Acknowledgements:
Water, More Precious Than Gold
Vocals: Carmel Charlton with Our
Lady of Grace Primary School Choir, North Beach, WA. Recorded and mixed
by Andy Priest at Shelter Recording Studios, Wanneroo. WA.
C Y O’Connor, I Wish You Were Here
Vocals, guitar, Keyboards:
Carmel Charlton. Electric Bass: Toni Italiano.
Electric
Guitar: Stephen Mancini. Drums: Bruce Fraser. Recorded and mixed by
Toni Italiano at Pet Rock Studios, Beechboro, WA
Water In Our
Lives
Vocals: Isalyn Bessell-Browne,
Briony Smith, Grace and Priscilla Gardner and Grace Cooper. Harmony
Vocals: Carmel Charlton and Grace Gardner. Guitar and Keyboards:
Carmel Charlton. Electric Bass: Toni Italiano. Electric Guitar:
Stephen Mancini. Drums: Bruce Fraser.
Recorded
and mixed by Toni Italiano at Pet Rock Studios, Beechboro, WA.
WATER MORE PRECIOUS THAN
GOLD
Words and Music Carmel Charlton
Where would we be without water my friend?
Where would we be if God didn’t send the rain to make the rivers
flow;
rain to make the grasses grow?
Young and old we know it’s MORE PRECIOUS THAN GOLD.
C. Y. O’Connor he knew what it meant.
He built a pipeline and water was sent to people in the dry
outback;
people on the goldfields track.
Thirsty miners know its MORE PRECIOUS THAN GOLD.
Chorus
So treat it with care, let us all share.
Then there’ll be enough for everyone.
More precious than gold in a land so dry,
Let’s treat it like a treasure MORE PRECIOUS THAN GOLD.
The dams and the weirs are very low.
Still the need for water grows and oh, our underground streams
are getting lower it seems.
To every living thing they’re MORE PRECIOUS THAN GOLD.
There are gardens to water and showers to take; big swimming
pools,
but for goodness sake, don’t waste a drop, (don’t waste it) we
haven’t got a lot.
Chorus
So treat it with care, let us all share.
Then there’ll be enough for everyone.
More precious than gold in a land so dry,
let’s treat it like a treasure MORE PRECIOUS
THAN GOLD.
Where would we be without water my friend?
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C.Y. OCONNOR
Words &
Music Carmel Charlton
The Goldfields Pipeline carries fresh water from Mundaring
to the Eastern Goldfields. It was designed by Engineer-in
Chief C Y O’Connor and completed in 1903. It is still the
longest fresh water pipeline in the world today.
Water was
scarce, people couldn’t go on
Searching for
gold in the blazing sun
Goldfields
life was at its worst
Many died
from typhoid, some died of thirst
C.Y. O’Connor
delivered a plan
To build a
pipeline through rocks and sand
Helena
River
would be the start
Where water
would flow to the goldfields heart
Chorus
What would he
say if he came back today that great engineer?
Having no
doubt his plan would work
C.Y.
O’Connor, I wish you were here
To see water
pumped from Mundaring Weir
The longest
pipeline the world had seen
In bygone
days it was just a dream
People said:
‘It couldn’t be done!’
But O’Connor
and his men proved them wrong
From
Mundaring on through Southern Cross
Reaching the
reservoir at
Mt.
Charlotte
Days were
long, rewards were few
Somehow they
would see, see it through
Came that
memorable day in nineteen hundred and three
When water,
clear water flowed endlessly
To O’Connor
now we pay our due
He made that
goldfields dream come true
Chorus
What would he
say if he came back today that great engineer?
Having no
doubt his plan would work
A final note
made it clear
Saying: ‘Put
the wing walls to Helena Weir!’
A final note
made it clear
Saying: ‘Put
the wing walls to
Helena’
‘Put the wing
walls to
Helena
… Weir’. I wish you were here
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WATER IN OUR LIVES
Words and Music Carmel Charlton
Listen to the rain falling from the clouds
Bringing welcome relief to thirsty ground
Life giving water, making rivers run
Some evaporates in the sun
Turn on a tap, water runs so clear
It’s been treated and purified on the way
Our water catchments, keep them litter free
We’ll make a difference in our community
Chorus
We value water, we need it everyday
All living things need water to survive
It’s the lifeblood of our land
Our future’s in good hands
Because we value water, water in our lives
No fertilizers please, where stormwater flows
It can run to rivers where algae blooms can grow
Our natural environment we’ll treat with care
Wetlands and oceans ‘cause lots of things live there
Spoken … Many people in our world don’t have enough to drink
Sung …. No running water pure and clean
Spoken … Let’s use water wisely, save every precious drop
Sung ….. We appreciate that we’re so lucky here
After it is treated, wastewater safely flows
Onward to the ocean or to inland ponds
Anywhere that water drains – be careful what goes down
In our homes and factories, in city, bush or town
Chorus
We value water, we need it everyday
All living things need water to survive
It’s the lifeblood of our land
Our future’s in good hands
Because we value water, water in our lives
Because we value water, yes we are water wise
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