The Hope pioneer. [volume] (Hope, N.D.) 1882-1964, 1903-09-24
WHERE wArER,5Is BOARDED.
Western Australia Building Pipe Line
to Desert Gold Mines. !:

desert east Of the fringe Of fertile
grain lands and timber along the
sea wassnntot supposed to be worth a
cent a square mile. The desert was
wholly unknown, except that q few
F., explorers had made their toilsome
way. over the immense expanse Of
sand; a few Others less fortunate had
i persisted in these forbidding wastes,
Then twas found, says the New
York Sun, that this Sahara was real:
ly to be the treasure house of the
colony. The precious metal dug out,
; o these sands hasmadethe gold prod
.uct Of western Australia equal to that
of all the other states in the common
wealth. Gold has helped this divi-
sion. of Australia to become one Of
D., the lustiest members of the British
colonial empire. -
Around the great mining center in
the desert $4,000 people are living.
It's. natural to ask how they get
water to supplytheir needs. The fact.
is, water is an extremely scarce com
modify there. 1t probably does not
bring SO high price in any other
part; Of: the world. Salt water is OBJ.
tanned without much difficulty by dig.
: ging, but the cost-of condensing it.
TO procure fresh water is SO costly
that every pint must be carefully
used. THERE'S an occasional shower,
and every house and tent in the min
ing district is supplied with tanks to
catch the rain water; but it is an I'M
reliable source Of supply. The result
is that every drop Of water must be
%husbanded. ..G.,.r =
We have no idea here, where water
! seems almost as free as air, how care
full they are in the mining region Of
western Australia to put every drop
J.. to the best use. 1t is not comfortable
Ito be- compelled to use water as
though you never expected to have
another pailful. The Inconvenience
and discomfort due to this cause are
a terrible drawback to that region,
and nothing less than the greed for
gold would induce any one to- submit
to the incessant ~deprivation., r.;ny
To-day western Australia is hard
at work to remedy this great need,
and tosupplyt the Coo!yardie and Kali
goorlie mining districts with a good
supply Of water. The total cost of the
work will be not less than $15,OO0,-.
900, but ii, will solve the water prob
lem. '..' .,D: .r-...s -. 4:
About25 miles northwest Of Perth,
near the sea and the capital of west
ern Australia, is the Green Mount
range. The Helena river crossesthis
range through a deep valley. A dam
100 feet high has been built acros
the river, and the reservoir thus
formed is even: miles in length and
will hold 1000, 000. 900 gallons 1t is
necessary to lift the water 1900 feet
10 the top of the mountains in order
to give it sufficient Roadway to reach
the. gold camps out in the desert.
The distance to Kagoorlie, the:far-
thest camp to be supplied, is 32S
miles. The water is to be raised to
the mountain top by means of eight
pumping stations, the machinery for
which has been purchased at a cost
of $4,000 90.
AT the summit of the mountains
the pipe line begins. 1t is 80 inches
in diameter, and is laid a little under
the surface along the railroad track,
except that in crossing various salt
lakes on the route it is supported on
piers. 1t is hoped to deliver fromthe
.. reservoir to the mining camps 5,000.-
600 gallons Of fresh water daily.
Even with this amount Of water it is
not expected that the mining popula-
ton will have a crop to waste. They
. will have to pay a good price for it.
I The charge to the miners, for exam
pie. will be $3.50 to $1.75 per thou
sand gallons at wholesale rates. We
should probably have little street
:prinkling, and garden hose would
become obsolete if we had to pay so:
l., high a price as this for the precious
duid. .2 i."- 49,: ,..,,l.
" 1t isnot expected that the project
will become self-supporting for some
time. The plant is to be owned by
the state. and the deficit must be paid
out Of the general taxes. Even if the
$4,000 persons to be supplied should
require the works to run at their
fullest capacity the pipe line would
hardly meet expenses. nr. d
=" 1t is believed, however, that an in
, creased production Of the gold will
be made possible by a good supply Of