Lake Dunstan

Lake Dunstan
The Clyde Dam
Location	Central Otago District, Otago Region, South Island
Coordinates	45.022°S 169.218°E / -45.022; 169.218
Lake type	reservoir
Primary inflows	Clutha River
Primary outflows	Clutha River
Basin countries	New Zealand
Surface area	26 km²

Lake Dunstan.

Deadmans Point bridge, crossing a narrow section of Lake Dunstan near Cromwell.

Lake Dunstan is a man-made lake and reservoir in the South Island of New Zealand.

The lake was formed on the Clutha River as a result of the construction of the Clyde Dam, filling in four controlled stages beginning in April 1992 and completed the next year. Parts of the town of Cromwell were relocated to a new area above the new lake.

Lake Dunstan provides irrigation for nearby stone fruit orchards and vineyards, and is a major recreational asset, with facilities for boating waterskiing, fishing, parapenting, and rowing.

The dam and lake became well known in New Zealand due to media coverage of the geological problems during its construction. While the dam was being built at least one landslide occurred at Cairnmuir, a series of bluffs overlooking the gorge where the dam was built. All parties involved denied responsibility for not finding the problem.

Because of the expense of stabilising the gorge walls and the changing economic climate, this was also the last of Robert Muldoon's Think Big projects.

Protests

There was a vocal protest against the project from the local community, with outcries for the planning and project to cease. Environmentalists, scientists, lawyers, recreational river users, families that had lived here for generations, and others that had recently moved to the area, all protested, and among the voices, none seemed more poignant than the artists.

There was a perception that the power from the dam was intended for an aluminium smelter near Dunedin. Prominent figures including Ralph Hotere, Andrew Drummond, Chris Cree-Brown and Chris Booth made significant and powerful work that related to the smelter issue, they gained publicity and acclaim with exhibitions and appropriate comment in various art magazines. Other artists worked with the dam issue: Robin Morrison created a sensitive series of portraits on the residents effected by the flooding; Marilynn Webb a compelling series of prints called "Good Bye- Clutha Blue" in 1983; Bruce Foster a series of Ciba-chrome prints investigating the pre-construction lines painted on the land, and Lloyd Godman a significant series of large photo-mural prints gold toned with gold from the Clutha river titled “The Last Rivers Song”. During the filling of the dam to form Lake Dunstan in 1992 - 93 Godman also completed a series of performance works titled "Lake Fill" which involved taking a series of photographs with an underwater camera of a selected vista looking up the river which was gradually obliterated due to the rising lake level.