Dartmouth dam Traditional Cache

DARTMOUTH — originally called Banimboola — was once a beef property.

In the 1960s, the 460 hectare beef farm,owned by the Scales family, was split up. With 140 hectares bought by the old Victoria State Rivers and Water Supply Commission. The town was established to support more that 3000 people who flocked to the area to work on the Dartmouth Dam when construction started in 1973.

The dam took six years to build and five men were killed during the building process. One man misjudged the turning circle at the top of a deep drop and his truck toppled over the cliff. Another, after consuming excess alcohol, turned up to work while it was still dark and fell asleep on the ground near a light that guided trucks when one dumped its load on him. A death stringent safety laws could not prevent. Yet deaths were fewer than had been expected. It had been predicted that on such a dangerous project 23 deaths could be expected.

The town thrived during the construction phase of the 70s. It had a doctor’s surgery, bank, supermarket, A TAB with the highest turnover in country Victoria, a butcher, chemist, milk bar, post office and newsagency. The primary school had 180 pupils and six teachers. But, people seemed to disappear overnight once the work was completed. The school had five children when it closed in 1987.

Lake Dartmouth Corporation, made up of Sydney businessmen, bought the town for $1.2 million to develop as a tourist destination. The project soon failed. Now locals own the remaining businesses, meaning money made in town stays in town.