Ben Chifley Dam, Embankment dam near Bathurst, Australia
Ben Chifley Dam is an embankment dam on the Campbells River, near the city of Bathurst in New South Wales. The wall is built from compacted earth and rock, and it holds back a reservoir that feeds the regional water supply network.
The dam was built in the late 1940s and completed in the mid-1950s to replace an older water source that no longer met the needs of the Bathurst region. It was part of a broader push to modernize public infrastructure across Australia after the Second World War.
The dam is named after Ben Chifley, who served as Australian Prime Minister from 1945 to 1949 and was known for championing public works. Seeing his name on a working water supply structure gives a sense of how infrastructure was once seen as a direct service to ordinary people.
The site is located a short drive from Bathurst and can be reached by car along local roads. As this is an active water supply facility, access to some areas may be restricted, so it is worth checking conditions before visiting.
The dam has two separate spillway systems that operate independently to release surplus water during heavy rain. For a structure of this size, this dual setup is relatively rare and reflects the care taken to manage flood risk in the Campbells River valley.
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