Sale Central Rotary Club

Lake Guyatt Project

The extension of Sale's Lake Guthridge into low lying land to the south

The massive project has been controlled by Sale Central Rotary Club which decided several years ago the long talked about extension was really feasible.

It brought together the expertise of people from a wide range of industries, drew up plans and costings, and with the blessing of Sale City Council began work.
It has taken four years but the project will be completed within time and budget. Many businesses donated funds and labour to get the extension under way. Committee chairman Mr Des Phillips said yesterday that many hours of planning and hard work was now coming to fruition and it was hoped that the extension would fill this winter.

A walking track around the extension had been formed with the help of inmates from Sale Prison and crushed rock had been spread part way. He said it was interesting to see the number of joggers and walkers already extending their daily ritual around Lake Guthridge to take in the new area. It would be some weeks before the track was completed and rolled to consolidate the crushed rock.

Mr Phillips said a drain still had to be built along the bottom side of the Stephenson Park softball grounds to prevent seepage from the former tip entering the extension. This was an Environment Protection Authority requirement. He said Lake Guthridge was currently being lowered to allow the connecting pipes to be put under McIntosh Drive and he expected vehicular access around the lake to be cut for only a day or two.

Once this was done the extension would be able to start filling but this could take months unless there were extremely heavy falls of rain. Mr Phillips said the extension. was expected to lose a lot of water over the first year or two until cracks in the clay base silted up.
He said that Sale City Council had proposed blocking off the Montgomery St. access to McIntosh Drive and extensive landscaping would be done around the extension.

It was intended that the whole area would be for passive recreation where people could walk or just sit and view the waterbirds. The extension also helped to tie in the wet lands walk from Lake Guthridge to the Sale common boardwalk.
Mr Phillips said the official opening of the lake would be delayed until November when there would be grass covering the earthworks and hopefully water in the lake.

Among ideas being proposed to celebrate the opening were a triathlon and a Guy Fawkes night fireworks display. He said the club was also toying with names for the new lake rather than just continually refering to it as the Lake Guthridge extension. A name with popular support was Lake Guyatt, after the late Herb Guyatt who had a close affinity with the wetlands and conservation and was well known as a man who could get things done.

Mr Phillips said that the extension would be a major asset for the city and would help the city's image of being on the edge of internationally recognised wetlands.

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