File:Located about 94 kilometres south of Sydney, Cordeaux was the second of the four dams constructed to collect water from the Illawarra Plateau. Created by damming the Cordeaux River, construction (11266229526).jpg

English: Located about 94 kilometres south of Sydney, Cordeaux was the second of the four dams constructed to collect water from the Illawarra Plateau. Created by damming the Cordeaux River, construction started in 1918 and was completed in 1926.

The wall was built using cyclopean masonry – sandstone blocks, quarried from the site, fitted into an irregular pattern and packed with sandstone concrete.

Cordeaux is a curved dam with an unlined spillway to the left of the dam wall. Cement and metal were transported to the site from the main southern railway 21 kilometres away using a five kilometre steam operated aerial ropeway built across the Nepean Gorge. The final journey was completed by a narrow gauge rail line.

A township for workers was constructed, with barracks for single men and small cottages for married men.

Source: http://www.sca.nsw.gov.au/water/visit/cordeaux-dam
This image is part of a collection entitled ‘Touring the Past - Tourism and History in Australia', which is available to view on the Royal Australian Historical Society's Historypin Channel. Access the collection at the following link:

http://www.historypin.com/channels/view/id/48441/#%7Ccollections/view/id/3280/title/Touring the Past - Tourism and History in Australia

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