Making tracks - through the slough of despond

...and so the journey continued. With the longest part of the trip behind them and keen to reach the fabled gold fields of Ballarat, the aspiring diggers faced what was probably the most difficult part of their journey - Scott's Marsh (or Scott's Swamp as it was also known), a low-lying area at the foot of Mt Buninyong.

At the outbreak of the gold rush this land formed part of the 16,000 acre cattle then sheep run held by the squatter Andrew Scott and his wife Celia along with other Scott family members which became the Mt Boninyong Estate.

An 1862 view of the Mt Boninyong Estate. Image held by the Victorian State Library

Today, over 175 years later, the property is still owned by the Scott family and features one of the district's more stately homes. The elegant structure which stands today however, was not even a consideration as the first of the diggers headed to the Mount in 1851. It was not built until 1884, instead, the original Scotts made do - initially at least - with a bark slab hut.

Mt Boninyong Estate, November, 2014

Whilst the new house was built on the site of the old, the new road from Geelong to Ballarat did not follow the line of the original track, but instead passed almost through the middle of Scott's pre-emptive selection. The new road stayed on the higher ground to the north of the springs which feed Williamson's Creek at the foot of Mt Buninyong. The survey maps from 1855 on the other hand show the old track, continuing along a route to the south of Williamson's Creek as mentioned in my previous post. The image below shows the Midland Highway running through Scott's surveyed land with the old tracks marked in red. The lower track is marked "from Ballaarat".

Section of an 1855 survey map showing part of Buninyong Parish between
Clarendon and Scotsburn overlaid on Google Earth. Red lines indicate old
tracks marked by the surveyor, the Midland Highway is shown in yellow.
Click to enlarge

It is worth noting at this point that surveyor A.J. Skene's 1845 map of Victoria (which I have referred to previously), shows the track following a similar path to that depicted on the 1855 maps but staying south of both Scotsburn and Buninyong as shown below.

Section of Skene's 1845 map showing the track (lower dotted line)
between Clarendon and Buninyong overlaid on Google Earth. Click to enlarge

Of course, in the earliest days of the colony, tracks through the bush developed according to need and the restrictions of the surrounding terrain, consequently the early survey maps show that Buninyong could be approached from several different directions. If a track became impassable, those travelling light would simply go around or head into the bush, looking for a better route, but for the larger vehicles, this was not always possible.

This situation was illustrated in Henry Mundy's biography (Henry Mundy: a young Australian pioneer, Les Hughes, 1988) where he gave the following description of crossing Scott's Swamp:

The roads were anything but good. The men walked over bad places and rode on favourable occasions. Horse drays having light loads could best pick their way by shunning the main bullock track by taking to the bush for it. There was a dreadful slough of despond called 'Scott's Swamp', near the foot of Mount Buninyong about three hundred yards across of black sticky mud. Many a bullock lost the number of his mess there; one team by itself never attempted to cross it. Two teams and sometimes three would yoke together and take over a load at a time. Sometimes a bullock would fall, but no stopping to get him up again. The poor brute was dragged along by the neck to the other side dead or alive, very often choked. Horses could not travel at all through the sticky mud on account of their flat feet, bullocks had the only chance.

Looking south along Platt's Rd today, there is no sign of the quagmire which
confronted the earliest diggers heading to the gold fields

Another journey in 1854 was recounted in the Geelong Advertiser of 27th January, 1904 which painted a similar picture to Mundy's:

 We eventually arrived at Scott's Marsh, where, it being the rainy season, a scene presented itself suggestive of John Bunyan's "Slough of Despond" to my untutored mind and inexperience of travelling. I thought we had come to the "place of despair." Dante could not improve the picture in his "Inferno" for unrestrained profanity heard on every side.
Dozens of vehicles were bogged axle deep. It was no use unloading here. It had to be faced and got through somehow. We were fortunate in being able to induce a bullock-driver to hitch on his team to our spring cart and for this friendly help he let us off on payment of 10s. We were then told that the worst part of the journey was over...

Whilst none of the descriptions I have seen give an exact location for Scott's Swamp, the section of 1855 survey map above shows an area of marshy ground at the south west corner of Scott's pre-emptive selection. The old track is also shown passing through the swamp in the vicinity of today's Platt's Road, joining the current highway just west of the little township of Scotsburn.

Making tracks - to Corduroy Bridge

And so the diggers made it to the site of Burnt Bridge. According to Mary Akers' "Hold fast the Heritage" (2010), an account of Narmbool's pastoral heritage, the original "burnt bridge" was a log bridge built by Henry Anderson and William Cross Yuille who travelled to the Buninyong area in 1837 prior to their taking up their squatting runs in the area. According to Akers, the bridge was destroyed when a bushfire took hold in the area some time later and so the name stuck.
As I mentioned in my previous post, Burnt Bridge the settlement, first appeared in the newspapers of the day in 1852 and by 1853 John Morrison was replacing his original inn on the old track from Geelong, with a new, larger building facing the new road alignment.
At around this time, on the 22nd January, 1853 the Geelong Advertiser and Intelligencer reproduced a description of a journey from Geelong to the Ballarat gold fields, given by a Mr Bonwick. This was that gentleman's description of the land surrounding Burnt Bridge:

No surface rock appeared for miles. The verdure was good. One mile from the blue flag [of a previous coffee tent] rose the Burnt Bridge Coffee Tent. A fine running stream, gentle rises, plenty of grass, and a white-gum forest, give considerable attractions to this quarter.

The stream in question was most likely Williamson's Creek or a branch a little to the south known as Salt Creek. Williamson's Creek is a tributary of the Leigh River. It rises to the south of the present Midland Highway, about 2.5 km south east of the town of Scotsburn and forms part of a network of creeks and gullies draining the rather swampy land which lies beneath Mt Buninyong before emptying into the Yarrowee River around 2 km north of the Leigh Grand Junction Bridge. It is at this point that the name of the river changes to the Leigh River.
Back at Burnt Bridge, an 1855 survey map shows a short section of the old track crossing Salt Creek via a bridge, but does not extend to show the Williamson's Creek crossing which must also have been necessary. It does not show the site of the original "burnt bridge" and from this point, I have a gap in the paper trail until the track reaches the site of today's Clarendon township.
Whilst the survey books for the land including and immediately surrounding the town are available, they are currently beyond my capacity to interpret as surveyor Eugene Bellairs was not as ordered in his note-taking as some other surveyors. More importantly perhaps, his points of reference are not as clear as others, making it hard to follow his lines.

A page from E Bellairs field book, 1854. Books accessible via the Landata website

What is available however is a pair of survey maps from 1858 and 1859 which show the township of Clarendon, including - in one instance - the line taken by the old track to Buninyong/Ballarat. The modern road is shown entering the township via a second crossing on Williamson's Creek travelling in a roughly north westerly direction. This however is not the site of the original bridge nor is Clarendon the original name for the town.
The 1859 map shows a track marked as the "old track from Ballarat" south of the creek and running roughly parallel to its course past the future town site. The 1858 map does not show the track but marks a position on the creek as the site of the "original corduroy bridge" and this is where things get a little interesting.

Firstly, Corduroy Bridge is the earlier, informal name used for the location (if not strictly perhaps the township). Whilst the 1858 map refers to the township of Clarendon, the 1859 map does not give a name but instead refers to "suburban lots near Corduroy Bridge in the parish of Clarendon, County of Grant". The surveyor's field books from 1854 however do refer to the "Township of Corduroy".
Secondly, the "original Corduroy Bridge" does not appear to lie on the path of either the old road or the new, but instead crosses Williamson's Creek about 500 m north west of the current bridge and around 150 m north of the old track (see map below). Looking a little further. afield, an 1855 survey map of the parish of Buninyong shows the old track to Ballarat continuing roughly north westerly before meeting the current highway close to Scotsburn. At no point does the track appear to cross the creek again. In addition however, the map also shows a track which closely follows the path of today's Wiggin's Rd, travelling from the east side of Mt Buninyong to merge with the current route of the highway a little south of the current Wiggin's Rd intersection. The old and new then travel together towards Clarendon township, north of the creek.

The 1858 survey map overlaid on Google Earth. The red line indicates the
"old track from Ballaarat" as plotted on the 1859 map

Could the bridge have been used to connect the tracks either side of the creek or to connect the developing township with the old track to Buninyong? Whilst the surveyor's books are difficult to read, they do clearly show that by 1854, the town boasted two hotels, viz the Carrier's Arms and the Corduroy Hotel, both on the north side of Williamson's Creek along with some paddocks stating the owners names and a builder's shop. Both the hotels and the shop are situated on the new line of road to Ballarat and were present at the time of survey as was a bridge at the site of the current creek crossing. This perhaps suggests that the new road followed an existing track which may have been one of a number in the area - as suggested by the Buninyong Parish map - which converged at Corduroy Bridge.
Which brings us to the next point of interest: the name Corduroy Bridge. Originally this would not have been so much the name of a place as the description of a landmark - a simple rough-made style of bridge which was commonly constructed in rural areas to ford small creeks or cross swampy land. The technique involved strapping together logs placed in a transverse fashion across the creek or swampy ground to be crossed. The transverse logs were supported underneath, often by longer logs cut and placed at right angles to those above. Such bridges were cheap, quick and easy to build and were often used by military forces needing to erect a temporary crossing, even to relatively recent times, however they provided a very rough surface and could be difficult, even dangerous to cross - especially in wet weather.

An example of a corduroy bridge c1886. Image held by the National Library of
Australia

Whilst there is no trace of it today, it appears that the original bridge was a simple log construction which crossed Williamson's Creek north west of the current bridge. It was built some time prior to 1852 which is the earliest mention I can find of Corduroy Bridge as a location, but whether it pre-dates the gold rush - perhaps even dating back to the first coaching runs of 1846 or the squatters before that - I could not discover.

...Like son

My previous post highlighted the achievements of Leigh Shire engineer, Charles Anthony Corbett Wilson, however he was not the only engineer in his large family. One of his younger sons - Frederick - was appointed Meredith Shire engineer in 1893, but it was his eldest son Charles Corbett Powell Wilson who arguably went on to have the biggest impact on the infrastructure of the district.
CCP Wilson, was born in Geelong around 1857 and learnt his trade working with his father. Between them, father and son were responsible for the design and construction of dozens of bridges, roads, public buildings and civic facilities across the Western Districts of Victoria in the 19th and early 20th centuries, many of them involving the Barwon River and its tributaries.

Charles Corbett Powell Wilson, shire engineer to Leigh,
Meredith and Buninyong Shires

By the time he arrived in the Barwon catchment region, CCP Wilson already had significant experience in civil engineering, having served as engineer to the Portland Shire from 1889 until 1908. Upon leaving Portland, Wilson was appointed as engineer to the Shires of Buninyong and Meredith and then, two years later upon the retirement of his father in 1910, he also took up the position of Leigh Shire engineer.
Whilst much of the work undertaken by Wilson involved the maintenance of existing roads and bridges, like his father, he too was responsible for the design of a significant number of bridges and other civil structures, a number of which are still standing to this day. Building on the pioneering work of his father, he was a huge supporter of the use of reinforced concrete as a cheap, durable and low-maintenance building product and there are several bridges still standing today as testament to the validity of his thinking.
One of his earliest and most significant projects was of course, the Leigh Grand Junction Bridge about which I have written in detail in previous posts and which dates to 1910. Located at the boundary of the three shires he served, it is a fitting testament to his many contributions.

Leigh Grand Junction Bridge, August, 2015

At about the same time, Wilson was also responsible for the design of at least two other bridges in the region which were substantially similar in design and appearance. The first was what is now known as Cooper's Bridge over the Moorabool River on the Meredith-Steiglitz Road. By July, 1911 the Meredith Shire Council was calling for quotes to rebuild the timber bridge which stood at that time. Wilson's bridge was the fourth to stand on the site. Whilst attending the official celebrations held after the opening of his new bridge in May, 1913 the engineer noted that there had been a bridge on the site for 35 years and that it was his father who had been responsible for building the initial structure, including the bluestone abutments upon which the new bridge stood. (This latter, despite a recommendation by Wilson that a new location for the bridge should be chosen to allow for a less torturous alignment, a point echoed by the Minister For Public Works in his speech at the opening event.)
Wilson then went on to note that 17 years earlier, his brother had drawn up plans to have the second bridge replaced with a steel structure, however this was deemed too expensive by council who decreed that a timber structure should be built instead - a decision which undoubtedly resulted in the construction of the bridge which still stands today.

Cooper's Bridge aka the Moorabool Bridge, August, 2015

The bridge designed by Wilson was built from steel-reinforced concrete, using the original bluestone abutments from the first bridge. It was supported between the abutments by two concrete piers which were 39 ft deep, 16 ft wide and 1 ft thick. The piers were reinforced with 1 inch mild steel (a strong, flexible steel often used for bridge construction) whilst the 9 in concrete beams they supported were reinforced with recycled steel cable from the Melbourne tramways - a measure of economy which Wilson also used to good effect on the Leigh Grand Junction Bridge. This structure was over-topped by a 6 in concrete deck. The guard rails were constructed from water pipe and panels of cyclone fencing.
Whilst the guard rails have today been replaced with modern edging, the rest of the structure appears to remain much as described in 1913. In total, the new bridge cost a grand sum of  £763, of which £68 was the cost involved in removing the previous structure. The original bridge had cost the shire £700.

Not too far away and also dating to a similar era is the bridge at Sharp's Crossing on the Moorabool River near Sheoaks. The first bridge on the site was built in 1882 after a successful campaign by locals  who complained that the existing ford (possibly pre-dating the 1870s) became impassable each time the river flooded. Once completed, it was noted that the new bridge was not of the highest quality, but would do the job - and this was true as far as it went. Like most wooden bridges however, it had an effective working life of around ten years before it required on-going repair, and council reports show that from 1893 onward, Sharp's Crossing required re-decking, repairing or the installation of new planks on an almost annual basis.
By 1904 it was reported that the centre bearers of the western span of the bridge were completely rotten and it was recommended that this part of the bridge be removed and replaced with an embankment. There is no suggestion that this plan was adopted and the repairs continued until the end of 1914 when construction finally began on a new concrete bridge, designed by CCP Wilson. The project was completed by February the following year, however with increasing wartime austerity, it was deemed that the money required for a grand opening would be better spent on other road works and so the bridge was opened quietly, without the pomp and ceremony which accompanied the opening of the Grand Junction and Moorabool bridges. It was remarked none-the-less, that the bridge was the most handsome, strong and best-looking bridge on river.

Sharp's Crossing Bridge over the Moorabool River, November, 2011 with the
trademark pipe and wire handrails of a CCP Wilson design, still intact

And so it continued year after year. The newspapers of the day - which dutifully reported all council proceedings - are filled with the reports and recommendations of Engineer Wilson. In addition to major projects, there were culverts, drains, small bridges, roads and an array of civic projects and the shire engineer was expected to design them, supervise construction and maintain them all.
He is indicated as having "erected a new concrete bridge over the Moorabool River below Egerton" early in 1914, however I suspect his contribution was to re-deck the existing Blue Bridge (now heritage listed) which was originally constructed in 1870 with a timber deck atop a bluestone pier and abutments. Wilson's changes typically introduced a concrete deck, reinforced and braced with steel rails.

Section of the Blue Bridge on the Yendon-Egerton Road

Some of the smaller projects undertaken by CCP Wilson included bridges across Lal Lal Creek, the Yarrowee River on Whitehorse Road at Buninyong and another small bridge near Clarendon, to name just a few. This latter bridge which still stands on Hopgoods Road was - as far as I can tell - built in mid-1914.

Small concrete bridge on Hopgood's Road, Clarendon

It is an interesting illustration of the techniques used by Wilson in his work with pre-stressed concrete. Today, part of the bridge corner post has fallen away, revealing the steel within the structure. The cable steel he sourced secondhand from the Melbourne tramways and the gravel for the concrete came from local deposits often on the Leigh river. Everything was constructed onsite.

Detail showing both cable steel and bars of mild steel used in the construction

Another surviving example of a bridge designed by Wilson and which is still in use today, is a somewhat larger bridge on the Scotchman's Lead Road south of Ballarat, known as Franklin's Bridge. Completed in early 1914, it is over 100 ft in length and 16 ft wide and at the time of its opening, the Ballarat Star newspaper proudly declared that it was the finest bridge in the shire. The deck is supported by two concrete piers between concrete abutments and in typical CCP Wilson style, in its original form included pipe and cyclone wire hand rails. Today these have been replaced by a more modern metal equivalent. The bridge was completed using "day labour" and cost around £800.

Franklin's Bridge on the Scotchman's Lead-Napoleon's Road

In addition to these road projects, Wilson also designed numerous other public facilities, some of which still stand today. He was for instance, responsible for the installation of concrete swings, fences and a significant concrete swimming pool along with other features, in the Buninyong Botanic Gardens. The pool is now empty but is still standing and has been converted into an attractive sunken garden which blends nicely with its surroundings.

Sunken gardens in the old concrete swimming pool at the Buninyong
Botanic Gardens

Inside the garden

A view of the gardens from above

Following World War 1 Wilson was particularly keen to support ex-servicemen and to commemorate their sacrifice. Buninyong's World War 1 memorial was his design as were the soldiers' memorial halls at Dereel and Shelford, built in 1920. He also designed an extension to the Buninyong town hall, dating to around the 1920s.
And so it continued with CCP Wilson serving as shire engineer of Meredith until the merger of that shire with neighbouring Bannockburn Shire in 1915, after which he continued to hold joint positions with Leigh and Buninyong until the time of his death on the 8th January, 1938 at the age of 80. Despite ill health for some time prior, he had continued to perform his role as engineer to both shires as well as holding the role of shire secretary to the Buninyong Shire from the mid 1920s.
Today, despite nearly 80 years having passed since the death of this revolutionary engineer, his legacy remains in the form of the many structures he designed all those decades ago which continue to stand - perhaps much longer than CCP himself could ever have imagined.