Mundaring Weir, considered one of the World's greatest engineering projects, is located 39km from Perth. The Mundaring Weir is the start of a water pipeline that distributes water to agricultural towns in the wheatbelt area, Kalgoorlie and Coolgardie. The water is distributed a total of 700 kilometres in all.
The Mundaring Weir is one of the marvels of Western Australian engineering and the man responsible was Mr Charles Yelverton O'Connor. Orginally from Ireland, O'Connor was also heavily involved in the establishment of Fremantle harbour and the State's railways.
O'Connor initiated plans for the Mundaring Weir in 1895 but these were fiercely opposed in Parliament and the approval was not granted until 1898. O'Connor was a victim of vicious campaigns and his plans were subject to vigorous criticism. In March 1902 O'Connor took his own life, partly as a result of the pressures involved with his role in the Mundaring Weir construction. The Mundaring Weir was completed in 1903 and the water scheme changed central Western Australia forever.
Soon after the opening of the Mundaring Weir it became a popular weekend destination. The local Goldfield Weir Hotel was thoroughly sucessful and by 1909 the branch line trains had even been timetabled to connect with the trains arriving from Perth.
Today, the Mundaring Weir remains a popular picnic spot. The No 1 Pumping Station has been transformed into the CYO'Connor Museum in honour of the mastermind behind early engineering in Western Australia.
Mundaring Accommodation
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