Lake Tinaroo

No, not Pinnaroo..., Tinaroo!


Lake Tinaroo 'foreshore', bordered by park, bike tracks, playground, BBQ's etc

 From Cairns we headed out to Lake Tinaroo, in the Atherton Tablelands, for a couple of nights before heading on to Kinrara Station.

Wanting abit of power for 'school' and a laundry before heading on, we decided to stay at the caravan park near the foreshore.

I did have a bit of a' cackle' to myself
about the sign at the front of the caravan
park - and looked where they place us!!

                   

This is another example of water storage and irrigation for Qld - where a bit of a low spot happens with a few intersecting waterways, why not construct a huge wall and flood the valley. Add a few fish and 'hey presto', everybody's happy. We have seen a number of dams such as this constructed in the 1950's and 60's when water was seen as the limiting factor to further development in city growth and agriculture. I guess when you receive and average of 1300mm rain a year, it is a shame to see it all run off the mountains and out to sea.



Tinaroo Dam wall



Water lapping at the top of spillway



Irrigation system heading away from dam

From 1953-1958 work was carried out to build the dam wall, and dam the Barron River. The town of Kulara, which was near Yungaburra, was flooded, with all the residents being relocated nearby. Evidently, the conclusion of the project was a bit rushed, as the wet season began early that year and rumour has it there is still some construction equipment at the base of the dam wall!

Over 150 kilometres of channels, using gravity feed or pump systems, enable irrigation to the valleys of the Barron, Walsh and Mitchell Rivers - an area of about 415km2. Surplus run's over the spillway and back into the Barron River.

Holding about the equivalent of 3/4 of Sydney Harbour, the sizable boundary of it provides a fantastic recreational area for fishing, swimming and skiing etc. I think it is a bit like the 'Kingston' of Atherton, where many of the locals escape there for the summer and long weekends. There are heaps of pretty spots for camping around it's edge and we encountered some beautiful 'winter-weather' (Qld style) while we were there. 

 Campsites along the edge of the lake