Manly Dam Reserve

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Manly Dam Reserve (also known as the Manly-Warringah War Memorial Park) is an area of urban bushland in the Northern Beaches region of Sydney, Australia. It is within the suburbs of Allambie Heights and Manly Vale in Warringah.

A trail in the Reserve. Steep rock steps in the foreground with wooden boardwalk beyond.

1 Area
2 Dam
3 War Memorial
4 Tracks
5 Hydraulics Laboratory
6 References
7 External links

[edit] Area

The Reserve adjoins the south-eastern edge of Garigal National Park, and to the reserve's east lies Wakehurst golf course.

[edit] Dam

As the name would imply, the Reserve is centred around a Dam, officially Manly Reservoir but is more widely known as 'Manly Dam'.

Curl Curl Creek was originally dammed in 1892 to create a deep freshwater lake. It was intended to provide a permanent supply of fresh water for the nearby village of Manly.

The original dam was subsequently raised in 1909 and in 1922 to 35.1m to provide up to 441 million gallons of drinking water (2 mega litres).

However as the population of the area grew, the dam’s capacity became insufficient. Water supply from Manly Dam was phased out by 1930 when piping began from the Pymble reservoir.

Briefly in 1942 after a period of drought, pumps were reinstalled and Manly Dam was brought into service again (ending after only a few nearly 10 months). ^[1]

[edit] War Memorial

On the southern side of the dam there is a war memorial to those who have fallen in all wars. It is currently under going construction.

[edit] Tracks

There are a number of well maintained tracks in the area popular with bushwalkers and mountain bike riders. In fact, a circuit around 'the Dam' is one of the most famous mountain bike rides in Sydney.

The track is mainly 'singletrack' - track which is too narrow to drive a four wheel drive vehicle on. This type of track is favoured by mountainbikers. However, many councils are reluctant to create singletrack for mountainbike riders. Thus, riders from all over Sydney head to Manly Dam. Due to the large volume of users, erosion is a risk. Erosion of the trails has led to closure in the past and installation of a number of wooden boardwalks at various points. The track is usually closed after rain periods.