Harvey River Diversion Commemorative Plaque

The Harvey River Diversion Commemorative Plaque monument commemorates the thousands of labourers who, in the Great Depression, worked on the Harvey River Diversion and Drainage System.

From the 1930s, when the Depression was hurting so many, one of the biggest community employment programs imaginable began in Harvey.

This was a Government-sponsored plan to divert the Harvey River to an outlet at the ocean near Myalup, which removed the fear of flooding downstream and brought much valuable agricultural land into production.

No less than 2,500 men were camped west of Harvey, and at the time, 3,500 men lived in the camps at Myalup and nearby Stonehouse.