Coranderrk Aqueduct
Completed in 1931, the Coranderrk Aqueduct transports water to Silvan Reservoir and the township of Healesville. It is part of the heritage-listed Maroondah water supply system.
However, the original Coranderrk scheme diverted water to the Maroondah Aqueduct via the Badger Creek Weir, completed in 1909. A second weir was built further upstream in 1928 to 1929, along with the aqueduct and Graceburn siphon.
View 360-degree panoramas of the aqueduct below, using the top-left menu to move between locations – including the caretakers hut. Read on to hear first-hand from a former caretaker about how these assets were maintained.
Maintaining the aqueducts
Once the Maroondah and Coranderrk aqueducts were built, there was still the important job of cleaning and patrolling their entire lengths.
This was given to ‛caretakers’, who typically worked in pairs to maintain an allocated section – approximately 10 miles, or 16 kilometres long. Each pair would patrol this daily, often on foot or by bicycle.
Patrolling the aqueduct was important for keeping the channels clear of foreign bodies and contaminants, such as stormwater runoff, fallen trees and the odd animal. It also allowed caretakers to check for leaks and blockages, which occurred regularly.