View from a hill

A couple of months back, I was contacted by a PhD student from Federation University who was undertaking some interesting research. He was on the trail of the famous European landscape painter, Eugene von Guerard.

Eugene von Guerard 1870-1874, by John Botterill,
Image held by the State Library of Victoria

Born in Vienna in 1811, Johann Joseph Eugene von Guerard arrived in Australia in 1852 to try his hand on the goldfields of Ballarat, however after failing to strike it rich he returned to doing what he knew best - drawing and painting, spending thirty years in Australia recording his surroundings. As he travelled across the country, von Guerard carried a sketchbook in which he made rough drawings of what he saw - the bustle of the goldfields, snippets of life in the Australian bush, expansive landscapes. A number of these sketches formed the basis of some of von Guerard and Australia's most important 19th century landscape paintings. Many of these paintings and the original sketchbooks have survived to the present day and their contents include a number of depictions of the Barwon, Moorabool and Leigh/Yarrowee Rivers.
Perhaps the best-known von Guerard painting of the Barwon River is View of Geelong which was purchased in 2006 by the City of Greater Geelong for $3.8 million and now hangs in the Geelong Art Gallery. Another well-known von Guerard painting, which hangs at the National Gallery of Victoria is titled Warrenheip Hills Near Ballarat and purports to show Mt Warrenheip in the background of a scene through which a small river is flowing - the Yarrowee.
Until recently, the exact location from which the original sketch upon which the painting was based, was unknown. Enter postgraduate student George Hook whose "thesis focuses on fidelity to nature issues in the paintings of leading nineteenth century Australian landscape painter Eugene von Guerard". By consulting a number of people with expertise in geology, art and the local region and undertaking some good old fashioned leg work, Hook was able to pinpoint the location of the rocky pool where von Guerard stood to make his initial sketch.

Warrenheip HIlls Near Ballarat, Eugene von Guerard, 1854, showing a little-
seen part of the Yarrowee River. National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne

As it happens, I had come across his research earlier this year whilst researching some of my "Making Tracks" posts when I discovered this article in the Ballarat Courier describing the find and a more detailed account in a blog post by Historic Urban Landscape Ballarat.
Meanwhile, unbeknownst to me, I had also been following in von Guerard's footsteps. As I was later informed, a number of the photos I had previously used in my blog were taken from similar vantage points to some of the sketches made by von Guerard over a century and a half ago.
And so an extended discussion began between myself and George. Could I identify the location of any of the several sketches made by von Guerard of the Barwon River and one intriguing sketch of a part of the Moorabool Valley? Well, in several cases, yes I could, in general terms.
The first sketch to catch my attention was a broad panorama with the annotation (in German) "above Geelong looking towards Lake Connewarre". From which point is it possible to see both Geelong and Lake Connewarre? Well, on a clear day, from what is now Montpellier Park; one of those places I had stood to take photos of Geelong and the Barwon River. I hadn't really noticed previously, but yes, it is possible to catch a glimpse of the lake and even the faint outline of the Bluff at Barwon Heads. After some more discussion on the issue however, I had to rethink my original idea.
Could the view toward Lake Connewarre actually have been sketched from somewhere closer to Newtown? In retrospect, the angles of the river work better from there and some more discussion leads us to suspect that the sketch may actually have been made from somewhere near 'The Heights', the homestead erected for local businessman Charles Ibbotson in 1854, overlooking the Barwon River. Whilst this is speculation, it is quite possible that von Guerard may have met Ibbotson - perhaps through a mutual acquaintance. In April, 1854 when the sketch of Lake Connewarre was made, von Guerard also made sketches from the newly-built home of Frederick Bauer, a German ironmonger who also owned a property overlooking the Barwon River and who is attributed with having erected 'The Heights' for Ibbotson - more of whom later.

Above Geelong looking towards Lake Connewarre, Eugene von Guerard, 24th April 1854

The Lake Connewarre sketch was one of a number made from various elevated positions along this stretch of the Barwon by von Guerard who also spent time at the home of noted local businessman and land owner John Highett. It was here - across the valley from Ibbotson, that Highett built his home, 'Highton House' - later known as the Montpellier Hotel - the footings of which remain today. (In another odd coincidence, I find myself for the second time writing a post on this location on the same day that the peloton of the Tour de France pedals into Montpellier, France.)

Footings of 'Highton House'

Naturally, whilst staying with Highett, von Guerard drew his surroundings. Today, looking north east, it is still possible to see the same view recorded by the artist in an 1855 sketch which was worked into a pen and ink sketch in 1859 and which also bears more than a passing resemblance to the iconic 1856 painting View of Geelong.

Undated sketch from 'Highton House'

1855 sketch of Corio Bay, the You Yangs, the Barwon River and Geelong

The same view worked in pen and ink and dated 1859

View of Geelong, 1856

And the same view 155 years later in July, 2011 complete with von Guerard clouds!

In addition to these sketches, von Guerard made others which take in this same view but from other locations as he spent time at the homes and properties of various prominent Geelong citizens. Not all the locations however, were as easy to identify as this famous vista, requiring a little more detective work and even more leg work, uncovering some interesting local history in the process. Perfect fodder for my next post...

One thing leads to another: Mt Hesse Estate

In my previous post, I looked at Wormbete Station, and by extension, I uncovered quite a bit of information about another estate also owned by the Hopkins family - Murdeduke, however it is not really possible to look at the Murdeduke Estate without first considering the Mt Hesse Station which was originally established by squatting partners William Harding and John Highett (after whom the Geelong suburb of Highton is named) in 1837 and which incorporated the Murdeduke land. The original extent of the Mt Hesse Station taken up by Harding and Highett was some 45,700 acres which extended from the Barwon River above the Barwon Park holdings of the Austin family, west across the plains to Lake Weering and south of Lake Murdeduke.
Upon moving onto the property with his sister Elizabeth, Harding erected a small house in 1840. It was originally constructed as a two-roomed stone cottage and later, a stone skillion and a weatherboard section were added. William lived there with Elizabeth prior to her 1845 marriage to neighbouring squatter Thomas Austin of Barwon Park.


Original homestead 1975, J.T. Collins Collection,La Trobe Picture Collection, State Library of Victoria.

Various other outbuildings were also erected over the years including stables and a 20 stand shearing shed which was erected by Harding in 1852.

The Mt Hesse Woolshed, image from onmydoorstep.com.au

In 1851 however, the original Mt Hesse Estate was divided in two with (I have read) Highett's part of the property passing to the Hopkins family at that time. Harding unfortunately had overstretched his finances and was forced to give up the lease so in 1853, the main part of the estate was taken up by local merchants William Timms (Snr) and John Wilson. Timms was at the time Geelong's largest wool exporter. Three years later in 1856, he bought out his partner, becoming the sole landholder. It was also around this time that the main Mt Hesse homestead was built for Timms to the design of architects Backhouse and Reynolds. This was later extended in 1873 for William Timms (Jnr) by Davidson and Henderson. At the same time, a gatehouse known as The Lodge was built near what was at the time, the main entrance to the property.

Timms however did not live long enough to enjoy his prosperity, dying in 1858, leaving his estate to be run by trustees until his sons were of an age to take over. During this time, there was a push by the government to break up the big squatting runs to allow smaller selectors on to the land. I described this process in my Woodbourne Creek post, but like that station, the Timms were faced with the division of "their" land. Like many others, they took up the pre-emptive right to which they were entitled then through a string of deals with family and friends were also able to purchase the majority of the land they had occupied and so keep the estate intact.

Mt Hesse homestead prior to 1941, image taken from the Victorian Heritage Database

In the end, the Mt Hesse Estate remained in the Timms family for only a few decades with the remainder of the original land divided into three properties (Mountside, Eurack and the homestead section - still known as Mt Hesse) which were run by William Timms Senior's three sons - John, William (Jnr) and Robert.

However, by 1882 the Timms brothers had also run into financial difficulties and, the whole of the estate was put on the market. William Jnr's Mt Hesse section of the estate comprising 15,707 acres was sold to James Kinninmonth and remained in the Kinninmonth family until 2002. By this time, the property was reduced to 8,772 acres as much of the remaining Mt Hesse land had been reclaimed by the Soldier Settlement Commission in 1956 for resale as soldier settlement blocks. In 2002 then, the property was sold to the German based  Südwolle Group who are the current owners. David Kinninmonth remained as manager after the sale.

In 1941, the Mt Hesse homestead was severely damaged by fire, however it was rebuilt in 1947 in part from original materials.

The above sketch map taken from the Victorian Heritage Database shows the
buildings on the Mt Hesse Estate. B1 = house built by Harding, B2 = stables,
B4 = woolshed , B5 = main homestead

Of the remaining portions of the estate, John Timms held the Mountside section and Robert held Eurack. In 1876 a bluestone homestead was built on Mountside for John in a style described as Victorian Picturesque Gothic and consisting of 15 main rooms. It was designed by the western district architect Alexander Hamilton. The 1882 sale however saw Mountside pass into the hands of Walter Tully who ran the estate until 1900. At this point, Mountside was sold to Peter McIntyre, owner of Murdeduke thus (for a time at least) bringing two parts of the original estate back together. McIntyre purchased the estate for his son Charles Duncan McIntyre who married Margaret (Maggie) Fairbairn Armytage that same year. The couple raised two sons and two daughters. Charles died in 1932 and Maggie some decades later in 1964 but the family retained ownership of the property until 1971. At this time the estate was advertised for sale by auction by the executors of the late Charles Duncan McIntyre in three sections comprising a total of 7,501 acres.
Some years later - see comment below - Mountside was again placed on the market. In 1984 it passed back to the McIntyre family when Peter - son of Hector and grandson of Charles - purchased the homestead and the adjoining 2,500 acres of land. Today, Peter continues to run the property along with his son Alistair and Alistair's family including his son who will also one day work the property as his ancestors have done.

Mountside homestead 1970, .T. Collins Collection,La Trobe Picture Collection, State Library of Victoria.

Meanwhile, a third homestead was built on the Eurack part of the estate for youngest son Robert. Like the other houses, it was a bluestone structure and the grounds also included the expected outbuildings and garden.
Then, in 1882 when Mt Hesse and Mountside were sold, so too was the 8,231 acre Eurack Estate which was purchased by A M Edward. His tenure however was short-lived as the property was next purchased by Robert Chirnside during the 1880s. He in turn on-sold the property. Having left for a stint in England and Europe by late 1886, he put the property up for auction with the intention of subdividing the estate into smaller farms which would then be sold individually. The following year, the estate of roughly 6,000 acres was offered for sale in lots varying from 30 to 1095 acres in size. The largest portion including the bluestone homestead, manager's house, woolshed, stables and a substantial garden was to be sold with 1905 acres of the land.

Eurack homestead, image held by the Department of the Environment

However, it would seem that his plans did not go ahead, as the government stepped in during 1901, purchasing Eurack whole in order to provide land for smaller farmers as part of a closer settlement policy which would eventually develop into the Soldier Settlement Commission following the Second World War.
Over the years, Eurack House has passed through various hands and today is owned by the Ingram family.

Up hill and down dale

Having struggled with my running times - to say nothing of my motivation - for the last 12 months or more, I have been looking for a change of direction to keep me motivated. Running point to point with the promise of a lift at the end of the route has a certain appeal, however that requires the said lift to be available. Whilst this is sometimes an option, it is not always practical so other alternatives are necessary.One option which I have been toying with for some time, is a slight change of route which takes me away from the river, but introduces some fairly serious hill climbing. I have never been that fond of running uphill - a straight line on the flat is hard enough as it is! - but I have heard others proclaim that they actually prefer running uphill. I have also read and heard anecdotal claims that hill work will help my running times on the flat.

Footings of Highton House, later Montpellier Hotel
overlooking Geelong

One of the advantages of running around the river of course, is that water flows to the lowest available point, meaning that there are usually a significant number of much higher points which can also be run to. With this in mind, I have once or twice staggered my way to the top of the hill on which the cement works sit, overlooking Fyansford. Yes, it is a killer, but it is also a relatively short distance - although it never seems that way at the time. So, instead, I thought I'd head to Queen's Park and up the Scenic Road hill. Not so steep, but quite a bit longer. This task I accomplished fairly comfortably, but at no great speed, on Friday. From the top of the climb I headed down to Montpellier Drive and round to the park of the same name, where the promised ride was waiting.
This was also an opportunity to snap a shot or two of the river from a different angle and to take a shot of a subject from one of my earlier blog posts, or at least the remaining footings thereof - Highton House, built by the settler John Highett after whom Highton is named, and later converted to the Montpellier Hotel, Picnic and Pleasure Ground by Edwin Hooper. Appropriately enough as I write, the peloton of the Tour de France is winding its way through the Montpellier district of France, and the vineyards for which this park was named.
The views of Geelong and surrounds from this high point are quite impressive, taking in the Barwon, Corio Bay, the You Yangs in the far distance and glimpses of the profiles of many familiar buildings around town. It is not hard to see why John Highett chose this location to build his home.

View of Geelong, the Barwon and Corio Bay from
Montpellier Park, Highton

Buoyed by my relative success on Friday, I decided to have a slightly more serious go at the hills today. So, sporting a new pair of Asics Kayano 17s which I've had my eye on for a while, I hit the road. This time, instead of arranging for collection at the end, I headed to the river and up to Princes Bridge then detoured off the river and up Mt. Pleasant Road to Scenic Road before heading down again to Queen's Park and back along the river and home. Sounds easy enough put like that and all up, only about 16km but certainly somewhat harder on the legs and lungs than staying on the river.
As I suspected, it was also significantly harder than Friday's run. In addition to being about 5.5km longer, the run up Mt Pleasant Road was anything but! It is definitely the steeper option of the two - probably the reason why the powers that be decided that the time trialists riding in the UCI Cycling World Championship last October would ride this particular route.
Well, once again, I can't say my time was anything to boast about, but I did survive and was not so put off that I wouldn't consider repeating the effort at some time in the near future. Perhaps also I'll see a difference in my times once I'm back on the flat. I live in hope...

Grist to the mill...

Buckley Falls is probably one of the more interesting stretches of the Barwon as it runs through Geelong. As mentioned in an earlier posting, it is named for the escaped convict William Buckley who escaped from a fledgeling penal colony established near what is now Sorrento. At some point he came upon members of the local Wathaurong tribe who mistook him for the ghost of the warrior Murrangurk. Buckley lived with the tribe for thirty years before re-joining white society.
The history of the river at this point is also a combination of ancient Wathaurong and more modern European settlement. To the Wathaurong, the nearby Bunyip pool was a source of food. Yarrum Mordong is the Wathaurong name for this part of the river. Yarrum means rapids or a waterfall. Mordong means eel.
To the newly arrived Europeans of the 19th century, this part of the river was a source of power which could be harnessed for industry and not surprisingly one of the earliest recorded was flour-milling. The history of flour-milling at Fyansford seems to me to be somewhat unclear. It is widely reported that Henry William Collins opened a flour mill on the banks of the Barwon in 1845. Whether this is the same establishment as the Barrabool flour Mill which started operation in 1849 on a projection of land upstream of Buckley Falls, known as Mt Brandon Peninsula, I cannot determine, however a source stating that the latter was built in 1849 suggests that they were separate establishments.

Barrabool Flour Mill, built 1849

Records indicate that the Barrabool Flour Mill was a five-storey, bluestone structure whose 90cm thick walls were constructed from locally quarried stone - perhaps from one of the three quarries on the opposite bank of the river. It was powered by an "undershot" wheel and water was drawn from a channel which ran along the south bank of the river. Nowadays, there is no sign of the mill or an associated onsite cottage and no-one seems quite sure where the mill was located. A comparison of the two photos to the left however, is interesting.

It is also interesting to note the extent to which the banks on both sides of the river have been revegetated over the intervening decades as well as the presence of the lower weir (not built until 1927) in the lower picture.

The only traces of the mill and its surrounds now visible are a few non-native trees (possibly the cyprus growing on the high ground of the peninsula) and the remains of the outer race wall which can still be seen as I discovered for myself yesterday on another expedition to see a part of the river which, for some unknown reason, had to this point escaped me.

 Yesterday's saunter took me down to the south bank of the river opposite the car park at Baum's Weir and along an informal track, back towards Buckley Falls. Here, to my delight, I discovered the remains of the old bluestone race. Originally about 244m in length, it ran from a weir upstream down to the mill. Whilst not explicitly stated, I believe that the weir was in fact Baum’s Weir which is said to date from the 1840s, although no-one seems to know when or by whom it was built.

Remains of outer wall of the channel on the south bank of
the Barwon below Brandon Peninsula

Regardless of when exactly the mill was built, it would seem that by 1854 at the latest and probably earlier, an Englishman named John Highett was the owner. He may also have had to rebuild the mill subsequent to substantial flooding in 1852. I haven’t been able to turn up anything which indicates how long Highett ran the mill, however some time after his death in 1867 and with the opening of the Barwon Paper Mill on the opposite bank of the river in 1876 (more of which later), business appears to have dropped off. After standing idle for some years, the mill reopened. Confusingly once again, one source states that in 1887/1888 it reopened as the Fyansford Starch Factory, milling rice instead of wheat. This is supported by a contemporary photo showing the mill and labelled accordingly. It states that the mill buildings had almost completely disappeared by 1938. However, another reference published by the City of Greater Geelong, indicates that the mill was sold in 1888 and subsequently operated as a jam factory on a limited scale. This reference claims the building was gone by 1908.

A couple of possible explanations for these differences spring to mind, such as the possibility that the two businesses used the buildings jointly or perhaps the tenure of the starch factory was very short-lived. The difference in dates given for the disbanding of the mill buildings seems a likely transcription error.

So, who was the mill's owner John Highett and what was his association with the Barwon River? Highett (1810-1867) was an Englishman who migrated first to Van Diemen's Land with his brother William (a noted politician) before arriving in the Port Phillip district in 1837. He took up farming land overlooking the Barwon on the south side of the river and built a substantial house at the top of the hill overlooking much of the region in what is now Montpellier Park. The house later became the Montpellier Hotel, Picnic Ground and Pleasure Gardens and was run by Edwin Hooper. The surrounding land was also used for the cultivation of grapes, with vineyards extending down to the river, into the nearby Barrabool Hills and as far as Pollocksford. The Montpellier name derives from a town in Southern France known for its wine growing.

The house no longer stands, however the footings can still be seen in the park's grounds. The other, perhaps more permanent reminder of Highett's contribution to the development of the area in the early days of European settlement is the suburb of Highton, which was originally given the name Highett's Town. Of course, Highett Road which connects with Buckley Falls Road below the Bunyip pool is a further reflection the area's association with John Highett and his family.