Panorama of the old flume and pipeline of the first Stawell water supply scheme constructed between 1875 and 1881. The system included a pipeline from Stawell to the eastern side of the Grampians, a 1 kilometre long tunnel through the Mount William Range and about 12 kilometres of flume to a weir on Fyans Creek which was at the time the most reliable water source.

Stawell was founded in 1853 during the Victorian gold rush and is one of few towns in Victoria still having an active gold mining industry.