Sunwater will host an open day on Saturday, May 21 at Fairbairn Dam, Gindie to celebrate its 50th year

Fairbairn Dam and Lake Maraboon have been an integral part of the Central Queensland community for the past 50 years and its rich history will be celebrated at a special open day event this weekend. Full details here.

Fairbairn Dam and Lake Maraboon have been an integral part of the Central Queensland community for the past 50 years and its rich history will be celebrated at a special open day event this weekend.

The dam, located southwest of Emerald, has been supplying water to the Nogoa Water Scheme, which includes numerous weirs, since its completion in 1972.

Construction commenced in 1968 as one of the major capitol works projects for Queensland at the time. The construction of Fairbairn Dam was closely aligned to the construction of a number of dams in the late 60s early 70s, a very progressive period for the state.

The main embankment, including the sealed road across the spillway, has a height of 46.33 metres and is a total of 823 metres in length. The width at the top of the embankment is 9.1 metres, including the roadway. The width at the base of the embankment is 314 metres wide.

The lake has a boat ramp, a recreational area, caravan and cabin accommodation at Lake Maraboon Holiday Village for those wanting to stay a week or four, a ski and water sports club and Camp Fairbairn Educational facility.

It reached its highest level on New Year’s Eve 2010 when it reached 5.5m above the spillway, or 176 per cent capacity.

It reached historic lows in December 2020 and early January 2021 of 7.39 per cent before it received inflows in mid-January 2021.

As of Friday, May 20, 2022 the dam was at 22.29 per cent capacity.

To celebrate half a century of being the second largest dam in Queensland, Sunwater, the company that owns and runs the dam, will host a free, family friendly open day at the Gindie site on Saturday, May 21 from 9am-2pm.

There will be information on how the dam operates, its history, how people can prepare for local weather events, and the Nogoa Water Supply Scheme.

There will also be retail and market stalls, live entertainment and music, a free community BBQ from the Lions Club, food and drinks, and activities for kids, including a jumping castle, and face painting.

For those who want to learn even more about the dam there will be a guided tour bus trip.

People interested in the tour will need to sign up for it at the Sunwater stall on the day.

Sunwater Central Region general manager operations Jason Smith feels the day will be about educating people about the dam and the role it plays in the community.

“We want people to leave the event knowing more about the dam and how it supports the region than they did before visiting,” he said.

“The presence of Fairbairn Dam has had positive flow-on benefits for the Emerald community through improved access to goods, services and amenities plus tourism and hospitality opportunities.

“Dams play a vital role in the community, providing industry-sustaining water and supporting employment and recreation.”

The event is not just for people who live in the Central Highlands area, but anyone keen to attend.

“Sunwater owns and operates 19 dams across regional Queensland. If people who attend the event are not a local but live in Queensland, it is likely that they live in proximity to one of Sunwater’s dams so learning about water supply schemes and how to prepare for weather events is still important, ” Mr Smith said.

It is recommended people going to the open day take cash because there will be no EFTPOS facilities available.

If you plan on attending the event you can fill out a registration form on the Sunwater website.

The open day is a Covid-safe event so if you feel unwell or have come in close contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19 it is kindly asked that you stay away.