Occasional Tales from the Mountain No. 03

Occasional Tales from the Mountain No.3 Outs: The Excursionists Guide from Melbourne 1868 In 1868, one of the earliest guidebooks for those seeking an escape from the confines of city life was published in Melbourne. First entitled Outs: The Excursionists Guide from Melbourne, it o@ered a range of “outs” for those looking to make an escape of a day, or two, or even longer “for shooting and fishing scenery and picnic, outs on the Bay and the Yarra and for walking, riding and driving”. Published in Melbourne by H. Thomas, it was `Dedicated to all in search of Health, Recreation and Pleasure’. Reviewing the publication, the weekly Leader rather acidly commented: “Something of this sort was needed. There are lots of places within a radius of from ten to twenty miles of Melbourne, of which the natural beauties have been enjoyed but by few of our citizens. Though people are continually seeking pleasure, ninety out of a hundred are too barren-brained to find out for themselves how to obtain it. This little book will help them. The exact information of a Bradshaw’s Guide1 is supplied, along with much raciness of description.” In addition to guiding travels, Outs also o@ered advice on what to do if you got lost, encountered a drowning or were bitten by a snake (all that useless cutting – `a piece of flesh no larger than a sixpence’ – and sucking and torniqueting of old, along with the provision of up to a quart of brandy to the patient!). There was also advice on camping out, how to shoot a gun, fishing and hints on hiring horses. There was even a section travelling to Tasmania. But the balance of the guide is devoted to descriptions of places to visit within easy reach of the metropolis. The two of most interest to us are `A Day’s Ramble Along the Spurs of the Dandenongs’ and `Dandenong Ranges: Fern Tree Gully’. The `Ramble’ item was also published in some contemporary newspapers. The 1869 edition, (SLNSW) Below are annotated versions of these accounts. Both the State Library of Victoria and the State Library of NSW have digital copies of the guide available online of the 1868 and 1869 editions respectively. Illustrations here are from the 1869 edition. John Schauble 1 Bradshaw’s guides were first published in 1839 and originally limited to railway timetables but soon became an indispensable range of travel guides for Britain, Europe and elsewhere. A DAY’S RAMBLE AMONG THE SPURS OF THE DANDENONG After a few weeks’ drudgery in a Melbourne o:ice during the sultry season, at the desk, with little interval, from nine in the morning till ten at night, in an atmosphere where the thermometer rarely falls below 80 and sometimes rises above 90, the soundest liver grows sour and sluggish, and the system generally gets degenerated. Such was my case when a friend from the Upper Yarra suggested a day’s ramble in the Dandenong Ranges, and coupled the suggestion with the information that with coach fare to Lilydale at five shillings, and the moderate charges of unsophisticated hotel keepers in that district, the whole trip would not cost above a pound. So tempting a proposal could not be resisted, and accordingly I selected a few friends whom I invited to join in the excursion. To the number of seven we mustered at the Star Hotel,2 at three o’clock p.m., and started under the pilotage of Patsy, the most popular driver on the road. His exhilarating “geet oup” as we rattled through Kew, past the White Horse3 to Box-Hill, and over the stringy bark ranges of Nunawading, soon caused o:ice cares to be forgotten. His merry chat as he told of the boy bushranger, who made his Sandy Gully, Ringwood, c.1870 (RDHS) unsuccessful debut on this road at Sandy Gully, a little beyond Ringwood,4 and pointed to the horse which Morgan5 rode when he came to Victoria, now bestridden by a sober burly road contractor, or informed us that the jolly bushman, beside whom we took our refreshment at the wayside inn, was cutting his tobacco with the knife taken from Burke when he murdered Hurst,6 sent all recollections of bygone troubles thoroughly adrift; and as we spun down Bird Hill and across Brushy Creek, we one and all had abandoned ourselves to the influence of the scene, and were ready to make the most of our holiday. Sunset found us at the door of the Lilydale Hotel,7 where we were met by the friend who had proposed the excursion, and who had walked nine miles to meet us. After a hearty tea and a moonlight stroll, we turned in. 2 Most likely the Star Hotel on the corner of Swanston and Little Bourke Streets. 3 This would have been the White Horse Hotel in Hawthorn on the corner of Burwood and Barton Roads. 4 William Parsons, the 18-year-old “boy bushranger” held up three carriers at Ringwood in March 1867 in a botched attempt at highway robbery. Charged with robbery under arms and shooting with intent to kill, he was sentenced to five years imprisonment and two sets of 25 lashes by Justice Redmond Barry. Sandy Gully/Sandy Creek at Ringwood was dammed to form Ringwood Lake. 5 Daniel Morgan (later dubbed “Mad Dog Morgan”) was the alias of bushranger John Owen (1830-65) who was shot dead during a holdup at Peechelba Station in north-eastern Victoria. Wanted for the murder of at least four men, Morgan wounded several others doing robberies across the Riverina and norther Victoria in the 1850s and 1860s. 6 Henry Facey Hurst, 34, was shot and killed by bushranger Robert Burke, 24, at Diamond Creek on 4 October 1866. Burke was hanged for murder six weeks later at Melbourne Gaol. 7 Opened 1862 in the main street. It is interesting that the key markers of this expedition are hotels! An early hour on the following morning found us all astir, and as soon as breakfast had been discussed we started, to the number of nine, our party having added to it Mr. Walters, the indefatigable portrayer of our wildest scenery by means of photography, and the worthy postmaster of the village, both excellent guides to the picturesque gorges of the surrounding mountains. A walk of four and a half miles brought us to Swift’s Saw Mill, on the Olinda Creek,8 and then the climbing began. A light and springy step was recommended by one of the party, but slow and sure won the day, and the light and springy step had subsided into a very sober tramp ere we reach the summit of Mount Coorhanwarrabool,9 where is erected the stage and flagsta: used in the trigonometrical survey, and on account of which it has gained the name of the “Observatory.”10 Admirers of distant scenery will be well repaid for their labor by the view from this eminence. To the west Mount Eliza on the left, Mount Macedon on the right, and the You Yangs in the central distance, surround a rich and varied landscape in which Melbourne and Hobson’s Bay are clearly mapped out; and, though the day was not bright, the Nelson11 and Great Britain12 could be clearly made out from the smaller ships at anchor around them. On the other side the view was more abruptly closed by Mount Monda,13 Mount Juliet,14 and sundry other mounts too numerous to mention, but in the valley of the Yarra the vineyards and cultivated lands of Mr. Castella, Mr. De Purey, 15 and their neighboring vignerons, formed a pleasing contrast to the dull, dingy green of the forest which clothed the heights. Our descent from this point was made by a gorge to which, we believe, no name has yet been given, but which is remarkable in all its features. The trees are of stupendous height, some which have been cut down measuring over 400 feet. Their girth is not great, though one over which we had to scramble in our 8 Swift’s saw mill is believed to have been on the upper reaches of the Olinda Creek on the site of the Mt Evelyn Reserve. 9 Corhanwarrabul. 10 This is the slightly higher peak of Mount Dandenong. 11 HMS Nelson, launched in 1814, was a Royal Navy ship gifted to the colony of Victoria in 1865 as a training vessel, arriving in February 1868. Converted to a coal hulk, it was broken up in Tasmania in the 1930s. 12 SS Great Britain, launched in 1843, was a passenger ship which carried thousands of emigrants to Australia from 1852 to 1881. Scuttled in the Falkland Islands 1937, it was raised and returned to Bristol in 1970, where it was restored as a museum ship. 13 Mt Monda (949m) is near Fernshaw, Yarra Ranges National Park. 14 Mt Juliet (1120m) is near Fernshaw, Yarra Ranges National Park. 15 Paul Frederick de Castella (1827-1903) is credited with planting the first vineyard in Victoria at Yering cattle station in 1856. In partnership with Frédéric Guillaume de Pury (1831-90), he purchased Dalry station in 1855. Paul was the younger brother of (Charles) Hubert de Castella (1825-1907), writer, artist and winemaker, who founded St Huberts winery. Baron de Pury later established the Yeringberg vineyard and awas a leading figure in Melbourne’s Swiss community. deviation from the path in search of the picturesque was at least five feet in diameter, and so smooth and slippery that more than one of the party came to grief among the rotten bark and moss by which it is surrounded. Fern trees fill all the hollows, and the note of the lyrebird is no infrequent sound in this secluded region. From this our route brought us suddenly on a picturesque group of settlers’ cottages in a sheltered nook to which has been given the euphonious name of Harmony Vale,16 a name most applicable, it is reported, to the life of the families who reside in it. We visited one of the settlers best known to our guides, and the hospitality shown to the whole party would put to shame many of our wealthy and pretentious squatters. The best of everything was spread before us, and, with such appetites as hill climbing alone can give, the good things were enjoyed, hut fee or payment our entertainer would Richardson family kitchen, Harmony Vale, c.1895 (MDDHS) have none of. His little folks were fortunately less scrupulous, and so we could save ourselves from feeling mean by making their little hearts happy and their money-boxes a little the heavier for our visit. From this point we entered by far the most picturesque of all the spots we visited. The local name is Blackwood Gully, but its main feature is the profusion of fern-trees with which it is clothed. Nowhere in the vicinity of Melbourne can anything like it be seen. These trees, mingled with sassafras, are countless in number, and so close that daylight can scarcely penetrate to the sandy water course by which the ascent is made. They assume the most grotesque forms, and, as the bed of the creek meanders for nearly two miles under their shade, their variety in which they group themselves is endless. Two of our party who had provided themselves with colors and sketching blocks would gladly have lingered here; but the day was far spent, so they had to relinquish the hope of doing anything in that way at this time, and solace themselves with the prospect of returning shortly to enjoy the scene more at leisure. Leaving this lovely glen, we crossed a spur of the mountain into the valley from which we had started in the morning, and, retracing our steps to Lilydale, reached the hotel at our appointed time, six o’clock, where a good dinner, accompanied with copious draughts of excellent colonial wine from the neighboring vine yards, was a welcome refreshment. Fatigued in body, but vastly exhilarated in spirits, we soon retired to rest, and at eight next morning started for town, which we reached a little before twelve, all delighted with the excursion, but regretting that we had only one day to spend over it; resolving, however, at the very earliest opportunity to return and visit some of the other places of interest in the locality. To conclude, let me state what may not be without interest to my many fellow workers, who may derive healthful recreation by following our track, that, without stinting ourselves in anything, our total expenses amounted to only 22s. each.– M. 16 `Harmony Vale’ was the name given by early settler Jabez Richardson to his property at what became Kalorama. For a time it referred to the small settlement that grew there with the Jeeves and Child families from the mid-1850s. DANDENONG RANGES FERN TREE GULLY The distance is 21 miles. The route is along the St. Kilda Road to the Junction, then turn to the left, and along the Dandenong Road to Oakleigh, and there take the road which branches to the left of the Turnpike Gate.17 This far, the way cannot be mistaken. Between Oakleigh and the Ranges there is a half-way house, called “The Cheshire Cheese:”18 inquire there about the one turning, where there is a possibility of going wrong. The road is very good for half the distance, and the other part may be considered as not bad. Drive carefully over the last mile of bush track. This is a delightful “out”19 for one day, and better still if two or three can be spared. There are favorable spots about the ranges, and in the gullies, for camping out. Those averse to gipsying20 will find an hotel at the foot of Fern Tree Gully.21 At the top of it, there is a well-defined splitters’ track, leading to Sassafras Gully, a sight of which alone will well pay for the three mile walk; but, in addition, there are beautiful spots near this gully which the splitters have not yet marred. There is also in this state forest22 an extraordinary fallen tree, near one of the sources of the Corhanwarrabul Creek,23 about two miles from Fern Tree Gully along the ranges. Mr. Bickford24 — Crown lands baili: — discovered it accidentally, by hearing splitting a short distance o: the track; and, upon going to the spot, found that a party had cut the tree down, and were splitting rails from it. The wood is in perfect preservation, which is remarkable, considering the age it must be to have attained such a size, — length, 306 feet; circumference, 69 feet; diameter, 11 feet. It was estimated by Messrs. Bickford and Noone that the small branches which had disappeared would have been equal to an additional length of at least 24 feet, making the total length of the tree 330 feet. There are many other trees in this locality of the same kind (eucalyptus amygdalina, — white gum25) of very large growth; one, for example, measured 300 feet in 17 Ferntree Gully Road. 18 The Cheshire Cheese was an inn at Wheelers Hill. The pub had a chequered history and was at times of dubious repute. Opened in 1868 by Robert Wolstenholme and changing hands a couple of time in the following years, it was in and out of the licensing court and temporarily de-licenced in 1885. The public house had a farm and useful quarry attached. It was renamed the George Cotter Temperance Hotel in 1894-95. After World War 2, the building was converted to a private home. Derelict by 1972, it was demolished. 19 An “out” was an excursion or visit to an area around Melbourne. 20 Camping. 21 The Club Hotel on the corner of Fern Tree Gully Road and Burwood Highway opened in 1866. There was also Dickson’s beer shanty closer to the site of the current Fern Tree Gully hotel. The Royal Hotel opened when the railway arrived in 1889. 22 The Dandenong and Woori Yalloak State Forest of 26,500 acres was reserved in 1867, although some parts of it had already been widely logged. Nearly 20,000 acres in the original reserve would be alienated for logging and settlement over the next 30 years. 23 Corhanwarrabul Creek is the confluence of Ferny Creek and Monbulk Creek close to Rowville. The reference to a source creek suggest Ferny Creek, which rises above Fern Tree Gully near One Tree Hill. The size of the tree described suggests it was a mountain ash. 24 Nicholas Moysey Bickford (1822-1901) was the Inspector of Bailiis and Overseer of Parks for the Lands Department. He was later appointed Curator of Metropolitan Parks and Gardens. He originally joined the Victorian public service in 1855 as a member of Clement Hodgkinson’s survey team and remained his protege. Olinda is named after Hodgkinson’s daughter. 25 This would appear to be a misidentification, as the tree being described is clearly Eucalyptus regnans (mountain ash), which older forestry texts describe as “white mountain ash”, although it also has other common names. Eucalyptus amygdalina (black peppermint) is a much smaller tree, mostly found in Tasmania. length. There are also many other fern tree gullies than mentioned here. Messrs. Hamel and Ferguson have published a view of one drawn by M. Eugene von Guerard, accompanying which is written that “one of the most characteristic and beautiful features of the mountain scenery of Australia is what is known as a Fern Tree Gully.26 It combines the vivid verdure, the cold freshness, and the shadowy softness of an English woodland stream, with the luxuriant richness and graceful forms of tropical vegetation. A rill27 welling out from the summit or the shoulders of a lofty range hurries down its shaggy sides, wearing a channel for itself, trickling and sparkling over the mossy boulders which impede but scarcely divert its course ; and on either side nature builds up a vista of rounded columns sometimes attaining a height of 30 feet and from their summits spring out the exquisitely curved and brilliantly green fronds of the fern tree, over-arching the ice-cold brook below, and constituting one of the loveliest cloisters it is possible to imagine. The banks of the ravine are carpeted with aromatic shrubs and creepers, among which the musk and the dogwood occupy a prominent place. From the gully, matted with this delicate and fragrant tapestry, arise the giants of the forest, the lofty eucalypti and blackwood trees, straight as a javelin, and branchless until they attain an altitude of 200 or 250 feet, where they spread their plumes to the sun and air. The wind may be `chanting a thunder-psalm’ overhead, but below all is calm and silent, save for the musical ripple of the brook, or the peculiar note of the lyre-bird, whose graceful plumage seems to have been designed to harmonise with the exquisite forms of the surrounding foliage.” Surely this is the most enjoyable of the Mount Corhanwarrabul from One Tree Hill c.1860. (SLV) State Forests–certainly the most useful to Melbourne folks. While on the top of the ranges, remember the one-tree clearing, as the view from there is worth seeing.28 Much cannot be said of the shooting or fishing of this “out,” but the scenery is particularly novel and beautiful. 26 Hamel and Ferguson were Melbourne lithographers and printers who published Eugene von Guérard’s Australian Landscapes in 1865 and again in 1867. Plate 13 of the 24-plate folio included an early version of the famous Fern Tree Gully painting that made the area famous and immensely popular with excursionists. Eugene von Guérard (1811-1901) was pre-eminent among early Australian landscape painters, spending 28 years in the colonies. 27 An old term for a small stream. 28 One Tree Hill at the head of the famous tree fern gully was cleared by surveyors to enable a clear setting for their survey work.