Built between 1953 – 1958, The Tinaroo Falls Dam, and Mareeba-Dimbulah Irrigation Scheme allowed water to be fed from the dam to Mareeba through to Dimbulah, over an area of 1200 square kilometers, making it possible to grow tobacco and tropical fruits such as mango, lychee, pineapple, and papaya in the drier parts of the Atherton Tablelands, lifting productivity of the benefiting areas to a level not previously possible.
The dam wall is made up of 223,000 cubic meters of concrete, over half a kilometer wide, and 42 meters high. When full the deepest point is 41m, and the surface area is about 75% the size of Sydney Harbor, with a capacity of 439,000 megaliters of water.
Built into the dam wall is a hydro power generator generating 1.6 megawatts or 5579 MWh per year, enough to power around 10,000 average households.
Many families had to relocate to make way for the dam, loosing their farmland and homes, they were compensated with money provided by the by the Irrigation Supply Commission, and given two years to move. The town of Kulara became completely submerged in 1959 when the dam first filled after early seasonal rains caught the construction crew by surprise, leaving some equipment trapped under water at the dam wall to this day. Some displaced families took their homes with them, but many buildings were left to go under water when the dam filled.
With such a large surface area, the dam, now called Lake Tinaroo provides a home to thousands of birds and fish species such as Tilapia, Barramundi – fingerlings are regularly released into the lake for sport fishing purposes, Red claw, and Bream
Of course the people didn’t miss out either, a shoreline of 200 kilometers allowed real estate developments to offer waterfront land where a property owner could launch the tinny from the front yard, similar to their costal cousins, all be it within a more restrictive playground to explore.
Lake Tinaroo now has a thriving sailing club and many residents of the Atherton Tablelands can go boating, fishing, water skiing and jet skiing without driving down to the coast. There are also no crocodiles to deal with, and a more comfortable climate. In fact the coastal water sport enthusiasts arrive in droves on weekends and holidays for the same reason.
The lake, or dam now has five camping areas managed by the department of Environment, Tourism, Science and Innovation including Downfall Creek, Platypus, Fong On Bay, Kauri Creek, and School Point camping areas.
There are also bed and breakfast accommodations, The Tinaroo Lake Resort, the Lake Tinaroo Holiday Park and Lakeside Caravan Park in Tinaburra for those wanting a little more comfort.
The townships of Yungaburra, Tinaroo, Walkamin, Mareeba, and Kuranda all get their domestic water supply from the dam, so although there was an initial cost of 12 million dollars, equivalent to two hundred and fifty two million dollars in 2025, and a loss of some productive farming land, the long term benefits have been enormous.