ide Coal

£or only l~ght loads. A new tug is now being bJuilt by Riverside Coal to cope with the increasihg demand £or river transportation.

Riverside ( OFL) will £orm the ncucl0.1S 0£ a fleet 0£

Rarges which will grow in a ccordance V1.i. th the requirements 0£

oil and shipping executives.

GRAVEL AND SAND DEPOTS

Moreton Tug & Lighter company is one of the three gravel and sand companies operating on the Bristane River £or the Dredging 0£ sand an gravel. The other two companies involved are Gravel and Sand Pty. Ltd. and William Collin§ & Son Pt y. Ltd.

This industry is one 0£ the most important industries

connected directly with the river. There are ample deposits 0£

gravel in the river 0£ various gauges and certain positions may be chosen to credge in order to obtain the necessary gauge

required.

Gravel and Sand Pty. Ltd. operate beyond Seventeen Mile Rocks round the Goodna area. The company was formed in 1911.

Gravel and Sand own £our sel£ propelled dredges and several freehold properties adjacent the William Jol ly Sridge where the washing and screening process 0£ the gravel material takes place.

I \

AMOCO OIL RE FINER'< 6UL.WER ISLAND

Moreton Tug & Lighter Company was formed in 1945 and at present operate further downstream from Seventeen Mile Rocks. In the f irst few yea.rs of the format ion of the company, their activities included the transportation of mineral sands f rom Dunwich to the mainland, and the wholesale supply of gravel to w. Quince & Co. Pt y. Ltd. at Oxley. The comµany is

primarily concerned with the dredging of gravel and sand from the river but do dredge £or sand in the Canipa Passage of Moreton Bay, this sand being used by the glass works. The

company operates a fleet consisting of 2 tugs, 2 self propelled lighters, and five barges. They also have a l icence to operate the Sir James Holt Ferry.

Towing work is carried out to a small degree by the company and one of their major contracts this year was the towing of dutch dredge "Captain Neilsen" in Moreton Bay up to a selected mooring place on the Brisbane River.

The gravel and sand depots are a nece·ssity to Brisbane. The economic factor must be kept in mind, so that any attempt to move them from their existing position on the river should be

seriously considered. At the present time costs of sand or gravel in Sydney are approximately$43i>per yard, whilst in Brisbane it is $2025 i:e r yard. I£ these yards are removed

from the city area and re-established outside the city the price of sand and gravel would rise by 80¢ per yard which would

seriously affect t he consumer and certainly increase the cost of building in Brisbane . It is obvious that s omething should be implemented to screen these yards and provide an attractive landscape instead of a very untidy motly of timber

I \

AMOCO RE.F \NE.RY.

scaffolding.

OIL REFINERIES

During the past two years with the discovery of oil at Moonie, Amoco Australia Pty. Limited and Ampol established oil refineries u t Bulwer Island and Lytton respectively.

A few years before 1960 Bulwer Island might have been considered one of the unlikeliest sites for any kind of

industrial development. The island was very low, and partially under water at high tide. It was muddy and overgrown with

mangrove and other swamp vegetation. But it had one factor in its favour - strategic location - which is important in

the light of Australias' active growth and subsequent discovery of new petroleum and natural gas resources less than 200

miles away. This is the site of Amoco's new refinery.

Although a considerable portion of Australian crude oil may be refined, more is required from other lands. Hence oil laden tankers need a r(!asonably deep habour and so sub- stantial d redging was necessary and t his offered significant improvement to the Brisbane harbour approaches.

SHIPBUILDING

Evans Deakin have an extensive shipbuilding yard at

Kangaroo Point and just recently much money has been spent on large scale improvements. This industry is a very important one connected with the river but because of t he limitations imposed by the width of the river a t this point any ships built have to con1orm to a stipulated maximun length for launching

Dalam dokumen Tlffi BRISBANE RIVER (Halaman 45-68)