Page 20 - City of Cessnock Water Supply and Sewerage Service Utility

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Kurri No. 3 Sewerage Pumping Station is off Wallsend Street, Pelaw Main.
Here the two units cost £928.10.0 ($1857.00). Eacn unit has a six-inch (6")
vertical centrifugal sewer pump, which works at 950 revolutions per minute with
six-inch (6") drive and six-inch (6") suction sections, producing 490 gallons per
minute to lift a one hundred and two feet (102') level. These pumps are driven
by a 30 H.P. Crompton Parkinson vertical _protected S.R. electric motor. (Note: 415
volts, 3 phase, 50 cycles).

The Kurri-Weston sewerage scheme was completed late in 1945. It
included Kurri, Weston, Stanford Merthyr and Pelaw Main regions.

An area of Black Creek being Section 8, Lot 1, Village of Branxton was
reserved for a water supply at Branxton in Government Gazette dated 27th
September, 1902. However it was not until the Kearsley Shire Council gave the
H.D.W.B. a guarantee on any revenue deficiency, that the Board on 2nd April, 1946
authorised a water supply to Lochinvar, Greta, Branxton and North Rothbury.
This water service was expected to cost £45,000.0.0 ($90,000.00). This service
commenced with the laying of an eight-inch (8 11 ) main pipeline from Rutherford
Reservoir towards Greta. Street reticulation pipelines were to be four~inch (4")
size. Mechanical means of excavation and re-fill were utilised and greatly speeded
up the project. By the end of 1947 most of the Greta, Branxton and North Rothbury
areas had their water supply completed. In late 1948 a high level tank to hold
98,986 gallons was completed at North Rothbury. This elevated tank stands on part
of portion No.32, Parish of Branxton. This land was donated by Edward and
William Merewether to the H.D.W.B. The Merewether brothers had owned Rothbury
Coal-mine and the surrounding area that became North Rothbury Village. They had
been generous, because they also donated to the Education Department the land to
build the local school.

The North Rothbury tank was of steel construction and of circular design
with a diameter of thrity-four (34') feet. It had a depth of eighteen (18') feet
when full and this level was three hundred and thirty-eight (338') feet above
the sea. The high level North Rothbury tank was manufactured by Vidor Engineering
Pty. Ltd. of Newcastle. The roof was field welded. The H.D.W.B. construction
engineer was Mr. J. Thompson. Subsequently in 1973 a one million eight hundred
and sixty-three (1,000,863) gallons reservoir has also been built on Portion 32,
Parish of Branxton and additional land purchased adjacent to the original site.
Two other reservoirs had been constructed earlier and were utilised to improve the
quality and capacity for the Greta-Branxton-North Rothbury Reticulation, these
were the Lochinvar Reservoir and Harpers Hill Reservoir.