Mangowine Dam

Statement of Significance

The Mangowine Dam has historic significance because of its association with Mangowine Homestead, and the pioneering Adams family, and as an example of early animal husbandry. It is also significant because it is representative of the importance of water to the development of the district, and the resourcefulness that settlers showed in harvesting and conserving it.

Physical Description

The natural watercourse has been enhanced and lined with local stone which conserves the run-off and directs it into the holding dam.
The dam and watercourse have silted up and reduced holding capacity.

History

In 1875, Charles Adams took up a grazing lease at Mangowine, and he and his wife, Jane, and two daughters moved there from Yarragin. They built a homestead at Mangowine (c1875), and continued to extend their grazing leases.
Water was a precious and rare commodity in this country, and in dry seasons the supply was unreliable. The availability of water dictated where stock could graze, and where various aspects of stock management were possible. In "Goomalling - A Backward Glance", Barbara Sewell describes early sheep husbandry methods, including the practice of washing sheep before shearing. Sheep were washed in soaking pens located in running streams or soak pools.
Surveyor J.S.Roe noted Mangowine Spring (located on Avon Location 13792, north of Mt Grey - in the Shire of Mukinbudin) during his exploratory journey in 1836, but a reliable supply of water was one of Charles Adams's first concerns after he settled at Mangowine in the mid 1870s.
Charles was responsible for putting down numerous wells on his grazing leases throughout the district, and there are three wells still remaining on Lot 2 close to Mangowine Homestead, and another across Karomin Road in Avon Location 972, just North of Lot 1 adjacent to the Adams graves. On the same side of the road are the remnants of the Mangowine Dam located on Avon Location 14085.
Water was directed into the dam by way of a stone lined waterway which has silted up over the years, but enough of the structure remains to excite the imagination.

Integrity/Authenticity

Integrity: Redeemable
Authenticity: High

Condition

Fair

Uses

Historic Themes

Creation Date

Publish place record online (inHerit):

Last Update

Disclaimer

This information is provided voluntarily as a public service. The information provided is made available in good faith and is derived from sources believed to be reliable and accurate. However, the information is provided solely on the basis that readers will be responsible for making their own assessment of the matters discussed herein and are advised to verify all relevant representations, statements and information.