Aug.,] RosKNHAiN. A Thoiisand Miles on River Murray. 57 



1917 J 



is now being Ixiilt is the first of the great engineering works 

 that are to be undertaken l)y South Australia on behalf of 

 Victoria, New South Wales, and South Australia. The whole 

 scheme comprises nine locks and weirs, six of which will be 

 situated between Blanchetown and the South Australian 

 boundary and three between the South Australian boundary 

 and Wentworth. No. 9 Lock will act as a diverting weir to 

 direct the water into Lake Victoria, which will be converted 

 into a huge storage lake, containing 22,000 million cubic feet, 

 for the regulation of the flow of the river. This will ensure 

 a supply of water for irrigation as well as water for the lock 

 system, and it may be well to state here that the water required 

 to maintain a locked and permanently navigable river is a mere 

 fraction of that necessary to provide for navigation in an open 

 river, thus rendering a much larger volume of water available 

 for irrigation purposes than would otherwise be the case, with- 

 out injury to navigation. The weir will consist of two parts 

 — viz., the " navigable pass " and the " sluices." The former, 

 which is 199 feet in width, will be entirely removed during 

 high river periods, and remain open for navigation. The stop 

 logs, which in low periods are placed between the sluice piers 

 to form the weir, will also be removed, the only obstructions 

 left in the river being the piers themselves and the lock walls. 

 In low river periods the navigable pass and sluices will be 

 closed, and navigation will be carried on through the locks. 

 Very careful consideration has been given to the matter of 

 determining the size of the lock chamber with a view to meeting 

 present and future requirements, and a size 56 feet wide and 

 275 feet long between the gates has been adopted. It is 

 anticipated that when the river is made permanently navigable 

 boats of the most modern design for both passenger and freight 

 traftic will replace many of the older vessels now in use. 



From the Murray locking system a great deal is expected 

 in connection with the future welfare of the States of New 

 South Wales, Victoria, and South Australia. The last State 

 will most ])robably derive the greatest benefit from these locks, 

 although it is difficult to foresee at the present time all the 

 benefits and advantages to the other States. The immense 

 districts that can be reclaimed all along the Murray from 

 Echuca to Lake Alexandrina opens up an area of wealth- 

 producing lands beyond the dreams of imagination, and, if 

 used to its full extent, these lands would be capable of carrying 

 more than the whole present jiopulation of Australia. A rough 

 estimate puts the reclaimable and irrigable land at over 

 3,000,000 acres. The possibilities are enormous. Althougli the 

 Murray lands in some districts seem poor, they arc wonderfully 

 fertile provided sufficient water is available for irrigation pur- 



