OUTDOOR DUNNIES, CESSPITS AND INGHAM’S WATER TOWER

Photo source: State Library of Queensland. 2211512. Large Water Tower, Ingham Queensland, 1953

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By Dr Bianka Vidonja Balanzategui

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Before Council brought Ingham a clean, healthy water supply in the late 1930s, households had their own water tanks and private wells, while there was also a town well. With no flushing indoor toilets, human waste leak from cesspits contaminated the wells causing sickness. The introduction of a nightsoil service lessened contamination but this was not a long-term solution.  

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At the start of the twentieth century, as the town grew, so did the chance of contaminating the town well. Only improved sanitary conditions would bring under control sicknesses such as typhoid and hookworm that persisted in the district. So, the Health Department inspector recommended that the water supply be drawn from the Herbert River. The findings of a Council commissioned report recommended a water tower costing £8,957, to supply 45 000 gallons, sufficient for around 1 500 people.  

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During the 1915 drought the water level in the town well dropped so low that the pump was unable to work, and water was carted from the river. Considerable sickness due to contaminated water resulted. Despite this the Council still did not act.  

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Twenty years later during the Great Depression the town water problems were finally solved. Council applied for a loan of £36,750 to build a water tower. In a groundbreaking offer that was the first grant of its kind for a civic water supply the Council paid only a third of the cost while the other two-thirds were contributed equally by the State and Federal governments. Work began in May 1937 using unemployed day labour to lay pipes.  

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A concrete well at the intake on the Herbert River and a concrete tower 120 feet high in the centre of Ingham were constructed. Mains between those points and reticulation pipes throughout the supply area were laid with consumer connections the householders' responsibility. In July 1938 water began to be supplied with the aid of pressure valves until the tower was ready.  

The new supply was available for limited hours, becoming more generous as consumer numbers increased. The scheme was finally completed in March 1939 with nearly 500 consumers already connected and extensions planned.  

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Teething problems included leaking experimental fibrolite pipes, and excessive consumption because though the river supply was boundless, delivery was restricted by the capacity of the powerhouse plant. Water restrictions were imposed during periods of heavy consumption, particularly during the war when electricity generation was reduced. Excessive domestic use was curbed by house-to-house inspections looking for leaking taps, educating consumers and even prosecuting where flagrant waste occurred.  

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The water quality was generally good, cleaned by natural filtration through sandbanks in the riverbed. However, discoloration occurred when floodwater entered the pump well or if there were dredging operations in the upper Herbert. Rusting pipes were caused by significant numbers of bacteria releasing large amounts of carbon dioxide. A chlorinator was installed to treat the water largely solved the problem.  

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Within the year there were requests for extensions from Trebonne, Halifax and Victoria Mill but the looming war put a hold on such plans.  

The 120-foot-high concrete tower was now the highest structure on the skyline and because of concern in World War 2 that it would be clearly visible to enemy planes some councillors argued that the tower should be camouflaged. In the end, shortages of both labour and paint put paid to the idea.

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This material was largely drawn from works written on the Hinchinbrook Shire by Dr Janice Wegner and Bianka Vidonja Balanzategui.

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