A history of Derby (part 2) - The decline
/Derby is a former mining town that has a history going back over 165 years. When you walk (or ride) around town you will still see many of relics of the past, but much has changed in the last 100 years (for the better)…
In this second blog post covering a quick history of the town we touch on the topic of the start of the towns decline, which began with the great disaster of 1929.
Water races
Many of Derby’s trails roughly follow these old water races, by their very nature, the lack of pumping ability meant that the water races had to be carefully designed to follow the lie of the land in order for the water to flow long distances. This in turn makes for trails which are pleasant to ride and walk along as they don’t gain or lose height pointlessly.
The Great Race
Without doubt, the most outstanding achievement in Derby in the early 1900’s was the construction of the Briseis water race bringing water from the upper reaches of the Ringarooma River to the mining operations in Derby. It covered a total distance of 48kms and was completed in April 1902. It carried 24 million gallons of water daily. There were three different forms of construction needed to complete this race; cutting or digging an open channel, fluming using sawn timber to carry water, and steel pipes. The lower section of the Kingswall trail follows a section of the Great Race and obviously Great Race trail gets its name from this feat of engineering.
Briseis (or Cascade Dam) disaster
To ensure constant water supply for the Briseis mine the Briseis (or Cascade Dam) was constructed between 1924 – 1926 and had a height of 70ft. It submerged 20 acres of land and contained 750 million gallons of water. In April 1929 over a period of three days an extraordinarily heavy downfall of rain occurred, water was washing over the top of the dam and then the dam wall broke flooding the town during the evening. When the flood water reached the Ringarooma River, it burst through a hill on the western side of the river’s normal course (near the bottom of what we now know as Trouty) and filled the working mine. The flood from the Cascade Dam flowed up the Ringarooma River as far as Branxholme (5 miles up-river). 14 lives were lost in Derby as several houses were swept away. All the bridges, on the Ringarooma River, between Derby and the sea were also swept away. The Dorset Hotel flooded to the height of the top of the ground floor dining room. The scouring of the valley is still visible where Atlas/Dam Busters, Flickity Sticks and Axehead trails converge at the rocky creek crossing.
It was not until 1935-36 that an effort was made to rebuild the dam wall and rehabilitate the mine by pumping out the water in preparation for mining to recommence.
The town of Derby before the dam collapse
Decline of the town
The school enrolments peaked at 236 in 1915, slowly declining until it was closed as a school in 1975 when there were only 6 students. By the 1920’s there were approximately 200 houses in Derby, two dozen businesses including: general stores, grocers, a drapery emporium, butchers, bakers, jewellers, a chemist, a pie shop, fruiterer, confectionary, newsagency, tailor, barber, photographer, a boot repairer and blacksmith. There were also three hotels, a motor garage, banks and the post office. Additionally, there was a doctor as well as a cottage hospital complete with midwife, council chambers and a court house. The railway line from Scottsdale had a stop above Derby to service the town.
The collapse of the Cascade Dam commenced the decline of the town, but the falling tin price and declining tin content in the mine saw its eventual closure in the early 1960’s. The town stayed viable through its role as the municipal centre for the Ringarooma Municipality. In 1993 the municipal centre moved to Scottsdale as Ringarooma and Scottsdale Councils were merged to form Dorset Council. This saw the last significant employer leave town.
Subsequently most young people left town to study or work as there were few opportunities for them locally.