Canning Tunnel
water tunnel in Western Australia
The Canning Tunnel is a tunnel that originates just west of Canning Dam and runs for approximately 5.6 kilometres (3.5 mi) through the granite Darling Scarp to the western portal trunk main in Soldiers Road about 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) south of the Brookton Highway intersection. It measures 2.7 by 2.7 metres (8 ft 10 in × 8 ft 10 in). A separate 910-millimetre (36 in) pipeline from Canning Dam remains. The tunnel is more than 120 metres (390 ft) below ground level at its deepest point.
History
The Canning Tunnel was constructed between 1973 and 1975 to link Canning Dam to Perth's Integrated Water Supply System. It was built to replace the Canning Contour Channel, which was a depression era public works project of the 1940s and constructed in conjunction with the opening of the dam.
110 men were employed in the first year of construction after which the workforce reduced to 60. The tunnel was built at a cost of A$3.5 million, equivalent to A$27.9 million in 2022, and was officially opened by Desmond Henry O'Neil, the Minister for Works, Water Supplies and Housing, on 17 January 1975.
The Canning Contour Channel was maintained and partially operated for two years after the tunnel's opening as a precautionary measure.
The public source identifies “Canning Tunnel” as water tunnel in Western Australia. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Canning, Tunnel and water.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Canning Tunnel”, the useful work is to connect “water tunnel in Western Australia” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jan 18, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q5032699. Authority coordinates are -32.129, 116.061. None of the 1 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1973, 1975 and 2022.
Overview language is designed for orientation and should not be treated as a substitute for the evidence cited beneath it. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Canning Tunnel”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Canning Tunnel primary sources, Canning Tunnel archive and Canning research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Canning Tunnel”?
- What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
- Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Canning Tunnel” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.