Good short walk this evening along the Pipeline Track on the way home from work. The Sluice House stands just below the intersection of the Pipeline Track with Chimney Pot Hill Rd. This text appears on the nearby sign to explain it."This little building, known also as the "Valve House", was built in 1862 by mason John Gillon, who also built the receiving house and valve tower at the lower reservoir and dams at Browns River and Fork Creek. The cost of the whole construction was £63/7/- ($126.70 in modern currency). The hammer-dressed sandstone probably came from the outcrops at Gentle Annie Falls. The building contained a sluice gate made by the City Corporation, located directly above the original pipeline. The sluice could be raised or lowered to control flow through the pipe, allowing water to be diverted down the hillside to Sandy Bay Rivulet when work was required on the water line below this level. The diversion caused soil erosion because of the lack of a lined channel for the diverted water, though there is little sign of this now. At one point C.W. Hall, the owner of land below the sluice house, applied for compensation for soil loss, but failed on the basis that his steep, rocky land was unsuitable for cultivation.
From Hobart City Council sign. The Pipeline Interpretation Project. An initiative of the Fern Tree Community Association, supported by the Hobart City Council. Original research by Lindy Scripps.
The dressed stone which originally covered and housed the pipeline is visible in many places along the track.
Gentle Annie Falls drops away steeply down the hill to the Waterworks. It's a long time since water actually flowed down here.
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