Kylie Dam Reserve

Available for download:

Kylie Dam Reserve Conservation Appeal Donation Form

Many Hands Make Light Work (Published in WA News November 2007)

Kylie Dam Reserve: Moving Forward (Published in WA News August 2007)

Kylie Dam Reserve is a 220-hectare property in the Shire of West Arthur, which exhibits a unique combination of built, natural and cultural heritage values. The National Trust is working in partnership with the Shire and local community to restore the reserve to conservation status and secure its ongoing protection and management.

The reserve contains a dam, a 3 km caste-iron pipeline and a railway water supply tank, which are over 90 years old and remain in very good condition. The property also has significant natural heritage values, with a good representation of upland native vegetation; however, grazing of the north and eastern portion of the property has degraded the natural values of the site.

The history of the reserve is closely linked to that of the local community, which has been extremely supportive of the conservation project. The dam, when restored, will play an important role within the community, as a tourism cultural facility. It will also be used to supply local farmers with water for fire-fighting, or use in times of severe drought.

Rehabilitation Project

In recognition of the reserve’s heritage value and management needs, the Shire of West Arthur has agreed to transfer the site to the National Trust, who will coordinate the rehabilitation project. A conservation plan will be developed to inform the restoration works, which will include maintenance of the built heritage and revegetation of the degraded bushland. Due to the property’s location high in the landscape, rehabilitation of the land will lessen the impact of salinity across the catchment.

The project aims to restore Kylie Reserve to conservation status, protecting both natural and built heritage values and engendering community participation and support. The rehabilitation of this property is part of a long-term project, which will eventually see it transferred to the Department of Environment and Conservation for inclusion in the national reserve system.

A tax-deductible appeal has been established to raise funds for the rehabilitation of Kylie Dam Reserve. If you would like to contribute to the conservation of this important heritage site, please download the donation form or contact the National Trust on (08) 9321 6088.

Community Planting Days

Local community members came out in force to assist with revegetation work at Kylie Railway Dam Reserve in the Shire of West Arthur. The community planting days were held on 13, 14, 15, 18 and 19 July 2007 and were well attended by representatives from the National Trust of Australia (WA), the Forest Products Commission, the Shire of West Arthur and community groups.

The reserve has recently been vested in the National Trust of Australia (WA), who is coordinating a rehabilitation project to conserve the built and natural values of the site. Through a unique partnership with the Forest Products Commission, the National Trust is working to revegetate degraded areas of bushland with native sandalwood. This is an important part of the rehabilitation project, as it will improve the condition of the reserve and benefit salinity containment across the catchment.

The West Arthur community has been actively involved with the rehabilitation project and has made a significant contribution to planning and on-ground works. Neil Manuel, who owns land adjacent to the reserve and is president of the Arthur River Country Club, has been instrumental in coordinating the community planting days. His hard work paid off as representatives from local clubs, service groups, schools, and the wider community joined National Trust, Shire of West Arthur and Forest Products Commission staff members in planting more than 30,000 seedlings over five days. In accordance with the community-centred ethos of the project, the planting program at Kylie Dam Reserve will also provide funds for resurfacing the tennis courts at the Arthur River Country Club.

Volunteer recognition

Neil Manuel (right) at the AGM with Leah Manuel and Alan Briggs, Manager - Natural Heritage.

At the National Trust’s Annual General Meeting on 7 November 2007, Neil Manuel received an appreciation award in recognition of his outstanding commitment to the Kylie Railway Dam Reserve Rehabilitation Project. Neil voluntarily coordinated the community planting days, which were extremely successful, and has recently accepted the position of inaugural Chair of the Kylie Dam Reserve Conservation Appeal.

The National Trust relies on the support of volunteers like Neil to continue its work and the Kylie Dam rehabilitation project demonstrates how important the commitment and involvement of the local community can be. In recognition of this, the community contribution to the project was also celebrated at an official appreciation event, held on Saturday 20 October in West Arthur. After a brief tour of the reserve, attendees headed to the Arthur River Country Club for the formalities, which were followed by lunch.

Natural Heritage Manager Alan Briggs began the celebration by thanking Neil and other community members for their tremendous support, before officially launching the Kylie Dam Reserve Conservation Appeal and announcing the appointment of the new chairman. Alan also acknowledged the generous bequest to the appeal that had been received from the estate of Vincent Serventy AM. Vincent was an active figure in conservation in Western Australia for more than sixty years and he had a passion for protecting the state’s valuable natural heritage.

This donation, along with other contributions to the appeal and the continued support of the local community, will enable the long term management of the reserve, so that it can be protected and enjoyed into the future.

Australia Day Award

Peter Wharton, Scott Degaris and Neil Manuel with the award certificate.

The outstanding efforts of the Preservation of Kylie Reserve Group were recognised at the Premier's Australia Day Awards Ceremony, which took place on 26 January 2008. Scott Degaris collected the 'Active Citizenship' award on behalf of the Group and gave a short speech about the history and success of the project.

The presentation was made by Councillor Bill Johnston on behalf of the West Arthur Shire Council. In presenting the award, he said that if the above group had not been as determined as they were, the reserve could well have been transferred to private ownership, as the West Arthur Council was under great pressure to do this.  The reserve area had already fallen into disrepair with large areas of vegetation degraded due to over-stocking. Scott De Garis, Peter Wharton, Andrew Putland and Neil Morrell approached the Shire Council on at least two occasions seeking support to end the grazing lease and have the Kylie Reserve returned to a full reserve status.

Their efforts paid off and the rehabilitation project commenced with the planting of 50,000 trees , financed by Infinitree together with the Natural Trust.  The tree planting was coordinated by Neil Manuel who organized a large group of local people to plant the trees last July, in the process raising $13,500 for the Arthur River Country Club and other community clubs.