The Darwin Dam, together with the Crotty Dam, are two major dams that form the headwaters for the King River Hydroelectric Power Development. The dam is located at the southern end of Lake Burbury, and holds the water for the lake.
The Darwin Dam wall, constructed with 430 thousand cubic metres (15×10^6 cu ft) of earth core, is 20 metres (66 ft) high and 700 metres (2,300 ft) long. At 100% capacity the dam wall holds back 1,081,420 megalitres (38,190×10^6 cu ft) of water. The surface area of Lake Burbury is 53,250 hectares (131,600 acres) and the catchment area is 559 square kilometres (216 sq mi). The dam wall does not have a spillway.[4]
The dam draws its name from Mount Darwin, a peak located to the west of the dam wall. Both locations draw their names from the railway stopping place and the ghost town site of Darwin that was situated on the North Mount Lyell Railway between Gormanston and Kelly Basin. It inundates the former Kelly Basin Road which was the subsequent name for the railway line formation.
