Branching out: a Moorabool paddle - on the rocks

On Saturday I decided to investigate a section of the Moorabool River which I had not yet seen - by kayak. I knew there would be obstacles, rocky sections and probably fallen trees and that at this time of year, water levels would be low. Boy, was I right! But that was only the beginning.
The section in question was the 10km stretch of river between Batesford and Fyansford which in recent decades has had an interesting history which I wasn't fully aware of before we began our paddle.

Old Batesford Bridge beside the Midland Highway

Starting from the back of the Batesford Hotel in Batesford, the first part of our paddle took us past farms and beneath the Moorabool River Reserve off Dog Rocks Road which I have walked before. The river alternated between deeper pools or short stretches of water and shallows which required some manoeuvring to negotiate, not to mention the masses of azolla which is currently choking the river through this section.

Azolla carpeting the surface of the river near the Moorabool River Reserve

At one point we discovered this pretty (but environmentally inappropriate) little pool, formed partly by a man-made rock weir and surrounded by exotic plantings such as willow and ash:


Small weir below Batesford

As we passed beneath the Dog Rocks Flora and Fauna Sanctuary, owned by the Belcher family since the 1850s, we encountered our first rocky obstacle, which required us to exit the kayaks and clamber around. No problem. A couple of photos and we were on our way again...

The first of many...

...only to be confronted by another rock pile, and another, and another as we slowly worked our way downstream. None of them were insurmountable and the water was relatively shallow however, it did make for slow progress and I was soon convinced that there would be no returning the way we had come. Of course, added water flow at other times of the year may change the situation, but whether increased flow would make continuous passage easier or just create further difficulties when hauling over rocks, I don't know.
In addition to the rocks, previous flooding events have also ensured that there was also the occasional large bank of driftwood to be negotiated too:

Log and rock jam

So, we continued in this fashion, paddling short sections and then exiting the kayaks to pick our way through, around or over various obstacles. At some points, the river is little more than a rocky creek bed making paddling impossible, however we pressed on and eventually, the rocks came to an end.

Paddling really wasn't an option here

 And that is where I intend to finish this post. The next instalment of the journey is an interesting one which will require some historical background and a bit of research before I post it, but the next 3-4km stretch of our paddle took us through a section of the river which didn't exist more than a few decades ago.

The Willows

As promised, in this post I intend to pinpoint as closely as possible the location of the camping spot on the Barwon known as The Willows which was so beloved of Geelong Grammar in the 19th century as well as being popular with both the wider community and Grammar's long-time rival, Geelong College.
Part of the problem with trying to locate the spot was simply the extensive number of willows which were planted along the banks of the river during the 19th and early 20th centuries. And these weren't just incidental plantings by individuals but rather, were introduced as part of civic beautification programs and - ironically - to control bank erosion across an extended time period.


Willow on the river bank below Barwon Grange

By the 1930s however, there were problems in some parts of the river and money was being provided by the State Rivers and Water Supply Commission to clear the willows from the upper reaches of the Barwon where they were clogging the flow. By contrast, downstream at Geelong and beyond, willows were still being planted. On 19th February, 1934 the Geelong Advertiser reported that recent plantings of willow had taken well and were now 6 ft high.  Then again, articles such as The Tragedy of the Barwon which appeared in The Argus of 14th May, 1949 highlighted the problem with willows.
But in the latter half of the 19th century when the boys from Grammar and College were honing their rowing skills on the lower reaches of the Barwon or whiling away their weekends around a campfire under the drooping branches, there was little concept of the problems ahead.
All of this meant that pinning down the precise location of a campsite simply known as The Willows was not exactly an easy process, but here is what I found:
The publication Light Blue Down Under: The History of Geelong Grammar School by Weston Bate made the following statement:

On the river their favourite breakfast place was The Willows, 8 kilometres downstream past the Barwon Breakwater, called simply 'the break'.



Willows and other exotic plantings immediately below the breakwater and the
 remnant chimney belonging to the "Willows" fellmongery of Dan Fowler

The Illustrated Heritage Guide to the Geelong College noted that:

The Willows was the name of a popular picnicking location on the Barwon River six miles downriver from the boat shed.

A little plotting using Google Earth showed me that - assuming the course of the river has not changed significantly in the intervening years - the two distances mentioned are only a few hundred metres apart...in the middle of Reedy Lake. Possible perhaps as there seem to be some areas not completely waterlogged, but unlikely as this was a publicly accessible picnic ground.
By contrast, many of the indirect references I located, pointed to the site being on the north bank of the river near Wilsons or Coppards Road, perhaps on the bend which is located between the two. My reasoning in thinking this was firstly, the place names mentioned in the poem Anabasis of the Alice by James Lister Cuthbertson which I mentioned in a previous post and I quote:

No check, no stay at The Willows

That redden in tender bloom,

But forward - and St Albans

Fades in the river gloom;

The crew in the poem are rowing from Barwon Heads to the school boat shed in town. An earlier part of the poem sees them enter Reedy Lake and then race another crew before rowing past The Willows and then 'St Albans', the stud built in 1873 for James Wilson, the famous racehorse trainer. His poem "Easy All" refers to cows grazing in nearby fields and "A Lament For The Willows" declaims:

No more do the thoroughbreds cluster

And stand in the cool of the shade,

To dream of the Flemington muster...

'St Albans' Homestead from Boundary Road

This surely refers to the bloodstock at St Albans Stud and is consistent with the following passage from the Church of England Grammar School Geelong History and register 1907 which states:

From Goat Island to the Willows the river is at its broadest and best; indeed, half-a-dozen eights could row abreast on the magnificent Long Reach, with its willow bordered shore....But what need of words: the Willows are the Willows, and for ever enshrined in the hearts of all true Grammar School Boys, who, one and all, feel to the successive proprietors of St Albans a deep debt of gratitude for allowing them, in Bean Lean's language "wood and water".

View downriver from the end of Boundary Road

Next, I found a newspaper report from September, 1903 detailing the accidental drowning of an 8 year old boy - incidentally a student at Geelong Grammar - who was on a boating excursion with the school at The Willows. The article refers to the event having occurred near the Geelong Racecourse which at that time as GC Magazine noted and I quoted in my previous post was:

on Barwon River flats off Tannery Road on the opposite banks to the end of Wilsons Road.

So, The Willows was on St Albans land near the Geelong Racecourse and I figured that "the magnificent Long Reach" between Goat Island (the small island over which the aqueduct passes) and The Willows was the broad, straight stretch of the river extending from somewhere downstream of Boundary Road to a bend about halfway between Wilsons and Coppards Road.

Looking up the "Long Reach" from Wilsons Road

Then, finally,  on the History of Australian Rowing website, I stumbled across an online version of Karen Threlfall's Fair Play and Hard Rowing: A History of The Barwon Rowing Club 1870-1990. On pages 3 and 4 of Chapter 4 is an extended description of a rowing excursion to Barwon Heads written (of course) by Cuthbertson. In it, is the following passage:

...and soon running beyond Goat Island and the bend, which leads to the Long Reach. At this point the river is wide enough to row six eights abreast and for a mile and a quarter runs quite straight. The view from off the Australian tannery is very fine, right ahead lies the long stretch of bright blue water, terminating in picturesque clumps of withered yellow reeds, crowned with the pale green lines of the willows, which are now in the glory of their spring foliage. Coming down to the end of the reach, the boat travels opposite the side of Mr Crozier's splendidly grassed paddocks, which are here bordered for half a mile by willows. We run our boat up the cutting, at the end of the paddock, and get out for breakfast at the spot which is so well known and liked by Grammar School boys. We collect large bundles of dried lignum branches, boil our billy, cook our chops, and make coffee of a most satisfactory description. Could anyone wish for a better camp?

Now, it didn't take long to ascertain that "Mr Crozier" was John Crozier, owner of 'St Albans' subsequent to James Wilson. Well that fitted.  A few more quick measurements on Google Earth and I came up with a location which was at the bottom of Coppards Road almost exactly where I guessed from Cuthy's poems and some of the other sources.

Probable location of The Willows. Click to enlarge

Well, that solved that problem. I still have no explanation for the two sources suggesting that the site was some 2 to 3km further downstream in Reedy Lake, but am reasonably confident that I now have the right spot. The next problem however, is taking some photos. I know that Coppards Road runs into the lake, about 1km short of the river channel. I don't currently have a kayak, so an on river approach isn't appealing, which leaves a stroll of just over 1.5km across private land...
I'll keep you posted...

The River Poet

I guess that not too many Australian rivers can boast of having their own poet, however during a recent search to see what - if any - poetry had been written about the Barwon, I was surprised to discover, not just the odd ditty, but an entire book of verse titled Barwon Ballads and School Verses.
The author of these lyrical tributes was of course, none other than James Lister Cuthbertson whom I discussed to some extent in my previous two posts: The old Light Blue and The school of the Barwon. In brief, he was born in Glasgow, Scotland in 1851 and arrived in Australia in 1875 where he took up the position of Master of Classics at Geelong Grammar School. He soon established a close relationship both with the headmaster John Bracebridge Wilson and with the boys under his care.


James Lister Cuthbertson taken from Barwon
Ballads and School Verses, 1912

Amongst the various legacies he left to the school was the precursor of the Corian, the school's annual magazine. He was a regular contributor both during his time as a teacher and after, signing his pieces as "C". Another lasting legacy was the introduction of the house system, along which lines the school is still largely organised to the present day. Inter-house music, debating and in particular sports competitions are stalwarts of the school curriculum. But even prior to this, in Cuthbertson's day, the Grammar boys were encouraged to participate in outdoor activities and "Cuthy" himself was a more than willing participant in this part of the curriculum. His love of rowing, hiking, camping and the outdoors was frequently expressed in his poetry and much of this also reflected the time he spent on the Barwon:

 

Which camp is best, taken from Barwon Ballads and School Verses, 1912

The above poem describes the various camping spots used by the the school (and others, including Geelong College), between Fyansford and Barwon Heads and is typical of the way he described the river and the surrounding countryside. His verse generally reflected the 19th century public school values of the day and much of his description of the Australian countryside could equally be applied to his Scottish homeland. One of his favourite camping spots and a recurring theme in his poetry was a place known as The Willows, which was (as mentioned in the previous post) in the vicinity of the Saint Albans Homestead. Whilst today's view of willows along Australian waterways is anything but flattering, the citizens of the 19th century saw them very differently.

And yet despite the English cliches, he also showed a great appreciation for his odd antipodean surroundings. He repeatedly referred to gum trees, ti tree and in particular, the golden blooms of the wattle trees. He also showed an acute sense of humour and a degree of local knowledge, when in discussing the "joys" of camping he noted "mosquitoes that bite like a dog".

On numerous occasions he described extended excursions to Barwon Heads and back with crews rowing into the night or starting out well before dawn. His poem The Anabasis of the Alice is a good example. In fact, he often gave the name of the boats crewed by the boys. There was the Cleopatra, the Iris, the Daphne, the Argo and of course the Alice which was mentioned on more than one occasion and even carried the crew of '89 to victory in the Head of the River - held that year on the Yarra.

But beneath all the eloquent words and the tales of sporting prowess, Cuthbertson was a troubled man. He was a homosexual working in a boys' boarding school in an era when being gay was a crime. I can find no public suggestion of impropriety of any sort either then or now. The introduction to the posthumous publication of "Barwon Ballads" says only that "little has been said of Cuthbertson's relations to the school in which he spent so large a part of his life. This is a matter that belongs to the school, and finds its appropriate place in the school records; but for the general public it has little concern".

Of course, Wikipedia is not so constrained and describes his battle with alcoholism, noting that the boys were assigned to look after him when he was incapable of doing so himself. This was known as "Cuthy duty". Whilst his friend John Bracebridge Wilson was headmaster, he enjoyed a relatively protected position and was even promoted to acting headmaster upon Bracebridge Wilson's death, however it appears that the new headmaster Leonard Hartford Lindon was not so tolerant and as I mentioned previously, Cuthbertson soon departed.

He spent his retirement, after a brief return to England, first in Geelong and then in the Melbourne suburb of Cheltenham. He spent holidays travelling to Queensland, fishing in South Australia and writing. Throughout the rest of his life he maintained his connection to the:

 

"...fair school, that in our hearts is queen,

With purpling ivy mounting o'er its tower..."

 

Geelong Grammar School, view from Maud Street, 1895. Image held by the
Victorian State Library

And this view of the south face of the school taken in 1895, less than a year before his departure was probably what Cuthbertson had in mind when he penned the following short verse:

 

THE SOUTHERN WALL

Strong tendrils of the ivy plants

That mantle on our wall of gray,

That brighten as the sunlight slants

Across the hills at dying day,

You image well the hearts of those

Our sons who do not break or bend,

But fight until the battle-close,

And die or triumph in the end.

 

Cuthbertson spent about 15 years in retirement before his sudden death on 18th January, 1910 as a result of an overdose of the barbiturate Veronal - a sleeping aid. At the time he was staying with a friend in Mount Gambier.
Four years after Cuthbertson's death in 1914 when Grammar moved to its present site in Corio, one of the newly opened boys boarding houses was given his name. Cuthbertson House or "Cuthy" as it is known stands overlooking the ovals and Limeburner's Lagoon as a lasting tribute to one of the school's most influential masters.

Cuthbertson House, Geelong Grammar School. November 2012

Cuthbertson House foundation stone, November 2012

For those interested in reading more of Cuthbertson's Barwon Ballads and School Verses the book can be downloaded in PDF and a variey of other formats or read online through the California Digital Library here.



Growing concerns

Animals are not the only introduced species to be found along the Barwon. With the arrival of European settlers came a wide variety of plants, some provided food, some were ornamental, some no doubt arrived unintentionally and many became weeds in their new environment.
I've mentioned deforestation along the Barwon and its tributaries in previous posts - especially as its effects relate to water catchment and the ability to withstand bushfire in the Otways. Another problem with the loss of native vegetation is the loss of habitat and food sources for wildlife. If eucalypts are cleared instead of being allowed to age naturally and die, those birds and other animals such as Red-rumped Parrots which nest in tree hollows will struggle to find suitable sites in which to build.

Dead tree with hollow branches used by nesting Red-rumped Parrots at Fyansford

Native re-vegetation at Barwon Valley

Birds like the various honeyeaters which rely on the nectar from native plants may be adversely affected by a lack of flowering native trees and shrubs - for instance the White-plumed Honeyeater has a close association with River Red Gums. On the other hand, many of these birds (along with the various introduced species) may also benefit from the presence of exotic flowering plants and fruit trees.

Introduced prunus in bloom near Breakwater

Whilst re-vegetation efforts in recent years have aimed to increase the presence of native plants along the river - especially through the urban areas - there are still many remnants of 19th century plantings along the riverbank.

Apple tree growing wild on the banks of the West Barwon
River below the West Barwon Dam

Cyprus tree on the riverbank at Barwon Valley

Apple trees remaining near the West Barwon Dam are one example of introduced plantings as are cyprus trees found at various points along the river through Geelong. Another is the few remnant willow trees which still grow along the river bank through Geelong. These willows are the last survivors of a string of 19th century plantings stretching from town to the breakwater. Ironically, they were planted in an attempt to control erosion along the riverbank. In actual fact, the opposite may be true as the root masses formed by willows can inhibit fast-flowing water, causing erosion. They can also prevent water flow and the growth of other aquatic plants important to native fauna.

Willow tree below Barwon Grange, Newtown

Willow and other exotic plantings below the breakwater

Despite this, I still love the look of willow trees hanging over the water.

Sun and Willows



Sunnyside Wool Scouring Company, Breakwater.

The history of the site on which the Sunnyside Wool Scour stands at Breakwater is in many ways synonymous with the industrial history of Geelong and the Barwon River. As early as 1840, wool was being exported from Geelong to London. As a result, the factories required to process the wool and hides began to appear on the banks of the Barwon.
 Purchased initially in 1853 by John Ford Strachan, the site on which Sunnyside stands was sold by 1862 to Thomas Marshall who in turn sold it to Edmund Haworth in 1866. All these names were significant to the development of the wool trade in Geelong during the 1850s and are still recognisable today.

Notably, the nearby suburb of Marshall (formerly Marshalltown) was named after Thomas' sons Thomas and Foster Marshall. Thomas was a fellmonger and wool trader who had emigrated from England in 1840. He and his family lived in a house nearby called "Breakwater".

Many of the local street names still attest to the industrial origins of the area around Breakwater and to the breakwater itself - Breakwater Road, Tanner Street, Leather Street, Tanner Court, Currier Lane, Industrial Place and Fellmongers Road in Breakwater as well as Woolscour Lane and Tannery Road, Marshall to name a few.


Sunnyside Wool Scouring Company, Breakwater.

It is known that wool scouring took place on the site at least as early as 1867 and probably dated back to the 1850s during the period of Marshall's ownership. After purchasing the property, Edmund Haworth conducted both scouring and fellmongering operations on the site. Its location on the river was of course, integral to both processes. Water from the Barwon was used to wash the scoured wool which in the early days was done by hand on the riverbank using what was known as the pot-stick method. This procedure was later replaced by steam-driven machinery. In addition, waste products from both the scouring and fellmongering activities were discharged in to the river and washed downstream. It was important that waste only entered the river below the breakwater as this would have protected the town's water supply. In fact the purity or lack there of, of the river's water supply was an issue which preoccupied residents, industries, local councils and the government alike for decades.

Chimney built by John Haworth at Sunnyside Wool Scour

The brick chimney which can be seen from various points on the river was erected by John Haworth, the son of Edmund who took over ownership of the property from his father in 1899. His initials can be seen built into the brickwork of the chimney.
For several years, John leased the property and in the early 1900s an unsuccessful attempt was made to establish a woollen mill on the premises by Dr Charles Edward Barnard which had closed by 1903 due to poor management by the Sellenger brothers Charles and William, the latter of whom was employed as manager. The next occupant was William Goode & Co probably trading under the name of Breakwater Woollen Mill, followed by the adaption of the buildings in about 1907 to carry on a leatherworks. This company was known as the Commonwealth Tannery Co. and was run by Robert J Kennedy who first leased and then purchased the property outright in 1909. He in turn sold out in 1913 to Henry O'Beirne who once again set up a fellmongery and wool washing works on the site. The years of the First World War saw a boom in wool prices with the quality of Geelong wool considered second to none. However, a slump in the English market following the war meant O'Beirne temporarily closed the works and finally went out of business in 1932. The property was then leased to the Melbourne company Oanah Wool Pty Ltd which may never have operated from the site and then by 1934 to the Dominican Wool Co. who purchased it.
In 1938, local brothers Harold and James Fowler took over ownership and called their company "Sunnyside Scouring Co." They conducted a number building works and made improvements and modernisations to the equipment including the addition of a large, galvanised iron shed surrounding the older bluestone building constructed by Haworth. In 1948, following a dispute with his brother, Harold sold out to James and moved next door to establish his own works, probably on the site once owned by his grandfather Daniel Fowler Snr.
The company suffered a setback when on 2nd June, 1953 it was reported in the Melbourne Argus that a fire almost completely gutted the premises, however Sunnyside continued trading and eventually James passed the property to his son James Leo upon his death in 1969. James Leo then ran it until his retirement in the 1970s when he closed down the works but retained the buildings to store scoured and baled wool for sale when prices were at a premium. James Leo died in 1987. The property was purchased finally by Owen Callan and son Graham, local wool dealers who ran their business from the site.
 Despite varying fortunes over the years, some structures dating back to the earliest days, including sections of the bluestone and timber building erected by Edmund Haworth in 1867, remain. As time passed, a variety of other buildings were added, many of which are still standing, others having been removed to serve the current needs of the owners. Whilst its use has varied over time, the property has remained in almost continuous operation since the 1850s. Today it is the only remnant of the wool processing works which have been conducted at the Breakwater since the mid-19th century.

Willow trees and chimney of the scouring works of
Old Dan Fowler Snr next door to Sunnyside Scouring Co.

There is also a personal aspect to the story of Sunnyside, which I was unaware of until I began to research the company, but soon came to suspect. In 1932 my great-aunt - Bernice Stafford - married one of the many Breakwater Fowlers and they lived at Marshall. Her husband Frank was the grandson of Daniel Fowler Snr, the same Daniel who was grandfather to James and Harold, one-time owners of Sunnyside, making them first cousins. Daniel, was a noted resident and himself a fellmonger and scourer at Breakwater as far back as the 1870s, having arrived from Kilkenny in 1861. He owned various properties in Breakwater and across Geelong and the Bellarine Peninsula and in 1881 purchased the property adjoining what would become the Sunnyside Scouring Co. to be established by his grandsons.
This property was razed by fire in 1897, but business went on and Daniel retained ownership of the property until his death in 1930 at the ripe old age of 95. From this time until 1947 it was administered as part of his estate by several of his sons at which point it was sold to his grandson Harold who had dissolved the partnership with his brother James in Sunnyside next door. Harold called old Dan's property the Willows for the trees which grew along the bank of the Barwon at the back of his land. He finally closed it as a scouring works in 1960, however it re-opened for a time when a tenant used it, much like Sunnyside, for wool storage and sorting. Unlike Sunnyside, the building was demolished c1987-8 with the exception of its chimney which was left standing as a memorial to Dan Snr by his family.
The Sunnyside Scouring Co. and the Willows are only two examples of the thriving 19th century wool industry which lined the banks of the Barwon below the breakwater. Beyond Fowler's were a string of allotments all housing businesses devoted to the wool and skin trades including other fellmongeries, scours, tanneries and a glue factory. Earlier business interests of the Fowlers were also established here where they conducted the usual trades of fellmongering, wool washing and tanning.
Those who owned and worked these businesses were the original inhabitants of the towns of Breakwater and Marshall and many of their names and occupations are embedded in the fabric of these suburbs and of Geelong. For those who know what to look for, the last vestiges of this bygone era can be seen on the banks of the Barwon River to the present day.