The Fitzroy River Barrage is a mid-river dam system constructed on the Fitzroy River in Rockhampton, Queensland, Australia which separates the tidal river into saltwater and freshwater sections. It was designed to dam the river, enabling a permanent water supply to be stored for the city and its surrounding communities as well as providing an agricultural water supply for registered rural users. History The Fitzroy River Barrage was the brainchild of Rockhampton mayor Rex Pilbeam who yearned to see the city have access to an abundant supply of water, following years of severe water restrictions. The concept of a barrage being constructed on the Fitzroy River was first canvassed in the 1920s. Prior to the construction of the barrage, the water supply for Rockhampton was obtained from a pump station at Yaamba which pumped water to a water treatment plant at Mount Charlton, near The Caves with the treated water then using gravity to flow back down to Rockhampton. This provided Rockhampton with 30 million litres each day. However, the rapid population growth during the 1950s and early 1960s, meant the amount of treated water supplied from Yaamba was becoming insufficient, prompting the concept of the Fitzroy River Barrage to be revisited. Construction After the site at Splitter's Creek was chosen, the first pile to initiate works on the Fitzroy River Barrage was driven in by Minister for Development Alex Dewar on 7 November 1966. It took over three years to build, with the site operational 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Concrete was poured on site with cranes used to lay steel in numerous layers throughout the large pillars, with sprinklers needed to run for seven days on top of every newly finished pour to keep the concrete cool. The large concrete pours measured up to 1.2 metres thick. Despite the noise and dust associated with the project, the crews working on the project didn't receive any complaints from nearby residents. Some parts of the structure were damaged when the river flooded on two occasions during construction. A large leak was detected after the second cofferdam was completed with crews sourcing a large pump from the Australian Paper mill in Melbourne to find the leak so it could be repaired. Fatalities In 1968, two separate boating accidents near the construction site saw three people killed within five weeks. 17-year-old Anthony Boyd Cook and 15-year-old Timothy Wickham were