DONALD CAMBELL and LAKE DUMBLEYUNG

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31 DECEMBER 1964 -  Campbell speeds to double record

Donald Campbell broke the world water speed record, becoming the first man to break the world land and water speed records in the same year.

He reached an average speed of 276.33mph (444.71km/h) in his speedboat, Bluebird, on this afternoon on Lake Dumbleyung in Perth, Western Australia.

The feat shattered his previous world record of 260.35mph (418.99km/h) at Lake Coniston, Cumbria, in 1959.

Bluebird K7 Coniston 1957

Campbell has been trying to realise his record-breaking attempt for months at various locations in Australia. Each time he has been frustrated. The weather at his first choice of location, Lake Bonney in South Australia, proved too unpredictable. Then, he moved to Lake Dumbleyung, near Perth, on 16 December, only to be delayed by wild ducks which could not fly away because they were moulting.

The weather was the next setback, as persistent easterly winds raised waves up to 2ft (61cm) high, making any attempt impossible. With time running out for him to achieve his goal of breaking both speed records in the same year, he began considering a move to a third lake just south of Perth.

The four timekeepers at Bluebird's (K7) record breaking run at Lake Dumbleyung were: Warren Mathews,  Don Reimann -deceased, Don Noack, and Rod Style Sr.

DUMBLEYUNG

Dumbleyung is a small wheatbelt town located 275 km south east of Perth. No one knows exactly how the town got its name but it is likely that it is a corruption of the local Aboriginal word 'dambeling' which probably meant 'large stretch of water'. An alternative theory argues that it may well be derived from 'dumbung' which either meant a native pear tree or an Aboriginal game played with bent sticks and a hard piece of fruit.

The explorers Henry Landor and Henry Maxwell Lefroy are usually credited with the discovery of Dumbleyung Lake, although it appears to have been shown on a map in 1839 with the name Kondening Lake. Grazing leases around the lake were first granted to George Kersley in 1875.

In recent times, the increased soil salination has made the area unsuitable for grazing. Today the lake is mainly used for aquatic recreation. Despite the extreme salinity of the lake, it provides a habitat for many varieties of water birds, and since 1963 has been protected by the Dumbleyung Lake Nature Reserve.

Although in many ways Dumbleyung is a typical wheatbelt town there is one event in its history which makes it uniquely important and separates it from the dozens of other towns in the area.

Lake Dumbleyung full of water

Dumbleyung Lake, also widely known as Lake Dumbleyung, is a salt lake in Western Australia. It is located at 33° 20' S, 117° 39' E, in the Great Southern region of Western Australia. At 13 kilometres long and 6.5 kilometres wide, it covers an area of 52 km².

On New Years Eve 1964, after a particularly wet winter had seen the lake fill to overflowing, Donald Campbell set the world water speed record when he raced his boat Bluebird across the lake at the remarkable speed of 444.66 km/h (276.3 mph). This made him the fastest man both on land and on water. A unique double.

A memorial to Donald Campbell's achievements is located on Pussy Cat Hill on the lake shoreline. Offering excellent views over the lake, it is clearly signposted 'Scenic Drive - Lake Dumbleyung' on the road from Wagin to Dumbleyung.

Lake Dumbleyung, undoubtedly the area's great attraction, is the largest natural body of inland water in West Australia. It is approximately 13 km long by 6.5 km wide with a catchment area which extends approximately 64 km north towards Kulin, 64 km south towards Narrangerup and 55 km east to Tarin Rock.

In the years when it overflows the water takes a course through the Wagin Lakes into the Beaufort River, thence the Blackwood and into the sea at Augusta.

The first recorded sighting of the lake was in 1843 when two explorers Henry Landor and Henry Maxwell Lefroy travelled through the area looking for pastoral lands and a large body of water which had been mentioned by the local Aborigines.

Landor and Lefroy described Lake Dumbleyung in their journal entry for 17 January 1843. 'After riding 10 miles, we came in sight of Dambeling, the largest of the lakes - 13 miles by 7 or 8. It is like the others, shallow with many low islands in varied and beautiful form. On the northern and eastern shores, there is a good grazing country down to the lake, ending in precipitous banks and extending over the hills 2 or 3 miles distant from the lake. The water is salt and the shore long, flat and muddy, on which we saw the impressions of two stray horses and a foal...'

Lake Dumbleyung drying out

The first grazing leases around Lake Dumbleyung were granted in 1875 to George Kersley who overlanded sheep from Beverley and took up a lease of 20 000 acres which included half of the lake. Early accounts describe the lake as having grass covered banks and the saltbush provided valuable grazing for Kerseley's stock.

The pastoralists were followed by the sandalwood cutters who came through the area searching for the aromatic timber. It was also common for farmers to cut the timber as it was a ready source of income during hard times or periods of inactivity.

Other early accounts describe a road across the lake used by Katanning settlers to cart produce to the goldfields in the 1890s. This was the opportunity for local farmers to make a fortune as quickly as the miners. They would load their wagons with flour, sugar, oatmeal, jam and baking flour and when they got to the goldfields actually auction their produce.

While the lake is used for aquatic recreation today, in the early 1900s there were race tracks on it and it was used for picnics. During the 1920s and 1930s, although the lake did not fill to overflowing, there were years when it had enough water for swimming and boating. A record wet year in 1946 saw the lake fill completely.

In recent times the lake has suffered greatly from the salination which has affected the whole of the wheatbelt. It now has a very distinctive saline smell. The shorelines, which the early settlers described as being so rich and fertile, are now characterised by forests of dead trees standing like forlorn skeletons. Most of the lake is part of a water bird conservation area. In March 1985 a total of 24 839 birds were counted on the lake.

The town of Dumbleyung seems to run a rather poor second to the lake but it is not without its charm. It came into existence just prior to World War I. The township was proclaimed in 1906 and the railway arrived a year later. From 1907-1912 Dumbleyung was the railway terminus which meant that it became an important meeting place. The Dumbleyung Hotel was built in 1913 and by 1915 Dumbleyung was the major rural service town in the region.

Things to see  -  Lake Dumbleyung and Donald Campbell memorial

On New Years Eve 1964, after a particularly wet winter had seen the lake fill to overflowing, Donald Campbell set the world water speed record when he raced his boat Bluebird across the lake at the remarkable speed of 444.66 km/h (276.3 mph). This made him the fastest man both on land and on water. A unique double.

A memorial to Donald Campbell's achievements is located on Pussy Cat Hill on the lake shoreline. Offering excellent views over the lake, it is clearly signposted 'Scenic Drive - Lake Dumbleyung' on the road from Wagin to Dumbleyung.

Lake Dumbleyung, undoubtedly the area's great attraction, is the largest natural body of inland water in West Australia. It is approximately 13 km long by 6.5 km wide with a catchment area which extends approximately 64 km north towards Kulin, 64 km south towards Narrangerup and 55 km east to Tarin Rock.

Heritage Trail and History

An interesting journey through the region can be taken by following the Dumbleyung Historic Schools Trail Heritage Brochure. The brochure details four separate drives which include the sites of 26 schools and cover a total of 374 km

There is an excellent book on the area titled A History of Dumbleyung written by Terry Klemm. It is available from the Shire of Dumbleyung office on the corner of Harvey and Dawson Streets.

LINKS

Warren Matthews is member of Kombi Club Australia   http://forums.kombiclub.com/index.php

The Bluebird-Electric story 1991-2006   Copyright © 2006 Bluebird Electric Racing Limited and Electrick Publications.

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