A brief history of the Highbury Aqueduct Reserve

The Aqueduct Channel 1869 A bill is passed to construct a new to increase ’s at an estimated cost of £75,000. The site is chosen in the at Hope Valley, about 7 miles from Adelaide.

1871 Construction of the aqueduct channel is not straightforward. Heavy rain and worker strikes slow work considerably. The Government sacks the contractor and takes over works. The channel is built using ballast stone. It follows a contour between Gorge Weir and at a grade of 1 foot 9 inches per mile. Despite being gravity fed over a slight gradient, the water discharges at a rate of 916,000 gallons per hour!

1872 The channel is finished. At 3.5 miles long, it has two tunnels (1750 feet), 2640 feet of pipe, and 12,760 feet of open channel.

1952 The Adelaide-Mannum pipeline project is slowed because of a steel shortage. A decision is made to discharge water directly into the upper reaches of the River Torrens, via the aqueduct.

1958 The Adelaide-Mannum pipeline is completed, it runs all the way to a terminal storage tank at Anstey Hill.

2008 The aqueduct system is decommissioned and replaced with an underground pipeline along the River Torrens.

Wicks Estate 1919 Leonard John Wicks buys 186 acres of scrubland for £3700. The land stretches from the foothills in the east to Wicks Rd/Dene Rd in the north, halfway along Country Lane in the west and to the River Torrens in the south. The land is used as a nursery, growing and selling fruit and nut trees and gradually transforms into an orchard of pears, peaches, apricots, plums, oranges, walnuts and pecans.

1950s The orchard is in its heyday and employs over 20 employees. 90% of the walnuts in California originally come from the walnut trees grown on the black soil near the river. Leonard lives in the old homestead on The Promenade (as it is now called) overlooking the river and the packing shed.

1968 Leonard and his wife Annie have six children. After his death their second son, Frank, takes over the running of the property.

1970s and 80s Leonard’s grandson John moves into the old homestead on the Promenade. He begins subdividing the land north of the aqueduct channel and takes over operations of the orchard south of the channel.

1990s The remaining orchard area south of the channel is subdivided and both areas (north and south of the channel) are now known as Wicks Estate.

Highbury Aqueduct Project 1960s An Engineering and Water Supply (EWS) lawyer named Sidney Maidment compulsorily acquires 200 yards of land on either side of the aqueduct channel as a buffer to urban development. A boundary fence was later installed by EWS to keep people and animals out for and safety reasons.

2008 The aqueduct system is decommissioned and replaced with an underground pipeline along the River Torrens, leaving behind a 50 ha linear reserve behind a six-foot high chain mesh fence.

2009 The Department of Planning, Transport and Infrastructure (DPTI) purchased the land from SA Water through the PDF for $2m. The reserve is now held under the care and control of the Minister for Planning, through DPTI.

2011 Natural Resources Adelaide and Ranges accepts responsibility for the day-to-day management of the reserve, including the development of the land for public use.

2013 - present A Master plan involving extensive community consultation is completed. It proposes that the reserve serve as a park for the local community and as an alternative to the River . This plan estimates the cost to open up the full length of the reserve at around $3.3m. Works completed to date include; making the site safe for public access, removing the boundary fence, building shared use and linkage trails, and installing trail signs and seats. Ongoing maintenance of the site and management projects continue.

Progress has been made thanks to the wonderful efforts of the Green Army, Aboriginal Learning on Country, The Carlisle group, Bush For Life, Pioneer Court Community Garden, Conservation Volunteers , Natural Resources Adelaide and and local residents.