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Home > About Us > History > Heritage Sites
Power and Water owns or has land that borders a number of sites of heritage interest.
Manton DamThe Manton River was impounded at the instigation of the Royal Australian Navy in 1942 to build the dam that was Darwin's first water supply reservoir. The dam was handed to the Commonwealth Government shortly after World War II and to the NT Government following self-government in 1978. Since construction of the Darwin River Dam in 1972, the water storage at Manton Dam has served as back-up supply for Darwin, and has been used for recreation. Some areas of the Dam are closed to protect water quality.
Power and Water has developed a conservation and management plan for the Manton Dam Historic Precinct (May 2001) in order to provide direction to ensure the future integrity of the area is maintained with regard to its historical and cultural significance.
For more information visit the Department of Natural Resources, Environment and the Arts.
Channel Island was the site of the first quarantine facility in the Northern Territory, with construction of the hospital and facilities completed in 1914. In 1931, it was converted to a leprosarium. The settlement was finally abandoned in 1955. Although many buildings were dismantled and removed following the closure, many historical artifacts remain on the island. The jetty, foundations of the original quarantine hospital, burial sites and associated artifacts provide evidence of a unique period in Australia’s history.
The Channel Island Conservation Reserve also includes the reef between the mainland and the island containing many small colonies of coral. The Channel Island Reefs are significant due to its relatively diverse coral community which is not consistent with its location well inside a large ria (drowned river valley) system characterised by substantial depression of salinity during the wet season, high turbidity and deep, fine muds over much of its area.
Both the leprosarium and the reefs are Heritage Listed sites.
Power and Water’s Channel Island Power Station complex borders the Reserve. Development and operations at the power station are carried out with consideration to NT Parks and Wildlife’s Channel Island Reserve Conservation Management Plan.
Old Alice Springs Power StationThe Old Alice Springs Power Station is located in Sadadeen Valley, Alice Springs. It is the oldest substation structure of the Alice Springs Power Reticulation, which began as a public utility in 1937. It was also the first major construction in Alice Springs by the administration following World War II. The machinery housed in the building reflects the changes in power generation technology over a fifty-year period.
Power and Water recognise the sites’ historical value, and action has been taken to preserve the old Power Station building.
Newcastle Waters is a large and historic cattle station located 777 km north of Alice Springs and 705 km south from Darwin. Newcastle Waters is significant for its association with the cattle industry since 1883 and particularly since 1919 when the town was developed as a depot for the construction and maintenance of stock route watering facilities. The Townsite has been Heritage Listed due to the presence of a number of structures of historical significance, such as the church, school and hotel.
Power and Water has decommissioned a minor power station at Newcastle Waters, having recently commissioned a 22kV powerline from Elliot Power Station.