Of itself, this letter appears to be fairly inconsequential. Written by Russell Dumas (later Sir Russell), to Alex McCallum, it connects two men who made significant contributions to the development of water resources for the expanding population of Perth and Western Australia during the 1930s. The significance of the letter is the subject – a photograph taken at Canning Dam. Locating the exact photograph involved some research as there are two similar photographs in the McCallum Collection, taken on different occasions. The story of the Canning Dam construction was needed to identify which was which.

The Hills Water Scheme Canning Dam construction

The construction of the Canning Dam was approved by Cabinet on 18th September 1933 when it was expected to take eight years to complete, at an estimated cost of £1,200,000. The announcement was greeted by the Daily News as ‘water galore for everyone’ in an article that anticipated the end of water restrictions and use of bore water to supplement Perth’s growing summer water demands (Daily News, Sept 19, 1933, p4).

Alex McCallum was the Minister responsible at the commencement of works. Russell Dumas was Chief Engineer in the Metropolitan Water Supply who directed the construction of the dams of the Hills Water Scheme.

While Cabinet approval was required to fund the project, preliminary works had in fact commenced at the site earlier in September, and McCallum wasted no time by marking the occasion with the unveiling of the tablet commemorating the commencement of work, on an unspecified date in the same month.

JCPML00830/35 is a small photograph taken on the day.

The tablet may have been unveiled in September of 1933, but it was later at a much larger inauguration ceremony in December 1934 that the tablet was fixed to the valve house wall. It was this occasion that is recorded in JCPML00830/33, which is a mounted photograph and the one sent with the letter.

Work proceeded well and was reported on frequently until December 1936 when the entire workforce and project was suspended for a period of six months, due to reduced loan funds.

This must have been immensely disappointing to McCallum, who had resigned from Parliament and Cabinet in March 1935 to take up the position of Chairman of the Agricultural Bank. It would seem that he requested the photograph from Dumas around the time of the project being suspended.

McCallum would not live to see the completion of the Canning Dam, which would have been considered one of his crowning achievements as Minister. He died the following year in July 1937.

Project completion

Financial dramas notwithstanding, construction of the Canning Dam was completed in less than eight years. The official opening in September 1940 was a more subdued ceremony than that of 1934. The Premier, Mr J.C Willcock, unveiled a second tablet at the approach to the wall. The original tablet first unveiled by McCallum in 1933 was moved to the wall entry at the completion of the project.

Russell Dumas enjoyed a long and distinguished career and was knighted in 1959.

Dumas Road on the western side of the Curtin Bentley campus is named in recognition of Sir Russell.

References

Lenore Layman, ‘Dumas, Sir Russell John (1887–1975)’, Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/dumas-sir-russell-john-10059/text17743, published first in hardcopy 1996, accessed online 30 Nov 2017.