Warragamba Dam - Haviland Park, Water supply dam and park in Wollondilly Shire, Australia.
Warragamba Dam is a large water storage structure in Wollondilly Shire built to supply water to the Sydney region. Haviland Park alongside provides parking areas, walking paths, picnic spots, and facilities for visitors to explore the surroundings.
Construction of the dam was completed in 1960 to address growing water demands as the Sydney area expanded after World War II. This project marked a major turning point in how the region managed its water supply for the population.
The park's name honours President Haviland, an associate professor of architecture at the University of Sydney consulted on the design of Warragamba's parks. Haviland Park is the most formal of them, laid out around a double avenue of sweet gum trees crossed by roads, with a weather shelter and a fountain designed by Spooner. Exotic Japonica, weeping wisteria and bauhinias are thought to have been transplanted from the main weir's maintenance area because workers valued them.
The precinct has been closed since 1997 because of construction work at the dam, including the 1998–2004 auxiliary spillway, which cut the park to about two-thirds of its former size. The former picnic grounds lay on a ridge between Lavender Creek and Folly Creek, south of the dam wall, reached by roadways and car parks. Check current access with Water NSW before travelling.
A roller-compacted concrete spillway system allows the dam to handle intense rainfall by releasing water in controlled ways. This engineering approach is partly visible from park viewing areas and demonstrates how the structure protects the downstream landscape.
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