Coliban Water recently hosted representatives from Heritage Victoria as part of a bid to have the Victorian Goldfields listed on the World Heritage List. Adam Crameri, General Manager Water and Climate Strategy at Coliban Water, highlighted the significance of the region, noting that its inclusion would make it the 21st site in Australia to achieve this status.

The initiative is led by a consortium of 15 local councils, with the City of Greater Bendigo and the City of Ballarat at the forefront. According to UNESCO, the 1972 Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage seeks to identify and preserve sites of outstanding universal value, considering them part of the common heritage of humankind.

Crameri emphasised the Goldfields’ significant water history, including its gravity-fed channels, basins, storages, and valves. The tour for Heritage Victoria representatives included visits to the Coliban Main Channel, Brennans Tunnel, Crusoe Reservoir, the cistern and Specimen Hill gold diggings.

“The Coliban Main Channel, built in the 1860s, was crucial for bringing water to the Goldfields and remains a reliable source of drinking water for Bendigo today,” explained Crameri. “Without access to water, the Goldfields and mining communities would not have been able to function or survive.”

He also detailed the engineering marvels of the water infrastructure, such as the dissipaters along the Coliban Main Channel, which effectively slow the flow of water down steep hillsides.

The Victorian government has committed $3.8 million in the 2023/24 budget to advance the World Heritage nomination projects, including the Goldfields bid. Both councils and the government are working to place the Goldfields on the World Heritage Tentative List, which will allow UNESCO to assess its suitability in the coming years.

This article appeared in the Tarrangower Times, 5 July 2024.