Redbanks Reservoir

Fast Facts
Street name	Forrest Rd/corner of Coleman Rd.
Street suffix	off Wasleys Rd
Town or Locality	Redbanks

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In 1907 Barossa water was piped to Redbanks and this made stock watering reliable and convenient. It was also welcomed at homesteads and the gardens flourished. In 1909 the service reservoir at Redbanks was built and has a capacity of 10,000,000 gallons. Mallala, Dublin and other nearby areas are supplied from this reservoir. Smith and Timms were the contractors that built the dam, although they used all local labour. Arthur Fry from Mallala was the works manager and lived in a tent by the reservoir while it was being constructed.

The farmers in the area dug the dam with shovels and carried the earth up the sides of the dam with horse and drays and later carted stone back to make the surface watertight. The sides are 20ft high. The water rates were levied at 4 pence per acre on all land within the first mile abutting a water main, and a special rate was adopted in the towns.

Sources

• "Life Around the Light" A History of the Mallala District Council Area.   Published 1985