Andamooka Canal

Andamooka Canal

Ever since the Simpson Sea was first discovered in the 1840’s, there had been numerous proposals to properly connect the grand inner waterway to the greater world. With Initial propositions being first proposed in the 1860’s as the construction of the Suez Canal was occurring during the time, but the political will to commit to such a large project was not able to be conjured, along with the limited settlement of South Australia at the time dissuading any serious attempt at the time.

The Simpson Proposal The second serious proposal came just after WW1, with it being argued for improved strategic defence and a more interconnected economy with the Australian interior. Ironically proposed by industrialist Alfred Simpson, who had been the namesake of the Simpson Sea, this proposal was considered by the Australian government and slow preliminary discussions began in 1921 regarding where and how the canals would be constructed. By 1927 the federal government had determined that two seperate canal systems could be constructed, one running from Port Augusta into Lake Torrens, and then the second system of canals from the Lake into the Simpson Sea. During this phase, it was decided that the small Opal-mining town of Andamooka would be the base of operations for the project, as it would be a central location between both canals and therefore make for an ideal location for coordinating the construction and eventually be the town piloting ships through the canal system with assistance from Port Augusta. (Map of the Andamooka area prior to construction, 1929)

Initially, the project was to officially begin in 1930, but the sudden onset of the Great Depression and the massive Australian recession that followed forced the recently elected Labour government to prioritise the canal construction to at least stabilise a part of the crumbling economy. Therefore on the 21st of October 1929, South Australian premier Richard Layton Butler officially dug the first hole of the canal, beginning the Andamooka Canal.

Troubled Beginnings The initial work on the canal was fairly slow due to the rushed nature of the project early on. With the machinery needed for deep dredging taking months to arrive due to the Central Australian Railway being a narrow gauge line not designed for carrying such heavy machinery. Along with that, Port Augusta did not have a large enough harbour to moor large vessels, a problem that would be fixed with its harbour expansion between 1932-1935 as a part of the project. The early issues were also compounded with troubles coming from the workforce, who for the first few years were predominantly local aboriginals who had been seeking work. They were treated exceptionally harshly with limited pay along with minimal accomodation and work safety. This culminated with the 1931 Augusta Strike, with the workers refusing the work for 2 weeks, the government, which feared the potential economic strain such delay would bring, ordered the local police to suppress the workers. After the end of the strike, the government decided to replace a significant chunk of the aboriginal workers with White workers, who were prone to less complaining. (Members of the Augusta Strike, 1931)

Moving up

By late1934, the dredging for the southern canals, often referred to as the Augusta Canals, had mostly been complete, with about 95km of dredging having been completed, with only the canal locks having to be installed. By this time, Andamooka had grown into a sizeable workers town of about 4-5 thousand people, along with this, parts of the Central Australian Railway had been upgraded to a Standard Gauge line between the Adelaide-Port Augusta-Marree section.The southern canal was officially completed on the 17th of December 1935, 2 weeks ahead of schedule, to great celebration by both the government and its workers, the canal project to this point had also significantly stimulated the economy both nationally and locally, with Port Augusta especially growing into a small city that could potentially compete economically with Adelaide to the south. The second half of the canal construction was slated to be easier, but there were delays due to the need to construct bridges across to 2 northern canals as the Central Australian Line crossed through the proposed locations; these bridges were done by mid 1936 but had delayed the project as a result. (Members of the Southern Canal Dredging Crews, 1933)

Final Stretch

The northern canals began to be dredged after the bridges had been completed for the railway, as a result there had been delays but simultaneously allowed for material, machinery, and men to be transported to the workers by rail directly from Port Augusta to their work site. By January 1938, the dredging for the northern canals had been completed, which had been easier due to better experience and that these canals only had lengths of 40km, which was relatively a lot less than previously. Officially on the 16th of May 1938, Australian Prime Minister Joseph Lyons and South Australian Premier Richard Layton Butler cut a red ribbon across the locks of the southern canal, officially declaring the Andamooka Canal to be open. With both men and their entourages being the first to pass through the locks on a steam ferry and into Lake Torrens, with the boat arriving at dock constructed for Andamooka and officially dropping off its first passengers and going to through to the northern lock into the Simpson Sea, making it a world first. From then the Locks & Canals were operated by Port Augusta & Andamooka pilots, marking the beginning of a great move and investment into the Australian interior still seen to the modern day. (S.S Flinders, the first boat to pass through the Andamooka Canals)