A 530 km long pipeline was built around 1900 to bring water to the goldfields in Kalgoorlie. We drove out of Perth to the Darling range where a large catchment dam was built to hold the rain water. To get the water up and over the hills to the mines, a steel pipeline was laid in trenches. 7 pump stations were built along the line. Pump station no 1 is at the dam in Mundaring. The station is not open very often so we had to plan the trip. It was a nice insight in 19th century engineering. Three large steam boilers provided power to 3 steam engine/pump combinations. The pipes were made out of 2 rolled steel plates folded together with a lip held in place by a clamp. The individual pipes were joined and sealed by lead pored into the gap. Many connection and pipes started leaking over time and have been replaced. Still the line is in operation for over 100 years.

From Mundaring we drove back to Perth and are  now staying with Peter and Helen . A colleague from our Brunei Shell time. They have immigrated to Perth some 18 years ago.