Lake Eppalock: agent of local change

THE construction of Lake Eppalock in the early 1960s brought enormous change to the Heathcote district.

Large tracts of farmland disappeared under water, along with many buildings and mature gum trees – changing the countryside forever.

The town experienced a mini building boom and holidaymakers began to flock to the region in large numbers.

Heathcote had been at serious risk of running out of water after a prolonged drought in 1942.

Both the Pyalong and McIvor shires saw a reliable water supply as a high priority for post-war projects.

The McIvor Times published a series of letters in January 1945 about the proposed ‘Eppalock Weir’.

One correspondent, ‘Lost in the Desert’ noted the wider advantages of the scheme.

“We were happy to learn the great Eppalock Weir is in the State plans,” they wrote.

“Probably Heathcote people have not thought in this way, but Eppalock can be of great benefit to the fast-decaying town of Heathcote.”

‘Irrigator’ countered with a blistering response the following week.

“There is no doubt,” they wrote, “that this is the same writer who in the Bendigo press recently…showed his love for the man on the land by expressing his hatred of the ‘large landholder’ and termed the small farmer ‘lazy and ignorant’.

“His sole reason for writing must be to vent his petty spite on the people of the district which for some reason best known to himself he has taken a dislike to.

“As his proposal is only a ‘Mickey Mouse Fantasy’ there is nothing necessary to say in reply.”

The heated exchange between the two continued for some weeks until either the writers, or perhaps the newspaper’s editor, decided it was time to move on to other topics.

But more general discussions about the weir continued until works began in 1960.

In the lead-up to the official start, the McIvor Times ran a number of items including a McIvor Shire report on the new roads that would be needed as a result of the project.

The cost of those was estimated at about £57,000, which is the equivalent of more than $2 million today.

On 9 June 1960, Victorian Premier Sir Henry Bolte made a landmark trip to central Victoria.

“With over 1,000 people in attendance, in one of the greatest demonstrations the district has seen of popular approval of a government action, Premier Bolte pressed a button on Thursday last and across the Campaspe a tremendous explosion heralded the official commencement of works on the Eppalock Weir,” the McIvor Times reported.

In the weeks and months that followed there were several articles focusing on roadworks and soil erosion prevention.

By 1961 there were calls to revive the inactive Advance Heathcote Association as more and more residents began to leave the district because their farms would soon be under water.

However, in 1962 the focus shifted to the recreational possibilities of what was now being referred to as a lake.

On 29 August the McIvor Times noted that a meeting in the RSL hall had resulted in the formation of a yacht club, while McIvor Shire councillors had made an official tour of proposed boating facilities in the Derrinal area.

The lake was starting to fill.

Sailing was well-established in late 1963 and the fledgling yacht club had already hosted a regatta by then.

In April 1964, Mr Bolte made a return visit and the newspaper carried a lengthy account of proceedings.

“A large and representative crowd of interested people, accommodated on the lawn in the picturesque area at the foot of the Eppalock Weir wall fronting the newly completed pumping station, heard the State Premier (Mr HE Bolte) officially open the project and saw the spectacular spray of water as he operated the regulating valve to discharge water from the storage into the pipeline that leads to Bendigo.to officially open the lake,” it reported.

Mr Bolte noted that Eppalock was the fourth largest reservoir in Victoria, exceeded in capacity only by Eildon, Waranga and Rocklands.

“With a full capacity of over 250,000 acre-feet of water, it covered 8,000 acres with an average depth of 31 feet and a maximum of 123 feet near the dam wall,” the paper reported.