South Bruce waterhole - 1967 to 1983

There used to be a waterhole in South Bruce. It was created in 1967 to provide water for sheep. In 1983, it was filled in with earth and replanted. 

The waterhole was located at the foot of Fitzherbert Place. 

A news story about the waterhole appeared in The Canberra Times (Wed 27 Jul 1983, Page 11), titled "Residents lose their battle for Bruce waterhole". (The article is accessible on the National Library of Australia's Trove system, link).

The text of the story is:

Residents lose their battle

for Bruce waterhole

By GRAHAM D0WNIE

Workmen will begin filling in a stock watering hole this week after a group of South Bruce residents lost their battle to save it.

The residents began their fight to save the waterhole in April. The Department of Territories and Local Government had said it believed that the unprotected waterhole was a danger to young children.

The residents argued that children enjoyed playing in the area and that it provided a water source for animals and birds.

In a recent letter to one of the residents, a spokesman for the department said that options had been considered for the development and subsequent management of the site.

With the waterhole being close to a residential development and a busy cycle path, the department's primary concern was for the safety of small children.

This view was shared by an officer from the Australian Federal Police, who had inspected the area.

The spokesman said that the waterhole had been hastily dug during the 1967 drought to provide water for sheep. It had been supplied by water tanker.

The waterhole was not permanent and had "often" been dry. If it was to be left as a pond, a mains water supply would have to be provided.

For a viable aquatic ecosystem to be established, considerable capital works would be necessary. These would include emptying the pond, regrading the base and covering it with top-soil and the introduction of aquatic plants.

The department had decided instead to level the area and to plant native trees and shrubs, thus returning the area to its natural state. It believed that this would enhance the area and screen the suburb from the busy arterial roads which bound it.

A spokesman for the residents who wanted the waterhole retained said it was believed that it had only once been dry — at the end of the recent drought.

Residents did not think it would go dry again. "This simply reflects the ebb and flow of the seasons," the spokesman said.

 Here are some views of the site of the waterhole today:

Thank you to our members Julia, Kerry, Pamela & Bill for the information presented here.