The history of Kindersley’s Motherwell Dam
By Joan Janzen
joanjanzen@yahoo.com
The Archives of Saskatchewan reveals the history of the Motherwell Dam’s making and its namesake, W.R. Motherwell.
According to a University of Saskatchewan student thesis, W.R. Motherwell was an outstanding leader, devoting his energies to promoting Saskatchewan’s contribution to the allied effort in WWI. His policies applied the principles of conservation, diversification, and cooperation to create a sound agricultural economy. He was appointed Saskatchewan’s first Minister of Agriculture in 1906 and left his post in 1917.
An article in the Saskatchewan Archives called “Hon. W.R. Motherwell Deals the Cards” tells a different tale about the man and the project in Kindersley. The article describes it as a case of extravagance and negligence on the part of the Government of Saskatchewan.
As the story is told, back in 1912, Kindersley was anxious to secure a water supply and consulted an engineer by the sir name Haddon. At this time, W.R. Motherwell came on the scene. According to the article, he had left his seat in Humboldt in 1917 and was looking for another constituency to run for election.
He explained how a water supply could be obtained at a low cost to the people of Kindersley. By springtime, it had been estimated a bridge and dam would amount to the sum of $11,000, with the government paying $6,000 and the Town of Kindersley paying $5,000.
Not much later, Motherwell and the engineers arrived at another sum of $20,000 for the new structure splitting the cost equally between the town and the government. Although no record of any advertisements for tenders could be found, two companies tendered for the job.
On September 6, W.R. Motherwell wired to Kindersley that the Parsons Engineering and Construction Company had submitted the lowest tender. This was questionable since the Laidlaw Brothers’ tender was dated September 7, and tenders were accepted until September 11.
Although Laidlow’s tender was $8,000 less than Parson’s tender, the Parsons company tender of $36,000 was accepted. However, the Parsons Company received $57,000 for constructing the bridge and dam because rough stone needed to be laid along the soft bank to keep the soil from being undermined by water. This stone ended up costing $15 per cubic yard, which any contractor would have considered to be a ridiculous price. Neither the government nor the engineer would vouch for these high costs.
The town of Kindersley was to pay 15% of the project cost but had not done so, with the total cost of the bridge, labour and materials amounting to $62,804. This was considerably higher than the original estimate of $11,000.
The article doesn’t say how W.R. Motherwell faired in the election. However, history does show that in 1921 he ran for federal politics and was elected in the Regina constituency.
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