Albany Fish Ponds (Hares Folly) Traditional Cache
Albany Fish Ponds (Hares Folly)
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Difficulty:
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Size: 
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I found this site whilst hunting out locations for the WA Explorer Series and I felt it was too great a place of local historical importance to not be showcased in some way. ***BRING YOUR OWN PEN***
The Fish Ponds are a series of three ponds in tiers down a slope. The operating principal was that the ponds filled and over flowed into the next, falling down sloping banks of about three metres. They were connected by wooden slip-ways between ponds. Exit from the lowest pond was by underground pipes to the locomotive sheds. The Fish Ponds were the first official pisciculture enterprise for breeding trout and other fresh water fish in Western Australia. It was part of the international acclimatisation movement, which saw the exchange of plant and animal species between European countries and new colonies. This resulted in the introduction of various European species to Australia. An integral part of the community, the place has contributed to Albany's water supply since 1888. In 1907 the top pond was enlarged by the Public Works Department to create a reservoir. The Governor of Western Australia, Frederick Aloysius WELD decided that fish should be introduced to fresh water streams and rivers. Albany was selected to be the base for acclimatising and rearing the fish. The Government Resident in Albany, Gustavus Edward Cockburn HARE, implemented the project by choosing the site for constructing three fish ponds on the southwestern foot of Mount Melville. Natural materials such as clay, earth banks and local wood were used in the construction. This work was carried out between 1874-77. The three ponds were to be hatcheries for trout and perch but the project was unsuccessful. It has been suggested that the ponds were built using convict labour but the construction period is outside the period of transportation to Western Australia. However the ponds could have been built using local prisoners, former convicts and 'Ticket of Leave Men'. The West Australian Land company, builder and owner of the Great Southern Railway and its associated facility, the Albany Deep Water Jetty, formally opened in 1889, obtained the ponds as a collective source of fresh water supplies for ships and stream locomotives. A gravity main carried the water to the railway and the jetty. The company sold its land holdings, the jetty and the line to the WA government in 1896. A growing demand for adequate water supplies to both the town and the port brought a decision in 1906 by government and council to build a 500,000 gallon reservoir at the fish ponds., The flow of water proved too slow. The ponds ceased to be used for the town's water supply after 1914. If you want to get in a bit closer to see the middle pond there is a break in the fence at the top of the first part of the trail.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Zntargvp Rpyvcfr Gva. Purfg/fubhyqre urvtug. Pbeare Cbfg.
Treasures
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