General News
5 November, 2026
Dam is scenic and practical
YOU would think that in a place like the tropical north with its high seasonal rainfall, that there would not be a need to secure a constant water supply for a town like Cairns.
However, by the early 1930s it was evident that Freshwater and Behana creeks, which originally supplied water to the town, would not be enough for the emerging thriving centre.
In 1935, engineer Frank Morris discovered a place which was suitable to build a dam just behind Cairns on the Lamb Range.
The Queensland Government approved the site and in the early 1970s work began to construct a rammed earth and rock fill dam.
Copperlode Falls Dam, named after the falls that it replaced, cost $6.5m and holds 38,475 megalitres of water or the size of 15,000 Olympic swimming pools. It was officially complete on the 25 March 1976.
Today it can be accessed by a scenic drive through the rainforest along a narrow winding road.
Once at the top, a beautiful view greets every visitor as they view the dam nestled in the World Heritage area of the Wet Tropics.
