Such Was Life: Water Encore
The sequel to “Starring Water”, Water Encore is a story common to every community in the Goldfields. The population explosion that followed the discovery of gold resulted in death, destruction, innovation and new industries. In the years before CY O’Connor’s pipeline brought water from the coast to the distant Goldfields the lack of fresh water resulted in:-
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Australia’s largest ever, and deadliest, typhoid epidemic.
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A major industry. For example the Wilkie Brothers built a huge battery of condensers to produce 100,000 gallons of fresh water a day from the salt lakes.
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Deforestation of a vast area. The Wilkie condensers alone required 100 tonnes of wood a day.
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The Invention of dry blowing to separate gold nuggets from dirt. Panning in rushing streams, as prospectors had done elsewhere, was simply not an option in the desert.
