tower retain unique penstock gate and operating gear (capstan, connecting shafts and gate) unique examples of this type of machinery of NSW. The terraces used in construction of the dam represent the first of their type in NSW and are associated with a number of technological innovations such as the first cableway used in NSW. The plant and equipment used in the construction was electrically driven, which was unique in NSW in regard to the date, extent of the installation and remoteness. The dam retains items of ironwork which are part of the original water delivery system, which are unique in NSW in regard to this date. The building of the dam represents a unique episode in the history of NSW in being the subject of a number of Royal Commissions made into the building and cost of the project. The Commissions are likely to have influenced the method of construction of later dams. The latter stages of the construction of Cataract Dam was completed by the contractors Lane and Peters. Cataract Dam is the only cyclopean masonry dam designed by the Public Works Department but completed under contract. Cataract Dam is arguably the most decorative of all the major dams constructed in NSW in regards to its high standard of rusticated stone finishes on the crest wall, abutments and crest house, the ashlar pattern imparted by the precast concrete blocks on the straight upstream face of the wall, the unadorned functionality of the concrete facing to the inclined downstream face and lower valve house, and the setting of the high straight wall within the landscape of the Cataract River gorge. The crest house and complementary elements such as the articulated arches on the crest wall, in their innate sense of scale and composition, rank with the best of all public works in NSW undertaken in the Federation era. The site of the construction township situated within the grounds of the picnic area and maintenance men's cottages was the first large temporary camp established for the construction of a dam in NSW. The Board's former official quarters and surrounds are unique within the context of dams on NSW and rare within the context of other government institutions of the federation era. The four stone workmen's cottages constructed in 1912, and the 1929 brick officer-in-charge's residence, consciously sited on the hillside overlooking the dam wall, impart a village-like appearance which is