Its design was considered very advanced for its time, so much so that it featured on the back of half-sovereign and ten-shilling notes from 1913 to 1933, including on the first Australian banknote ever issued.
[2] The structure also contained one of the first hydro-electric turbines in the southern hemisphere, used to supply power for lifting and lighting.
The weir services nearby farming of crops including wheat, stock and domestic supplies.
These would allow the construction of the masonry section of the weir to proceed with the river flows passing through the tunnels underneath.
The tunnels were fitted with sluice gates that could be closed once the weir was completed allowing structure to raise the height of the river upstream.