A Ramble Along the Barwon

In my previous post I looked at the Geelong identity who was William Stitt Jenkins. From 1853 to 1876, the Poet of the Pivot, the Bard of the Barwon or even the Water Poet as he was variously called wrote about anything which caught his attention; politics, religion, teetotalism - especially that. Another subject dear to his heart was water; access to it, the quality of it, the lack of it, the health benefits of it, the dangers of it, even the pleasure of living and walking by it.
The poem below was published in the Geelong Advertiser of 23rd October, 1861 and gives an interesting insight into Jenkins' life, his home, his opinions and his view of the Barwon River. On the latter, he was well positioned to comment. By March, 1861 Jenkins and his family were living in Noble Street on Newtown Hill, a location which commanded some of the best views in Geelong.
According to a retrospective published in the Geelong Advertiser (21st July, 1928), there were only three houses on the south side of Noble St between Shannon Ave (then known as the West Melbourne Rd) and the river when Jenkins lived there. One was the historic 'Chesterfield' (221 Noble Street today), next was Stitt Jenkins' house - a five roomed cottage on a one acre block - and the last was a bigger home closer to the river at the end of the street.
From his doorstep, Jenkins could see the Barwon Valley laid out below him and he would often sit on a large, flat rock which he had positioned in front of his house. On the rock - unsurprisingly - he had inscribed a line or two of verse which invited passersby to have a rest and enjoy the view. Taking inspiration from the scenery spread out before him, Jenkins would also sit there to write his many poems and letters. The poem below may well have been one.

A RAMBLE

A week of anxious care is o'er,

I reach again my cottage door,

And free am I to work or play

This afternoon of Saturday.

Say, shall I in the garden dig,

Or ride? Alas! I have no gig;

Nor horse, nor ass, nor yet a cow!

Quite poor enough, you must allow.

Yet, not so poor; I have a wife

To cheer and comfort me through life.

And children more than two or three.

The childless, rich may envy me.

And then behold my humble cot,

Perched on a sweet romantic spot,

With seat of wood and one of stone,

There rest ye by the rhymer's home.

Part of Euguene von Guerard's painting "View of Geelong" 1856, showing the
site  of Jenkins' cottage, yet to be built. I believe "Chesterfield" is to the right of
 the bright green field. Jenkins' cottage would have stood somewhere to its left.
Original painting held by the Geelong Art Gallery

Lo. There the faithful wall-flower blows;

The China moss and monthly rose,

The proud geranium, ivy old,

The lily and the marigold,

The honeysuckle, sweet is there,

The fragrant wattle scents the air,

And groves of green and azure sky

Together joint to charm the eye.

I see afar the glimmering sail

Of thy white mill, O, Riversdale,

And mill, and vale, and stream, and lake,

One bright harmonious picture make.

I hear the hum of busy bee,

The magpie chatters on the tree,

The eaglehawk is soaring high,

He wants my chickens, so do I.

Riversdale Flour Mill on the Barwon at Chilwell, 1866. Image taken by
John Norton, held by the State Library of Victoria

But leave the chickens and our home,

And come with me awhile to roam

Over the hills and far away,

To spend, in peace, our holiday.

Leave we awhile the cares of life,

Escape from envy's jealous strife,

Let wrangling men say what they will,

It harms me not on this green hill.

Free from the strife and dust of town,

By river side we wander down,

Then cross the bridge and soon, I wean,

Enter the "Garden of the Queen"--

A lovely spot where waters meet.

Sure Paradise was ne'er more sweet.

See flower-decked sod and glittering pool

Where Barwon joins with Moorabool.

Queen's Park, 1866, showing Queen's Park Bridge and looking towards the
confluence of the Barwon and Moorabool Rivers. Image held by the State
Library of Victoria

See Fyansford in beauty lies,

See hills on hills majestic rise,

And tow'ring clouds together throng

To crown thee verdant Buninyong,

Survey awhile the orphans' home!

Once more by river side we roam,

The gallant boats glide swiftly by,

And all around is peace and joy.

The Protestant Orphanage, Herne Hill c1873. Image taken by Thomas J.
Washbourne, held by the State Library of Victoria

Blow balmy breezes through the dell,

Still tinkle thou melodious bell,

Flutter ye insects 'mid the grass,

Aglow, O sun, o'er mountain pass.

Ye herds, your lowing cattle bring,

Ye rural maidens sweetly sing,

And dance ye children on the green,

And sight more glorious ne'er was seen.

But, lo, what doleful sights are these?

What Goth or Hun hath felled these trees,

And borne the timber clear away

On some unhappy bullock dray?

See, here a forest monarch stood!

What Vandal hand has fired the wood

What Lord Tom Noddy has been here

Some brainless dolt, to all is clear.

View across Queen's Park towards Newtown Hill, 1878, by Fred Kruger
showing the extent of deforestation. Image held by the National Gallery of
Victoria, a gift of  Mrs Beryl M Curl, 1979

But come away, and let it pass

(Meanwhile I'll write him down an ass)

And let us hide from mortal eye,

Where Buckley's falls leap foaming by.

Behold those most fantastic trees,

Where sighs the mournful evening breeze,

How drear those huge mis-shapen rocks,

Worn by the torrents ceaseless shocks.

A sketch made c1855 by artist Eugene von Guerard from Buckley Falls
again looking back towards Queen's Park and Newtown Hill. Image
held by the State Library of New South Wales

Which boils and bounds from shore to shore,

And rushes on for evermore.

What careth the wild mountain stream

for Lord or Bishop, King or Queen?

The black man came and passed away

Before the white man's conquering sway.

When both are to oblivion gone

The river shall go rolling on.

Why start you now, and trembling shake?

You say you fear some awful snake;

Ah, fear it not, but sit you down,

The snakes, dear friend, are gone to town.

There they in holes and corners lurk

To do their most unholy work,

And spit their venom, when they can,

On those who serve ungrateful man.

But see, the fast declining day

Warns us, my friend, to best away!

The pelicans go shrieking by,

And all things tell that night is nigh.

The dragon flies with ceaseless hum,

With merry crickets singing come.

And, see, along you ancient log,

To serenade us, comes the frog.

Moonrise over the Bunyip Pool and Buckley Falls, November 2012

The water-rat peeps from his hole,

And see the bat and miner mole;

And now from every rock and tree

Burst forth the night's wild melody.

The laughing jackass hoarsely brays--

"The man that has seen better days,"

The owl exclaims "too-whit--too-who,"

And says--poor sinners, off you go."

Alas, how dark and drear,--but, soon

Appears the ever glorious moon.

And gilds each hill and vale with light.

And reigns the radiant queen of night,

While in the vault of heaven on high

Bright hosts of stars now deck the sky.

Great Lord, who ruleth night and day,

From this green sod to Thee we pray.

We reach the bridge, we cross the stream,

Again the rhymer's home is seen:

There bathed in moonlight, see it stand,

An emblem of the happy land.

Our ramble o'er, within we jog,

The kettle singeth on the hob.

Rejoice with us o'er day well sped.

Good night--we now are off to bed.

WILLIAM STITT JENKINS

Geelong Advertiser, 23rd October, 1861

In addition to observing the industries and sights along the Barwon, Jenkins also makes mention of the Saturday half holiday which he had been instrumental in establishing in Geelong. In referencing snakes, he might well have been alluding to his - probably fairly numerous - detractors whom I suspect found his methods of campaigning on local issues somewhat tiresome.
Regardless of Jenkins' personal crusades and contentious public life, the Barwon was clearly a favourite location where he spent enough time to gain an understanding of not only his built surroundings but also of the flora and fauna, expressing his interest in the latter as well as his dismay at the extent of the deforestation which had occurred along the river within a mere 25 years since the arrival of European settlement.

...and up they rise!

By Friday 9th September, 2016 a large rain band was moving across Victoria and over the next several days, heavy rains hit the Barwon Catchment. River levels began to rise and by early Wednesday morning the Upper Barwon was in flood as was the Leigh River at Shelford. By Wednesday evening the combined floodwaters from the Upper Barwon, the Leigh and Moorabool Rivers reached Geelong. With the rising water levels came the usual increased interest in the Barwon.
So, before all the excitement of the past few days dies down and the river heights return to more normal levels, it is probably worth posting a few flood photos for posterity as I have done during other flooding events on the Barwon. I won't go into too many facts and figures as I have done that previously. For those interested this post from September, 2011 looks a little at the causes of flooding on the Barwon.
For comparison purposes, here is the post from a small flood event in August, 2012 and this from the January, 2011 flood which always proves remarkably popular when river levels rise.
The current flood event by comparison reached "moderate" levels on both the Upper and Lower Barwon as well as on the Leigh River at Shelford which peaked mid-afternoon on Wednesday at a height of 7.22m. Through Geelong, the flood level peaked over night Thursday at a height of 3.29m, having earlier reached a peak of 6.13m on the Upper Barwon at Rickett's Marsh at around 5:30pm Wednesday.

Moorabool River

Batesford, 8:15am 15th September, 2016

Fyansford, 9:45am 15th September, 2016

Fyansford, 2:30pm 15th September, 2016

Leigh River

Inverleigh, 9am 15th September, 2016

Barwon River

Pollocksford 8:45am 15th September, 2016

  Baum's Weir, 9:45am 15th September, 2016

Buckley Falls, 4:30pm 16th September, 2016

 Fyansford Paper Mill, 1:45pm 15th September, 2016

Newtown Lookout, 4:45pm 15th September, 2016 

Queen's Park, 4:45pm 16th September, 2016

Balyang Sanctuary, 4pm 16th September, 2016

Barwon Bridge, Geelong 5:15pm 15th September, 2016

Breakwater, 3:45pm 16th September, 2016

Lake Connewarre, 12:15pm 16th September, 2016

Barwon Heads, 12:45pm 16th September, 2016

 Barwon Heads, 1pm 16th september, 2016

 Barwon Heads Bluff, 3pm 16th September, 2016

 For now, the rain has - mostly - abated, the floodwaters are receding and the clean up will soon begin, however on a saturated catchment with more than two months of spring rain still to come it remains to be seen what will happen next...
Further photos at each of the above locations can be seen at the following link: the rivers in flood, 2016

Finding Fritzwilhelmberg

Following on from my last post, I thought I'd look some more at the works of 19th century landscape artist Eugene von Guerard. As mentioned, his iconic painting View of Geelong was based on an earlier sketch made from the home of John Highett - 'Highton House', located in what is now Montpellier Park, Highton.
Another of his better known paintings of the Geelong region which also hangs at the Geelong Art Gallery is Mr Lewin's hut on the Barwon River. Like View of Geelong, this painting was also developed from an earlier pen and ink sketch, in this case, completed some time before 1860. Unlike some of the sketches however, finding the location of this one did not prove so difficult. A short trip down today's Deviation Rd will provide a very similar perspective to that of the painting.
With a little research however, we were able to determine exactly where von Guerard was when he made the initial sketch. At the bottom of the original piece was the annotation "view from Fritz Wilhelmberg, Hern Hill". Who or what was Fritz Whilhelmberg?
At this point, it was TROVE to the rescue. In the Geelong Advertiser and Intelligencer of 9th January, 1855, I found a birth notice. Mrs F. Bauer had given birth to a son at her residence - Fritz Wilhelm Berg, Herne Hill. Another quick search of the 1953 survey map for the Parish of Moorpanyal revealed a double block of land purchased by Frederick Baner(sic), on the hill directly above Deviation Rd and perfectly positioned to be the location where the sketch was made. An earlier 1888 survey map clearly gives the name as Bauer, so "Baner" must surely be a mis-transcription of "Bauer" on the later map. A German name.

A section of the 1953 survey map of the Parish of Moorpanyal showing the two
blocks of land purchased by Bauer. Image held by the State Library of Victoria

A little more digging revealed that Frederick Bauer - a German immigrant - had indeed built a house in this location in 1854. It was here that his son Friederich (Fritz) Wilhelm Bauer was born the following January. Frederick Bauer was an importer and merchant who opened a large ironmongery store in Ryrie St, Geelong, also in 1854 - a business he ran until 1862 when financial difficulty forced him to sell the business. At this time he left the district and headed north with his family to Queensland. In 2010, a book detailing his life was written by Peter Croker titled Bauer's road to Bloomfield: the trials and triumphs of a 19th century entrepreneur.

Original sketch drawn by Eugene von Guerard, over looking the Barwon
Valley below Herne Hill

Mr Lewin's Hut on the Barwon River, Eugene von Guerard, 1860

Slightly below von Guerard's view, Barwon Valley, 20th July, 2016

Today, 'Fritzwilhelmberg' still stands as one of Geelong's historic homesteads. Over the years however, it has undergone substantial renovation and had several name changes. In 1881, it was extensively modified according to the design of local architect Joseph Watt. In addition to 'Fritzwilhelmberg', it was also known as 'Malboona', 'Atlantis Heights' and finally the name it bears today - 'Raith'. It remains privately-owned and most recently, was sold in December, 2015 for an undisclosed sum.

'Raith'. Image taken from Property Price History

It seems likely then, that von Guerard was visiting with the Bauers when he made his sketch of the valley below. He is known to have spent time in Geelong on several occasions during the 1850s. Indeed, in 1854 he spent several weeks in the area. On 4th April, 1854 he drew a view of the Barwon immediately downstream of Queen's Park then, almost three weeks later on 24th April, he penned another two sketches, one looking roughly east towards Lake Connewarre as discussed in my previous post and a second looking upriver in a westerly direction.

The view west from above Levien's farm, 24th April, 1854, Eugene von Guerard

This sketch is noted as being above Lewin's farm. Lewin - von Guerard spelt the name according to his Austrian-German pronunciation - was actually Benjamin Levien who from 1846 ran a punt across the river only a few metres downstream from where the Queen's Park Bridge now stands. In addition to the punt, in 1849 Levien also opened an inn nearby - unsurprisingly known as the Punt Inn - which he ran for several years.
The buildings in the foreground of the above sketch are described as "Lewin's farm" and probably represent Levien's house which may or may not still have been operating as an inn by 1854 (the last reference to the inn I could locate in the newspapers was in 1852).
Confusingly however, the sketch and subsequent painting called Mr Lewin's hut on the Barwon River was made at 'Fitzwilhelmberg' which is around 900m upstream from the buildings indicated as Lewin's farm in the sketch dated the 24th April. Given the later date of the painting - 1860 - had Levien perhaps taken possession of the hut upstream by that time, or was there some confusion or slip of the memory between the drawing of the two sketches in 1854 and the completion of the painting in 1860? The original sketch made from 'Raith' does not mention Levien/Lewin or give a name to the hut in the foreground, yet the painting does. It is also possible I am informed, that the painting may not have acquired its name until a later stage - perhaps it was a curatorial decision during an exhibition of the painting - meaning that the confusion may not have arisen until quite some time later. As can be seen above, the sketch (re-combined here by George Hook) incorporates a wider view than the later painting and it is on this larger sketch that the attribution "view from Fritz Wilhelmberg, Hern Hill" is written. Perhaps the original attribution was lost when the size of the sketch was reduced.
Finally, just to muddy the waters a little further, by the mid-1870s, Benjamin Levien had purchased the Bauer's former home 'Fritzwilhelmberg'. "Mr Lewin" was now the owner not just of a hut, but of a substantial house.

River art!

In many places graffiti can be a problem, however in some cases it can be an interesting form of public art and one which I mentioned a while back in a previous post. Over the last week or so, I have noticed several new pieces around Geelong and a couple of them have even been on the Barwon.


Informal bridge art on the Barwon near Queen's Park

The above piece which I spotted this afternoon on a stroll along the river near Queen's Park, would be visible from the river and possibly the opposite bank. It reminded me that for the last week or so I had been noticing another picture which had appeared rather prominently under the James Harrison Bridge and which was quite detailed. So of course, I dashed off to take some photos of that too.

James Harrison Bridge art

I am not sure if this piece is officially sanctioned, however it is certainly lending some colour to the otherwise rather grey surrounds of the bridge. It would be interesting to know who the artist was and whether any more additions are planned.


The James Harrison Bridge

Finally, whilst it is not on the Barwon, the most impressive piece would seem to be the wall of the toilet block at St Helen's on Corio Bay. On such a scale, I assume it has been made to order, however once again I do not know who the artist(s) is/are.


At St Helen's, Corio Bay

It has occurred to me several times over the last few years that there are several large, blank walls that could use a similar treatment. Enough such pieces in the right places and perhaps a walking/riding art trail might be developed. Who knows!

The wreck of the Costa Del Fuego

In March last year, during a family ride along the Barwon through Geelong, we came across a vessel with the impressive name of the Costa Del Fuego. Contrary to what you might imagine, this was not an impressive motor launch or even a relic of the Barwon's 19th century past. It was in fact, a traditional Aussie raft, constructed from wooden pallets lashed to 44-gallon drums.



The Costa Del Fuego, March, 2012

Of course, I blogged about the Costa Del Fuego at the time, but over the intervening months continued to keep an eye on it. I soon discovered that it was moored on the east bank of the river, just below the Queen's Park Bridge, where it remained - with it's canopy lowered - for some weeks.

Moored at Queen's Park, May, 2012

I noticed eventually however, that the raft was no longer at its mooring. Nor did I ever see it in use again. Following minor flooding events first in May and then in August, I was out walking with the kids in early October, when I once again spotted the Costa Del, wedged amongst the willows just below the breakwater.


Under the willows at Breakwater

It was a little the worse for wear and certainly did not appear to have seen recent use. I could not tell whether it had wound up here, swept down by the earlier flood waters or whether it had been moved to this location (although I suspect the water may not have been deep enough to carry it over the break). Regardless, there it was and for some time, there it stayed.
Once again, I did not notice exactly when it disappeared, but when we took to the water at Breakwater for our first excursion downriver in the kayaks, it was not long before we came across some familiar remains.

The skeleton of the Costa Del Fuego and a White-faced Heron

Sadly, it bore only a passing resemblance to the proud vessel it had once been, with the three remaining drums held together by a few bent spars and pieces of the pallets strewn on the bank. The whole was overseen by a White-faced Heron which was standing guard atop one of the drums.
As of late January and my most recent foray down from the break, the skeletal remains were still languishing on the bank.
Fortunately for the cause of youthful initiative, the Costa Del Fuego is not the only example of its kind which I have seen in recent times. On 19th January as we paddled up from Baum's Weir to Merrawarp Road and back, I came across another raft. It also was a timber structure kept afloat by 44-gallon drums. Unfortunately for me, distance and a reasonable breeze made focusing difficult so, the shot is not the best, however I was able to capture a couple of images of the unknown craft.

Raft downstream of Merrawarp Road

Finally, in the interests of furthering the cause of the humble 44-gallon drum as it relates to Australian culture and technology, I offer the following example, seen on farmland above the lower breakwater:

The versatility of the 44-gallon drum