history To inaugurate the construction of Fairbairn Dam in 1968, three explosions were set off by the dam’s namesake and then National Development Minister, the Hon. David Fairbairn. The project employed more than 700 contractors, many from overseas, who were housed in a small township onsite. Construction was completed in 1972 and the storage it formed was named Lake Maraboon, meaning where the black ducks fly. Heavy rains filled the dam and overflowed the spillway two years later. The lake became the second largest in Queensland, with a holding capacity three times larger than Sydney Harbour.
Lake maraboon
The creation of the dam provided the region with a stable water supply and enabled the prosperous development of the surrounding agricultural, horticultural and mining industries. Impound
Nogoa River
Catchment Area
16,320km2
Main Embankment (dam wall) Height above stream bed
46m
Length
823m
Spillway Height above stream bed
31.7m
Width
167m
Reservoir* Storage Capacity
1,301,133ML
Surface Area
15,280ha
Length of Shoreline
274km
At full supply level
*
Cost Fairbairn Dam
$19.8m
Irrigation, drainage, roads and ancillary works
$20m
Maximum Water Level 31 December 2010
5.58m over spillway
Minimum Water Level 1 December 2020
8.1%
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