.png)
Forbes Ridge Water Tanks
Excavation and construction
Between 12 and 14 January 1942, the 22nd Australian Army Field Company began excavating sites for water tanks at Forbes Ridge and near Oliver’s Battery. The company was a Royal Australian Engineers unit, responsible for construction and other engineering work required by the Army. The water-storage project eventually included three separate tank groups at Forbes Ridge, Bickley and near Oliver’s Battery.
The January unit diary records 46 “Squatter” tanks at each location, each holding 7,000 gallons. However, the stated group capacity of 252,000 gallons equates to 36 tanks, which is also the number recorded in the report dated 31 July 1942.
A further entry dated 12 February 1942 records excavation for a battery of tanks at Forbes Ridge. In this context, “battery” means a group of water tanks, rather than an artillery position. It doesn’t specify whether this was a continuation of the January work or additional excavation.
March 2024
Emergency water storage
By 31 July 1942, an engineering report recorded three groups of 36 tanks at Forbes Ridge, Bickley and near Oliver’s Battery. Each tank held 7,000 imperial gallons, approximately 31,823 litres. Each group therefore had a combined capacity of 252,000 gallons, or approximately 1.15 million litres. Together, the 108 tanks could hold approximately 3.44 million litres. These figures represent storage capacity, rather than the amount of water held on the report date.
The “Squatter” tanks
The records identify the tanks as the “Squatter” type, a term generally used to describe a wide, comparatively low tank.
Water was required for drinking, cooking, washing and other daily needs. However, these entries do not explain how the Forbes Ridge tanks were filled, how the water was distributed or which units they supplied.
Source: Australian War Memorial, AWM2020.71.2725, 22 Field Company RAE — December 1941 to December 1942, entries for 12–14 January, 12 February and report dated 31 July 1942.
April 2024
