The Peel Main Drain is a drainage canal in the southern suburbs of Perth, Western Australia. Construction of the canal commenced in 1920 to drain the wetlands in the area as part of the post-World War I Group Settlement Scheme at the Peel Estate. The canal stretches from Banjup, where it starts just north of Banjup Lake, to Karnup, where it discharges into the Serpentine River. The drain has a catchment area of .
In regards to its purpose, the Peel Main Drain was a failure, as was the whole Peel Estate scheme, as it was never able to dewater the land sufficiently.
Background
The Peel Estate, for which the Peel Main Drain was constructed, was a area of land, predominantly located in what is now the Cities of Kwinana and Rockingham, which was purchased by the Western Australian government for £24,230 in February 1920. Of this land, approximately a quarter was swamp. The intention of this land was to be settled as part of the Group Settlement Scheme, with each settler to receive of land, which was supposed to be a mixture of swamp, forest and scrub. The construction of houses, drainage and road and rail infrastructure were the responsibility of the state government of Western Australia. Finance for the project was also obtained through the Agricultural Bank of Western Australia.
The management and cost of the Peel Estate Group Settlement Scheme were eventually the subject of a Royal Commission, which was appointed in December 1923 and presented its report in March 1924, making five recommendations.
History
Construction of the canal was started in October 1920, alongside the construction of the Baldivis Tramway, for the Peel Estate. The works were supervised by the experienced chief engineer Richard John Anketell, after whom the suburb of Anketell was later named.
The Public Works Department of Western Australia, at least in theory, was responsible for the construction activities for the Peel Estate, including the drainage of the land. Initially, the small sum of £500 was allocated to carry out the surveying for the Peel Main Drain, which was begun by the Water Department rather than Public Works. This proved completely inadequate and the surveying budget was eventually extended to £7,000. Construction of the drainage system was begun without any estimate of the cost as Anketell was forced to employ a large number of otherwise unemployed migrants who had arrived as part of the scheme.
The construction of the drain took place without taking the value or quality of the land into account. Anketell was set no budget and his own estimates increased as more water than originally expected had to be drained. The Public Works Department proposed digging the drain from south to north to allow water to drain away from an early stage. Anketell overruled this and digging was started in the north as he considered this the faster method. The Royal Commission was unable to determine in their report whether this was a key factor in the subsequent flooding and destruction of crops throughout the settlement. Despite the blow out of costs for the drainage system, the Royal Commission came to the conclusion that the increase of land value as a result of draining it would compensate for the cost.
By the time the Royal Commission presented its report in March 1924, £1.25million had been spend on the Peel Estate settlement scheme, of which £230,000 were expenses for the drainage system. In comparison, up to 31 December 1923, £57,579 had been spend on the of tramway and £90,000 spend on road construction for the Peel Estate.
All up, by the end of 1923, of drains had been constructed for the Peel Estate.