Community Talk: Wellington Dam Archaeology

A 1930s forest valley preserved beneath Wellington Dam, Collie WA

Wellington Dam was built in the early 1930s, and when the reservoir filled, it swallowed a working forest valley complete with jarrah trees, timber tracks, and corduroy roads. The cold, fresh water has kept it all in remarkable condition. On their weekends Patrick, Aren and Andrew are systematically mapping the site using multibeam sonar, technical diving, and underwater line mapping adapted from cave diving techniques.

Stumps, logs, and old tracks are still recognisable on the lakebed, along with concrete infrastructure that probably dates to when the dam wall was raised again in the 1950s. There is still a lot they don't know about this landscape and the people who worked it.

Come along to hear what they've found, and please get in touch if you have any information about the valley before it was flooded!