Moreep

The subject of my previous post was a short walk with a small group of interested individuals along the Moorabool River downstream of the Slate Quarry Road Bridge a short distance to the north east of Meredith. Following European settlement, this section of the Moorabool formed part of the boundary between the squatting runs of Durdidwarrah - established by Robert von Stieglitz - and Borhoneyghurk - first claimed by John Norman McLeod. As I have already written about each of these properties, I thought I would have a look a little further upriver at a third run, much smaller in size than the other two and sharing boundaries with both: 'Moreep'.

The earliest mention of 'Moreep' in the newspapers of the Port Phillip District as the area was then known, is in an 1848 listing of applications for squatting leases (Geelong Advertiser, 29th April, 1848). The applicant was J N McLeod. This was John Norman McLeod, leaseholder of 'Borhoneyghurk'. According to Victorian Squatters (Spreadborough & Hough, 1983) however, McLeod originally took up the 'Moreep' lease in October, 1837 which was about the same time at which he took up the Borhoneyghurk lease.

At an estimated 4,300 acres (Melbourne Daily News, 13th February, 1849) 'Moreep' was less than a quarter of the size of the 24,700 acre Borhoneyghurk run It was estimated that the land was capable of grazing 2,000 sheep. By January, 1850, McLeod had transferred the licences for both the Borhoneyghurk and Moreep runs to Messrs Ball and Sinclair (The Argus, 22nd January, 1850) who continued to occupy the Moreep run - populated with 4,000 sheep - until 1853 (Victorian Government Gazette No 8, 16 February 1853, 205--page 220). By February, 1854 however, the lease had passed to the Rev. Thomas Nattle Grigg (Victorian Government Gazette No 13, 14 February 1854, 327 - page 418)  who had also taken up the lease for the larger portion of 'Borhoneyghurk' which had by that time been subdivided.
Grigg's tenure however appears to have been fleeting with Hugh Morrison installed as licensee by 4th April the same year (Portland Guardian & Normanby General Advertiser, 7th May, 1854). Whilst Morrison also occupied the run for a relatively brief time, he remained in the district throughout his life. Survey maps for the Parish of Ballark show that on 7th June, 1856 he was the first to purchase the pre-emptive selection for the Moreep run - a 640 acre block a little to the east of the Moorabool River and somewhat west of the Meredith-Ballan Rd. Today, most of that block is planted with pine trees but the nearby settlement of Morrisons is a reminder of his tenure.
During the time of Morrison's occupancy, the gold rush was in full swing and an extension of what was called the Morrison's Lead, ran through 'Moreep'. Speaking in retrospect, Mr DM Morrison, son of Hugh, recalled the following (Geelong Advertiser, 4th May, 1907):

The northern extension of the lead through Moreep on the north side of the Moorabool gave a party of 20 for about 20 years a dividend of about £25 per man per week. Mr. Silas Hoyle, one of this party is still to the fore, enjoying the good things of this life upon his farm at Morrisons. 

Before the close of 1856 however, Morrison had also sold up, moving to the neighbouring Borhoneyghurk run which he occupied for the remainder of his life. Morrison died at his Geelong residence in Pevensey Crescent in 1871 and was buried with other family members at the Eastern Cemetery (Geelong Advertiser, 4th September, 1871).

The Morrison family grave in the Old Presbyterian Section, Grave 77 at the
 Eastern Cemetery, March 2018

'Moreep' meanwhile, passed to Thomas and Joseph Bray in partnership with James Wood. Between them, they were running 10 horses, 40 cattle and 500 sheep on their property and parish survey maps show that on 24th June, 1856 they expanded the extent of their holdings with the purchase of a 518 acre block of land which connected their original block `to the Moorabool River as well as two smaller blocks to the east of about 142 acres, which provided frontage to the Meredith-Ballan Rd.
Wood did not remain long in the partnership, leaving the Bray brothers to run the property alone which they did until 1861 when they were forced to declare their insolvency (Victorian Government Gazette No 177, 3 December 1861, 2325--page 2352). Originally, the pair were drapers who had been resident in Geelong since the 1840s (Geelong Advertiser, 25th June, 1849), where they ran their business in the Market Square. Like many at the time it would seem they decided to try their hand as pastoralists, apparently with disastrous financial results.
Following their failed venture at 'Moreep', the pair moved back to Geelong where Joseph returned to the trade he knew best, operating a drapery store (Geelong Advertiser, 22nd December, 1869), a business he successfully pursued for many years.

An image of Moorabool St, Geelong 1852 looking south west. "Bray's Drapery
Warehouse" is the light coloured building left of centre. Image held by the
State Library of Victoria. Click to enlarge

By 1872, his brother Thomas had moved to Sebastopol near Ballarat where he entered into community life, serving as a Justice of the Peace. In 1871 he was elected mayor of the Borough of Sebastopol and held the position until 1873. By the 1880s however, Thomas had moved to Corowa in New South Wales where he owned a grocery and drapery store (Weekly Times, 29th June, 1929) and also a vineyard - Mossgiel - where he lived until his death in 1907 (Melbourne Leader, 2nd July, 1898).
Joseph died at his Laurel Bank Parade home in Geelong at the age of 93 in 1919 (Geelong Advertiser, 11th January, 1919) and was buried at the Eastern Cemetery.
During their tenure at 'Moreep', it is clear that Thomas resided on the property with his wife and children as family notices show that two of his children died on the property in 1860 - one a stillborn baby (Geelong Advertiser, 30th January, 1860), followed later that year by his five year old son Thomas Charles who contracted diphtheria (Geelong Advertiser, 24th November, 1860). The child's body was returned to Geelong for burial at the Eastern Cemetery.
With the departure of the Brays, the next tenant to occupy 'Moreep' was Charles Samuel Morrow who by that time was also the licensee at nearby 'Bungal' and like others his tenure at 'Moreep' was short-lived.  By 1863, he was selling up and in May that year it was reported  that Morrow had sold the property for the sum of £10,000 to George Bassnett and John Bennett Evans, stationers from Ballarat turned graziers (Hamilton Spectator and Grange District Advertiser, 8th May 1863). The brothers however had seriously overcapitalised and were declared insolvent by 1864, having paid only £2,500 of the purchase price (The Argus, 14th April, 1864).

The Evans Brothers' substantial printers and stationers store in Lydiard St
Ballarat, 1861. Image held by the State Library of Victoria

And so, by early 1864 'Moreep' was on the market once again (Ballarat Star, 17th February, 1864). It was advertised as consisting of 2,030 acres of freehold land and a further 3,000 acres of land leased from the Crown. A house consisting of six rooms plus various outbuildings stood in in a ten acre garden which was planted with fruit trees and vines. Facilities for stock, including a wool shed and draughting yards for both sheep and cattle had been constructed and the titled land was fenced.
The next owner of 'Moreep' was a Scotsman by the name of Donald McKinnon from the Isle of Skye who had moved from South Australia with his daughters and wife Elizabeth. However, his tenure was also brief as he died at the property later that same year. Despite this, his family remained at 'Moreep' for many years until 3rd March, 1898 when disaster struck. At around 4am Elizabeth who was living there with one of her daughters awoke to find their home (by now an eight-roomed timber structure) on fire. With no water to hand and no help nearby, the house burnt to the ground. It was suspected that a spark from the kitchen started the blaze (Geelong Advertiser, 5th March, 1898). After this time, Elizabeth leased the property out and moved to St Kilda where she died at her home some five years later on the 26th September, 1903 (The Argus, 28th September, 1903). She was buried with her husband Donald at the Meredith Cemetery.
The next chapter for 'Moreep' saw the property purchased from the McKinnon daughters in 1911 by Mr William Rhodes. The sale included a homestead which presumably had been rebuilt after the fire (Hamilton Spectator, 9th March, 1911). Whilst Rhodes and his family retained ownership of the station for many years, they chose to base themselves at 'Bungeeltap' which they purchased in 1922, instead installing a manager - Rodolph Paulden - at 'Moreep'. The Paulden family were still in residence on the property at the time of Rodolph's death in 1952 (The Argus, 11th December, 1952).
After this time, I can find little information about the property but do know that by October, 1970 it was on the market once again (The Age, 24th October, 1970). More recently, according to the Australian Government Business Register, the Parsons Moreep Pastoral Trust held an Australian Business Number (ABN) which was cancelled in 2016, however it seems that much, if not all, of the property is in the hands of a Colac-based company by the name of Australian Kiln Dried Softwoods (AKD Softwoods) who from the mid 2000s began planting the property out with pine trees to supply their various timber products.

'Moreep' as seen on Google Earth today. The map shows the approximate extent
of the original squatting lease (red) as well as the 640 acres of the pre-emptive
right (green) and the current holding (yellow)

Today, 'Moreep' is covered almost entirely by pine trees (see above) which continue to mature. The venture however is not without its risks as the company newsletter Splinter illustrated when its February/March edition for 2014 described the loss of 3.2 hectares of trees during a fire started by lightning strike in hot summer conditions.

Making tracks - the Mt Doran dilemma

With Watson's Hotel and the fledgling township of Meredith now behind them, the aspiring diggers of the gold rush era continued their journey up the "track". As I discovered whilst researching my previous post, this most likely took them out of town across Coolebarghurk Creek (at that time known as Marrabool Creek) and either towards Lal Lal on the old Lal Lal Road or along a route running roughly parallel to today's Midland Highway, at a distance a few hundred metres to the east.

At this point, things would seem to be a little hazy and in some places, downright contradictory, however as I alluded to previously, I may have found an explanation. In short, it all comes back to post offices and one or two old maps. Looking once again at Skene's 1845 map of Victoria, the track from Geelong to Buninyong appears to lead out of Meredith along the old Lal Lal Road as described by a local resident in 1943. From there, it was claimed, the track lead "through Mt Doran to Buninyong and Ballarat". Skene's map however, shows the road veering slightly away from the Lal Lal Road following a north westerly path instead; a path which passed directly through the site which became the township of Elaine.

From this point, the track continued its parallel path beside the Midland Highway, passing east of a little settlement known as Burnt Bridge. This route leaves the current Mount Doran some 5 or 6 km to the east and is seemingly at odds with the contention that the bullock track passed through Mount Doran - a route which would have added several kilometres to the diggers' journey at a time when there were no established towns between Watson's Hotel and Buninyong. Disappointingly I cannot locate the survey books for the upper part of the parish of Meredith and those of Borhoneyghurk Parish, meaning I cannot clarify the issue by continuing to plot the tracks I described in my last post.

Because there was little, if anything, in the way of settlement between Watson's and Buninyong I cannot locate a detailed description of the area at the time the gold rush broke out, but within a few years, signs of enterprise had begun to arise, perhaps giving some idea of the route followed by the diggers.

Google Earth screen shot overlaid with a section of surveyor A.J. Skene's 1845
map. The dotted line indicates the route as shown by Skene. The Midland Highway
is shown in yellow and the green lines indicate the approximate tracks plotted in 
my previous post. Click to enlarge

Recalling a journey taken in 1854, one correspondent to the Geelong Advertiser recounted some 50 years later, that sly grog-selling was rampant between Geelong and Burnt Bridge, with one of those illegal establishments lying between Meredith and the Stony Rises - the earlier name for Elaine. When surveyor Maurice Weston was taking his measurements for the land north of Meredith in 1857, he noted a "tent" on the east side of the present highway, slightly north of its intersection with Boundary Rd and around 600m west of the approximate line of the "Old Main Road". I don't know if  this tent was the same as that described in 1854, but such establishments came and went regularly and probably changed location equally rapidly. If the establishment at the Green Tent was anything to go by, they could also be located some distance from the road - perhaps due to their less-than-legal status.

Depiction of a coffee tent in 1852, by S.T. Gill, Image held by the
National Gallery of Australia

Regardless, this might suggest that the Stony Rises was a known location even in the early days of the gold rush. The first contemporary use of the name which I could find was an 1854 reference in the Geelong Advertiser and Intelligencer to the above sly grog tent, followed in 1855 by advertisements in relation to the construction of the new road to Ballarat. In 1857 there is reference in The Ballarat Star, to a murder inquest held at the Stony Rises Hotel. The hotel was also marked on an 1868 survey map which placed it west of the current highway, almost opposite the road to Morrison's. An article from The Ballarat Star of 6th August, 1889 gave the following description of the Stony Rises Inn at the time of its destruction by fire some decades later:

In the destruction of the Stony Rises hotel there has been wiped out of existence one of the land marks of the "fifties." In the golden days it was known as "Yankee Bill's," and the owner of the soubriquet dispensed food to man and beast in a tent. The late building was erected on the site of the canvas hotel, and passed successively into the hands of John Boler, Jarvis, and Grenfell, the last of whom held possession at the time of "holocaust."

Liquor licenses show that John Boler was the publican  by early 1857. With "Yankee Bill" in residence before this, it would seem that the hotel in some form at least was present before 1857. I notice that the 1868 survey map shows the boundary of the new line of road deviating slightly towards the site of the hotel, making me speculate as to whether the building was present before the new road, dating it to at least 1855 and presumably on the line of the old road.
I should also note that another description from January, 1853 does not mention the inn, but does make reference to a second coffee tent located about a mile before the next stopping point for the diggers - and possibly part of the key to the Mt Doran puzzle and the track to Buninyong - the little settlement of Burnt Bridge. The first reference to the settlement appears in several editions of the Geelong Advertiser and Intelligencer of 1852. An 1855 survey map shows the prospective township situated a few hundred metres south of the first crossing of Williamson's Creek (a tributary of the Leigh River) on the east side of the Midland Highway heading to Ballarat. Not only does it show the current road alignment as a section of plank road (a type of timber roadway generally built to provide a firm surface over swampy, low-lying ground), but it also indicates the line of the "old track of road from Ballarat to Geelong" which ran parallel but to the east of the new road. The construction of the plank road began in 1854 and it was presumably this impending realignment which caused resident John Morrison in 1853 to build a new hotel facing the new road, replacing his original establishment - described by a traveller in January 1853 as a "coffee tent" - which stood some hundred metres away on the old road.

A Google Earth screen shot overlaid with a section of the 1855 survey map of
Burnt Bridge. The current road (roughly aligned with the plank road) is shown
in yellow. The old track is shown in red. Click to expand

So, the above information would seem to confirm that after leaving Meredith the old track to Buninyong followed a course reasonably similar to today's Midland Highway, passing some 6km to the west of Mt Doran. I did however make a discovery which may explain the reference to Mt Doran. In 1859 with the gold rush in full swing, the new road open, the Geelong-Ballarat railway under construction only a few kilometres away and Morrison's "Railway Hotel" doing a solid trade, a post office was opened. It was given the name "Mt Doran".

Tenders for mail contracts at the time described the post office as "Mount Doran (Burnt Bridge)". Initially I suspected the post office may have been located at the Burnt Bridge settlement on the Geelong-Ballarat Road, however, tenders called the following year referred to the transport of mail from "the railway cutting (Mount Doran)".

I gather that this part of the line at the time of construction was known as the Burnt Bridge section and now believe that the post office was probably located in the temporary camp which sprang up to house the railway workers. Descriptions portray a series of timber cottages for management with the labourers housed in canvas tents. It was also remarked that some residents had built themselves little cottages and planted out small gardens in the bush surrounding the line.

The rail bridge on Blue Bridge Rd about 2.5km from Mt Doran and 3.5km from
Burnt Bridge on the Burnt Bridge section of the line

By the mid-1860s however, with construction on the line complete and the workmen gone, the tender notices for the mail run began to refer to "Mount Doran (Stony Rises)". My first thought was that perhaps "Mount Doran" may have referred to a much larger district than it does today and this may have been true as I also found an address stated as "Mount Doran, Clarendon", however there is another explanation which may account for the change.

Put simply, the "Mt Doran" post office, changed both names and locations over the years as the population fluctuated throughout the district. In about 1864 the post office was relocated from Mt Doran, to a site around a kilometre to the east of the developing township of Stony Rises. In 1872, reflecting the change in the name of the township, the post office was also renamed as Elaine.

 Just to confuse the issue however, Stony Rises/Elaine had been lobbying hard to have a railway platform erected in the township, near where the new line (which opened in 1862) crossed the surveyed road to Ballarat. It was finally granted in 1871 and then in 1875 after further lobbying by locals, the Post Master General opened a post office at the site. Perhaps somewhat confusingly, it was called the Elaine Railway Station Post Office. Elaine now had two post offices less than a mile apart.

Probably to avoid confusion, in October, 1877 the original Elaine Post Office to the east of town, reverted to its earlier name of Mt Doran. The post office at the railway platform was henceforth to be known as Elaine and was relocated to the primary school at around the same time. One disgruntled Mt Doran correspondent to the Ballarat Courier of 15th November was quick to point out the irony of this situation, stating:

It is passing strange that Mount Doran Post Office should not be at Mount Doran at all, but at Elaine, some four or five miles away. A few years ago that post office was really at the Mount: but the post-master and others, on the occasion of a [gold] rush to Elaine, eloped with our post office.

However, reading between the lines of the local newspapers, it may not have been long before the residents of Mt Doran got their wish as it seems that by the 1880s the post office had moved once again and was operating out of the Mt Doran State School.

Mt Doran State School, students and teachers in 1906. Image held by Museum Victoria

So, it would seem that the Mt Doran Post Office probably began its life in 1859 at the site of the Burnt Bridge railway cutting at Mt Doran, before moving in about 1864 to a location east of Elaine township (but central to several mines active at that time) before finally coming to rest back in the township of Mt Doran not too long after its final name change in 1877, where it probably operated out of the state school. This much-travelled little post office closed its doors for the final time in 1930.

So finally, from what I have found, I doubt that the crowds heading to the gold fields of Buninyong and Ballarat in those earliest years did actually pass through or near Mt Doran. Instead, they most likely followed the old track via the Stony Rises and Burnt Bridge. I think that over the years the story has become blurred.
Whilst the mount itself no doubt existed well before the gold rush, Mt Doran as a town or locality seems to post-date those earliest years of the gold rush, appearing only in the newspapers from 1858. Quite some years later in 1866 there was a small "rush" to Mt Doran which no doubt resulted in diggers travelling directly to the district, but by then, the modern roads had been surveyed and the original diggers were long gone.

A partially covered mine entrance. Testament to the gold rush at Mt Doran

Then, over the years, as often happens in rural communities Mt Doran was sometimes described alongside other towns such as Clarendon, Burnt Bridge and Stony Rises, all of which lie on what I suspect was the most likely route of the old road from Geelong to Buninyong.  In combination with the re-location of the Mt Doran Post Office to Elaine for about 20 years during the 1860s and 1870s, it probably isn't surprising then, that those living in Meredith and surrounds might come to say that the route to the gold fields of Buninyong, Ballarat and beyond lay up the old Lal Lal Road to Mt Doran.

Branching out - Coolebarghurk Creek, looking back

Having seen a little of what the Coolebarghurk Creek looks like now, I thought I'd do a little digging and see how it was in the past.
For 40,000 years before European arrival, the Coolebarghurk and surrounding lands were home to the tribes of the Wathaurong people who would hunt, fish and gather plants from along the creek. The remains of stone tools as well as cooking mounds were found in the Police Paddock, reflecting this early occupation of the land. The name Coolebarghurk is believed to be a version of the Wathaurong name Kooly bar ghurk meaning "man's track by the creek".
White settlement came to the upper part of Coolebarghurk Creek in the form of the Scottish-born squatter John Norman McLeod.  In 1837 he sailed from Van Diemen's Land to the Port Phillip District where he landed at Indented Head with stock which he used to establish the run which it is said, he named Borhoneyghurk after Barnighurk the local Wathaurong tribe.
McLeod claimed the squatting rights to some 24,790 acres of land stretching from Moranghurk Station a few kilometres south of Meredith to Bungal Station north of Mt Doran. To the east, the run was bordered by the Moorabool River and to the west it followed Native Hut Creek and shared boundaries with the run of that name as well as the Woodbourne No. 2, Cargerie, Narmbool and Lal Lal runs.
Local sources indicate that the homestead built by McLeod on his run was situated on high ground about 5km north of what would become the township of Meredith and about half that distance to the south west of Morrisons. The house is now in disrepair but can still be seen from a distance.

Ruins of the original Borhoneyghurk homestead, image taken by Margaret Cooper

Borhoneyghurk homestead,  image taken by Margaret Cooper

McLeod remained at Borhoneyghurk, running sheep on the property until about 1849 when he sold his rights and left the district, along with his wife and three eldest children - all of whom were born at Borhoneyghurk.

Rock piles, remains of Borhoneyghurk homestead, image taken by Margaret Cooper

Timber remains of Borhoneyghurk homestead, image taken by Margaret Cooper

With the departure of John Norman McLeod, the Borhoneyghurk run was divided in two - the majority taking the name Borhoneyghurk East and a smaller section renamed as Borhoneyghurk West of about 5,000 acres which passed into the hands of George Frederick Henry Read Jnr. Looking at the relevant survey map, the homestead would appear to have remained with the land acquired by Read. He in turn only held it until 1853 when he sold it to his brother-in-law Capt. Alexander John Smith.

Image believed to be that of George Frederick Henry Read Jnr,
owner of the Borhoneyghurk West run c1851. Image held by the
Allport Library and Museum of Fine Arts

Prior to McLeod's departure from Borhoneyghurk, he appears to have administered the run along with Mr G.B. Ball and Mr Sinclair, but by 1852, the larger Boroheyghurk East - including much of Coolebarghurk Creek - was taken up by the Reverend Thomas Nattle Grigg who held it for several years until 1856 when the lease was taken up by the Morrison family.
At some point, a second homestead, this one a stone structure, was built on the Borhoneyghurk East run, along the banks of the Moorabool River to the south east of Morrisons township. It is believed that the Morrison family lived here. During the 20th century, the building was demolished and another built by the Miller family who then owned the land.

Borhoneyghurk East stone house on the banks of the Moorabool River near
Morrisons township. Photo supplied by Margaret Cooper

With the discovery of gold in 1851, everything changed. At this time, the township of Meredith was surveyed on the banks of Coolebarghurk Creek near where the old bullock track from Geelong crossed the creek. Buildings sprang up, hotels were opened. The first of these - Watson's Hotel - was situated on the banks of the creek a little to the north of Dickman's Bridge. At this time land was also gazetted for churches and a school and a tract of about 50 acres was reserved along the banks of the creek for the police force who utilised the land as a base for the mounted troops which escorted gold from the nearby Steiglitz goldfield. The town also became a busy staging point for traffic moving not only between Steiglitz and Geelong but also the goldfields of Ballarat, Buninyong and other nearby diggings.
Nor perhaps were settlers and the authorities the only ones to establish a base of operations along the creek. Local legend has it that one of Victoria's most infamous bushrangers, Francis McCallum (aka Captain Melville), established a hideout along the banks of the creek. Whilst I can find no mention of Melville being in the area during the time of his "reign" in the early 1850s, it is easy enough to imagine that a hideout along the creek would have provided a handy base from which to prey upon the diggers with their gold returning to Geelong along the track from Ballarat.
Since Melville's death in 1857, rumours have abounded about a secret stash hidden by the bushranger in the Dundas Ranges, however local legend suggests another location for the loot. During a recent visit to investigate an historic bluestone house which sits on the east bank of the creek at Meredith, we were told of a previous occupant of the property (John Davies) who spent time in gaol with the Captain.

This bluestone house on the east bank of Coolebarghurk Creek dates to the
early years of the 20th century. During the era of Captain Melville, the
land served as the local pound

Whilst serving out their respective sentences, Melville informed Davies that the stash was in fact hidden near the site of the Meredith Creamery not far from the creek. The legend states that Melville claimed to have hidden his riches beneath a tree, which unlike all the others around it, leaned into the prevailing wind.
Most however, came by their riches more honestly and some even tried their hand along Coolebarghurk Creek. The Lord Kitchener Gold Mine, located on the upper reaches of Coolebarghurk Creek and now part a private property, was another of the sites we visited during our travels. The mine was however, a relative latecomer to the scene dating as far as I can tell, to the early 20th century.

The remains of the mullock heap at Lord Kitchener Mine

Reports in the gazettes and newspapers of the day seem a little sketchy, but the Launceston Daily Telegraph of 1st April, 1910 reported that good rock was being extracted from the mine and that the "formation [was] about 6ft wide, and [carried] gold all through it", however I can find no record of the company existing prior to this. In addition and despite having been around for some time, Government Gazettes show that it was first registered as a no liability company in March, 1912 with 24,000 shares valued at 2 shillings each. The capital of the company, including equipment was valued at £300. The company manager was John Ure McLeish.

During our visit we saw the remains of a mullock heap which is still visible and we were shown the depression where the mine shaft once descended.

The poppet head, Lord Kitchener Mine, image supplied
by Margaret Cooper

Also still visible are the concrete footings of the pumps required to keep the mine from flooding - another indication of the amount of water flowing into what appears an almost dry creek bed - fact (we were informed) which led to the eventual abandonment of the site for mining purposes. Anecdotally, the story is that the mine had two periods of operation, the first and most successful, tunneled  towards the creek whereas a later operation which tunneled from the opposite direction was abandoned due to persistent flooding.

Concrete footings said to have supported the pumps which kept the mine from flooding

This end of the Lord Kitchener Mine and possibly the end for mining on the Coolebarghurk altogether, came in December, 1913 when a deed appeared in the Victorian Government Gazette dissolving the syndicate known as the Lord Kitchener Extended Mining &c. and entitling Fitz Alan Boyd acting as liquidator, to all the books and property held by the company.

This shed, once part of the Lord Kitchener mining operation now stands on the
corner of  McLeod and Russell Streets in Meredith, image supplied by
Margaret Cooper

Whilst the big finds of the gold rush eventually petered out, the township of Meredith did not. Many of those who had tried their hand at mining, were now looking to settle on their own piece of land and by the 1870s, closer settlement acts were being passed by the government to encourage this. Instead of two properties, the Coolebarghurk Creek now flowed through many smaller farms, providing water for stock and crops as well as any remaining native flora and fauna along its banks.
Another boost to the district came with the arrival of the railway in 1862 and the re-alignment of the road from Geelong to that of the present Midland Highway route. This saw the focus of the town shift away from the banks of the creek to the west, but commerce continued and the township survived. So too did the little path by the Coolebarghurk Creek. From Wathaurong trail, to the rutted bullock track of the 19th century, to today's Ken Middleton Walk; thousands of years on, man's track by the creek remains.

The Ken Middleton Walk beside Coolebarghurk Creek. During the 1840s and 50s
bullockies and their wagons followed this track along the creek from
Geelong to Ballarat