 The British built a government station there on a hill 50 to 60 metres (160 to 200 feet) above the Nile at a spot where the river narrows to 147 metres (482 feet) and attains a depth of 9 metres (30 feet).At this place was a gauge for measuring the discharge of the river.Wadelai was first visited by a European, Lieutenant H. Chippendall in 1875, and was named after a chieftain who, when visited by Gessi Pasha (on the occasion of that officer's circumnavigation of Lake Albert), ruled the surrounding district as a vassal of Kabarega, king of Bunyoro.