Ross Creek Reservoir

#172 Do - walk or run the Ross Creek Reservoir tracks. The reservoir was designed by Ralph Donkin and completed using local stone and clay in 1867. The earth dam is the oldest in New Zealand and work is currently being done to upgrade and strengthen the embankment so it may be used as a backup water source for the city. The dam and valve tower are now heritage protected. As usual, I'm intrigued by the story behind the name and I learnt that Ross Creek is named after Archibald Hilson Ross. Mr Ross was mayor of Dunedin from 1880-1881 and very involved in the community including his roles as an optician, politician and meteorologist. Interesting to learn the reservoir was originally named the Royal Albert Reservoir after Queen Victoria's late husband, but the name didn't stick. Today I parked near the John McGlashan school field and I was able to take the tracks to the reservoir, through native bush, birds, it's beautiful and so close to the centre of the city. Note the refurbishment work will be completed in Feb 2018 but until mid Sept you can access the reservoir from John McGlashan side

#nature #trail #history