October 29 will mark the centenary of the day in 1925, when gangs of local men working from each end of the 107m-long tunnel, hewn through the rock under Montecollum Road, met and shook hands.
Just four weeks later, the waters of Wilsons Creek were let loose from the newly-built Lavertys Gap weir to test the tunnel and pipelines leading to the hydro-turbines on Alidenes Road.
Mullumbimby first received light from the plant on March 1, 1926, with Byron Bay and Bangalow following soon after.
The water treatment plant was built in 1938, making Mullumbimby independent in both power and water.
At Council’s next meeting, on October 23, 2025, councillors will be asked to make another courageous decision: should they buy the land on Wilsons Creek Road to enable construction of a future off-stream storage reservoir and a new water treatment plant?
This land is being offered by the Bower family, whose antecedents were themselves involved as councillors in historic decisions in the 1920s and ‘30s. The reservoir and treatment plant would help maintain Mullumbimby’s independent water supply for the next century.
A bold decision is needed to make this investment.
For four decades The Echo has printed the stories some people loved, some people hated, and some pretended not to read. If you want us to keep telling the truth, the real truth, not the sugar-coated version. We’ll need your support to keep the presses rolling. 
