Monthly Archives: March 2016

Has the river of blogs dried up? Is my write up of the walks along the Derwent River over?

This wonderful image of ‘Hobart from Mt Wellington’ is the work of Tourism Tasmania and Garry Moore. This free photo has unrestricted copyright.

Has the river of blogs dried up? Is my write up of the walks along the Derwent River over? The answer to both questions is no.

For a long time, blog followers have received a daily post covering my experiences after I have walked sections of the terrain from the mouth to the source of Tasmania’s Derwent River, plus my additional writings about various aspects of the social and natural history of the Derwent River. Yesterday and this morning were a rude shock for some Australians – no blog post to absorb over the breakfast cuppas– and for my overseas followers spread across many countries, their regular daily dose arrived at many different times depending on the time zone in which they live.

Have I run out of stories to tell, descriptions to give and photos to show? The answer is a resounding no. I have much more to expose. Please be assured that you have not seen the sights of all the kilometres of the Derwent River, nor heard about all its challenges, in my blog yet. So why the absence of new posts?

I have committed to another major project which cannot wait any longer for my sustained action. I like huge projects.

Last year I discovered that the first Tyzack in my line (3 different lines came to Australia from England in the 19^th century) arrived at Port Melbourne 150 years ago this coming December. Impulsively I decided (without research or planning just as I conceived the idea to walk the length of the Derwent River) to organise a family gathering later this year for all my great great grandfather’s descendants spread across Australia. Two family members agreed to support me –thankfully one has prepared a family tree. The Tyzack 150th anniversary organisation is now my priority, because there is a book to be put together and published, field trip guides to be developed, and much more – I still haven’t received responses to my introductory letters from most of the over 100 living descendants (almost all whom I have never heard of leave alone know) so I have a big job ahead tracking them down and getting them onside and involved.

This family event is scheduled early in October – so, if not before then, from mid-October onwards I expect to continue writing up the Derwent River walking blog stories. Probably I won’t be able to restrain myself so that, from time to time, a post may appear.

The photo below taken by Michelle shows the eastern shore mouth of the Derwent River, Cape Direction (on the right) and the Iron Pot islet sits out within Storm Bay.

The Derwent River – in bits

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Seventeen Service Tasmania maps are needed to show the entire 215 kilometres or so length of the Derwent River.

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These maps and Google Earth maps are all out of date (most of the ‘current’ Service Tasmania maps are dated in the 1980s – only 8 were published this century) and fail to show the tracks and roads that now exist. In addition, they fail to show more recent land use, such as plantation forests, which can impede or side track any walking excursion. I am so grateful for my wonderful small plane flight along the Derwent River from the mouth to the source and return. The photos taken during that trip were a great boon and have helped in the planning of my walking routes.

So what does the river look like from mouth to source? The following maps (created using the Listmap service) are ordered sequentially from the source to the mouth so you can run your eyes down the images and imagine the Derwent River flowing out to sea. In moving through these maps, you will see how the river changes direction dramatically and therefore you may understand why, from time to time, I could refer to the east or south or north or west of the river.

A Lake St Clair into Lake King William

B Derwent Bridge down Lake King William

C Lake King William to Butlers Gorge

D Butlers Gorge and Tarraleah Canal No 1

E Butlers Gorge to Wayatinah Lagoon

F Wayatinah to Catagunya Dam through Lake Catagunya

G From Lake Catagunya past Cluny Lagoon

H From Cluny Lagoon down into Meadowbank Lake

I Down Meadowbank Lake to Meadowbanl Dam

J Meadowbank Dam to Gretna

K Gretna to Plenty

L Plenty to New Norfolk

M New Norfolk to Granton

N Granton and Bridgewater to Claremont and past Old Beach

O New Norfolk to Hobart

P Mouth at South Arm and Tinderbox - Old Beach

The overview map below pinpoints the source of the Derwent River and pinpoints the two sides of the mouth where the River enters Storm Bay before the sea. Long term blog readers know that I walked from eastern side of the mouth to the western side of the mouth via the Bridgewater Bridge before returning to the bridge and continuing the walk inland.

On my blog home page, between menu items HOME and USEFUL ADDITIONAL INFORMATION, I have created another page with these maps but including written information about each in terms of my walk. In this post, I simply wanted you to be able to visualise the Derwent River and my walk in the simplest way.

Be aware that, if you want to dig deeper for further information about the specifics of my walks in the different sections of the River, you can use the Search box on my blog’s Home page (on the right hand edge). Simply add in a location or idea, click enter and up should come all the blog posts about that place or idea.

Please note some information has not been posted and will never be posted because it relates to properties along the River between Gretna and Lake Repulse Dam – I have promised some landowners I will not provide information or photographs which indicate I have been on their properties. I feel your frustration about these ‘gaps’ in my posts because I have some exceptional photos, information I could share and stories I would love to tell. But I am happy to honour my promises. I feel privileged to have been given access.

For newer blog readers who feel like they might follow in my footsteps, please be aware there are no walking tracks between the Bridgewater Bridge and the source of the Derwent River at St Clair Lagoon. I do not recommend others follow me except around the Greater Hobart Area where, for most of the time, formal walking tracks have been built by local government. One of the reasons not to continue past Bridgewater Bridge is that walking on the main roads is extremely hazardous – I cannot recommend it. Also, please note that after New Norfolk few public roads are sufficiently close to the River. In addition and perhaps most importantly, all the country between New Norfolk and the source of the River is owned privately, by corporations or by the Tasmanian government. Determining who the landowners are, researching their contact details, and asking for permission to cross their land is a slow process and not all will grant access.

On this basis, I hope my photographs and stories (more still to be written) will be sufficient for you to enjoy the Derwent between New Norfolk and the source. However, where you can use public roads to access specific points such as St Clair Lagoon, Derwent Bridge, Butlers Gorge and parts of Tarraleah Canal number 1, Wayatinah Power Station, Lake Repulse Power Station, Dawsons Road across Meadowbank Lake, and next to the Bushy Park sports oval, I recommend you make the journey. It will be worthwhile.

Meadowbank Dam and Power Station

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Meadowbank Dam and Power Station, as part of Hydro Tasmania’s electricity generating facilities, are located the closest of their properties to Hobart. Access to the Dam is restricted.

East of the Dam, Meadowbank Dam Road makes the connection with the Lyell Highway but this is a locked gate gravel roadway. Meadowbank Road is a quite different road; this public gravel road exits the Gordon River Road west of the tiny township of Glenora and travels in a north-westerly direction, but mostly not close to the Derwent River – so that it isn’t reasonable to be used as the conduit to ‘walk the river’. Before reaching the Dam, the road passes Meadowbank Vineyard and acres of vines under cultivation. However, access is restricted: there are quite a few lockable gates barring continuation to the Dam.

The first unit of the Meadowbank Power Station was commissioned in 1967. This was the last such operation to be built in Tasmania. Photos are on show on Hydro Tasmania’s website and more details are available on their Fact Sheet . The CSIRO library holds another photo taken from a different vantage point.

I am grateful for Alex driving me as close as we could go by car.

Gates – the preferred type

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I feel like I have seen them all, and experienced passing through or over most varieties. The high gate. The low gate. Those edged with barbed wire, usually rusty and not sufficiently taut. Those with mesh that allows for a foot insert. Those with mesh that won’t support a foot. Wrought iron gates with verticals allowing no foothold.

Those which move on their hinges and sway dangerously in unexpected ways mid-climb-over, and always when your balance is weak. Plus combinations of the above.

I prefer the gates which do not have a padlock, or loops of intertwining wires which has been hand-twisted by a strong armed farmer into undoable knots, or any other permanent restraining device – I have seen a few ingenious specimens. The gates without these impediments do not need to be scaled, can be opened, passed through and then closed again. Sometimes with difficulty as I have had to strain to make gates reconnect with the fence again and then complete the ‘locking’ device. Sometimes I need the force of my whole body against the fence upright to pull the gate close enough to get the chain or whatever over and in place. Nevertheless this process seems more civilised than clambering over gates.

When a gate defeats me I least prefer having to walk up or down a long fence line that is unclimbable (ie the mesh, barbed wire and electric wires combination do not give me effective toe-holds) – and the paddocks are always huge – until I find a way to squeeze beneath the fence where animals might have made a pathway, there is a tree branch over a fence which I can use to help me cross, or by a stroke of luck there is a weakness in the wires or a wire is missing.

On the farming properties in the area between Gretna and Lake Repulse Dam, there have been many gates to negotiate, some of which I have described in earlier posts.

The preferred gates look like the ones below because they can be opened and closed with no problems, or easily stepped around.

The best gates of all are those that are open already.

Thank you Felicity for driving me through some gates kindly left open by the property owner so that I did not have to retrace my steps for part of one of my walks.

The least preferred gate situation is the one pictured below.

In this case, those waiting behind the gate were the deterrent.

Water edges between Gretna and Lake Repulse Dam

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Grasses, bull rushes, cliffs, rocks, thistles and thorny bushes, marsh plants and or trees edge Meadowbank Lake and the Derwent River up to Lake Repulse Dam and downstream to Gretna. Intermingled with any of these options can be weeds such as willow trees or blackberry brambles.

On the rarest of occasions, physical access to the river was possible.

Unfortunately in relation to the photo below, a herd of cattle were headed my way – this was their drinking spot. I did not have time to go to the edge; instead I walked furiously onwards under the hot sun.

While there was seldom a moment when I could not hear or see the Derwent River during my walks on farmland, usually a steep drop off or a thicket of trees prevented me feeling the breeze as the River flowed fast past me.

Seeking pastoral scenes walking along the Derwent River

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Strictly defined, the word ‘pastoral’ is associated with land used to graze sheep or cattle, and therefore any land used in this way will offer a pastoral scene. However, in my mind, the word ‘pastoral’ is overlaid with romantic images from artists during the 17^th to the 20th centuries that idealised farming land. Artists such as Claude Lorrain, Henry Milburne, and John McCartin are amongst thousands of artists who created and followed in this aesthetic tradition.

During my walk from the mouth to the source of the Derwent, occasionally I hoped to see pastoral scenes in which I could imagine an idealised lifestyle. However this wasn’t possible in the area of the land between Gretna and Cluny Dam – severe drought continues to keep much of the land that was cleared for animal grazing, with little or no grass. On some farming lands I walked across sandy paddocks where the ‘soil’ was barely held together by the occasional weed.

This is not the first time I have mentioned the dryness of the farming land up and down the area between Gretna and Cluny Dam during my blog. In the past I have included photographs of severe cracks in the ground.

Nevertheless every time I walked on a different property in that area and when I came across the vegetation-free ‘soils’, I was aghast at how bad things are for some farmers. There is no romance in these scenes.

Nevertheless, on most farming properties, some paddocks have been irrigated by drawing water from the Derwent River giving rise to lush grass for grazing, or for fodder and other crops.

Between these two extremes are paddocks with a moderate amount of grass cover, enabling stock to graze.

I admire our farmers who manage to survive despite the climatic ravages to their properties. We need them to survive. We need to eat.

I would have loved to show you photographs of the rolling hills in combination with the Derwent River and the adjacent landforms, whose shapes I simply adore. However, to do so would be to identify the location of where I had walked, and therefore on whose property I was permitted to cross. Blog followers who have discovered my site only recently can refer to Tackling the Derwent in the Meadowbank Lake region in order to understand that I promised not to tell which properties I had walked on – owners had various excellent reasons, and so I continue to honour my vow. It does mean, of course, that where the owners did not mind others knowing that I walked on their land, I cannot declare these either because by deduction, readers would be able to determine those owners who want their privacy maintained.

But I will give you snippets of images which I hope don’t help others make identifications. The images help me to see this part of our country has strong, albeit weathered, bones. Very beautiful in their starkness.

These boots were made for walking

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When I started my walk from the mouth to the source of the Derwent River, my Teva walking boots hadn’t covered many kilometres – maybe only 20. They were already comfortably worn in and I loved wearing them. Not too heavy. Not too rigid. Providing all the ankle support I needed. Giving me confidence I could walk anywhere.

Not so long ago these boots had to be retired. The uppers kept their good condition. The insides remained intact. But the soles … well, there wasn’t much left of them. I kept walking despite almost no tread. I kept walking despite the ground eating into a shoe through the sole. I began to slip on mossy rocks. I began to feel the points of rocks. I knew my wonderful boots would no longer keep me safe.

I fervently wanted to complete the walk in these friendly boots but it wasn’t to be. I hunted through the shops, I tried the TEVA manufacturers, and I browsed through Gumtree and Ebay sites in the hope of finding another pair. Alas. These excellent boots are no longer produced and it seems not a soul in the world had a pair to sell.

With sadness I searched for a new pair of walking boots. From experience I knew I had purchased many boots over the years and after not much time found I could only wear one shoe in and not the other, or the boot stayed too rigid and did not provide the flexibility I needed – such expensive boots were then sold as second hand. I didn’t want to waste more money. Regrettably boots are not a commodity that can be taken away and tried and then if they fail you can return and swap for something else. So it was with delight, and quite quickly, I found a Mountain Design pair of walking boots which, in the shop, had all the characteristics I wanted.

I walked out of the shop wearing them and, after only a few successful short strolls in my neighbourhood, I decided to test them out on a day bushwalk. You may smile, but I carried my old walking boots in my day pack – just in case. But they weren’t needed. That day and since then my new boots have carried me across all sorts of terrain safely with comfort.

Silly, I know, but I still haven’t been able to ‘bury’ my favourite boots that were there for me through thick and thin.

History of electricity generation in Tasmania

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Tasmania’s Mercury newspaper created a special publication of 100 years of Hydro Tasmania – I think the publication date was October 2014.

Roger Lupton for the University of Tasmania summarises brief history of electricity and Hydro in Tasmania at this site.

Hydro Tasmania’s Cultural Heritage Program Newsletter records: “Of all the industries contributing to Tasmania’s social and economic development during the course of the 20th century, none stands out more than the Hydro. In terms of labour force statistics alone the role played by Hydro projects in regional employment cannot be underestimated. At its peak of 5200 staff, approximately 1 in 25 Tasmanians worked for the organisation.”

Growing up as a Hydro boy

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Thanks to blog follower Mary, I have discovered a series of online stories about past Hydro workers some of whom helped build the Tarraleah Canal No 1 and others who lived near other electricity generating power stations along the Derwent River. These short stories make interesting reading and include photographs of the people and places.

I recommend you look at Hydro Tasmania’s site where the son of Jack Warren records his history. The photo below from that site shows Jack at Canal No 1 in 1935.

Simon Stansbie’s record of growing up at Wayatinah can be read on the Hydro Tasmania’s website. Ian Berry tells us what it was like to grow up at Butlers Gorge (where the Clark Dam was built to hold back the waters of Lake King William). You can read this and see photos at Hydro Tasmania’s site.

Collectively these stories give a little insight into the human reality of living and working in remote central Tasmania to create the extraordinary electricity generating infrastructure last century which used the waters of the Derwent River.

Heather Felton published a book, which tells these and other stories of the people of ‘The Hydro’. Read more about the book: The Ticklebelly Tales.

Information about the book launch can be read in issues of the Cultural Heritage Program Newsletter ; and at a second site.

I am not sure what the word ‘Tickleberry’ refers to. Do I have any blog followers with this knowledge? According to Wikipedia part of Tarraleah, the area for the married quarters of the original community, was known as Tickleberry Flat. In addition, during my walks I know that I have passed an area mapped as Tickleberry Flat which is south east of Curringa Farm, and almost south of the town of Hamilton mid-way along Meadowbank Lake – a long way from Tarraleah. In New Norfolk Tickleberry Farm grows raspberries. The name Tickleberry comes up in many internet searches. The Brighton, Central Highlands, Derwent Valley and Southern Midlands Councils Joint Land Use Planning Initiative – Stage 2 Heritage Management Plan tells us “Hydro-electric power schemes which commenced in the early 1910s saw the development of construction villages across the highlands at Waddamana (from 1911), Shannon (1925), Tarraleah (1934), Tickleberry Flats (1935), Butlers Gorge (1938), Bronte Park (1948) and Wayatinah (1952). As these small communities grew, schools, shops, community halls, medical facilities and offices were established.”

After all of this, I still wonder what the original meaning of Tickleberry is: maybe someone’s name or a common name for a plant.

Tarraleah Canal No 1 walk – flowers and lichens

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I was lucky, so lucky – beside the track a solitary Tasmanian native Waratah bloomed. Coming across a specimen seemed like a miracle and I was in awe of its beauty.

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This Waratah is not to be confused with the New South Wales Waratah – also red but with more bracts – you can see a photo on Wikipedia.

Elsewhere and occasionally, other floral plants which are native to Tasmania, added colour and texture to the landscape. My identification of the plants is possibly flawed but here goes (corrections are welcome via comments against this post). I think the following photo shows an example of the Snowberry plant.

The next two photos show the Pink Mountain Berry.

The next photo is an example of Coprosma nitida known either as ‘Mountain Currant’ or ‘Native Currant’.

I am not sure what the plant is below. Its pink berries are not spherical rather drop like, and they are fleshier than the Pink Mountain Berry. I suspect it may be the Aristotelia peduncularis commonly known as the Heartberry.

Because of the extreme general wetness of this remote locality and the fact the vegetation is seldom disturbed, beautiful lichens grow on rock, fallen trees, man-made objects, and on road side markers. I found these fascinating. As I walked, I thought about the huge and sophisticated city of Angkor built many centuries ago then abandoned, and how nature reclaimed the man-made installations. The small examples of nature reclaiming the ground that I saw on my walk along the Tarraleah Canal No 1 reminded me of the relentless urge for lifeforms to grow.

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Tarraleah Canal No 1 walk – signs to side roads along the way

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Around the Mossy Marsh Creek area and elsewhere, many short roads intersected with the Hydro road. These are pathways to assist Hydro Tas with monitoring and managing various aspects of the water flow. They allowed me to continue to follow the Canal and be near the original river bed. Enjoy the glorious bush in the photos below.

Blog readers will have seen signs before, however the lovely things about these photos include the colours of the adjacent bush, the depth of soft looking leaf mulch beneath the tall trees and the sense of a rich wilderness all around. The environment was truly splendid. Having a road to walk on was such a boon – manoeuvring through that bush would have been a major trial and perhaps not nearly as pleasant.

Tarraleah Canal No 1 walk – bracken

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When one of my Canadian blog followers commented on ‘ferns’ in some of my photographs, I was able to tell him these ‘ferns’ were in fact a Tasmanian native known as ‘bracken’. In undisturbed bush, bracken is occasional and dispersed, however after human intervention and land clearance, bracken takes over like a weed. Therefore, I was not surprised to find bracken edging some of the Canal and accompanying Hydro road.

Despite its propensity to take over, when growing and green this plant is very attractive. I took the following photos especially for my Canadian follower. Despite being a plant I see all too often, I always like the look of their delicate frond unwindings.

You can read more about these plants at Weed Control in Tasmanian Forests

Tarraleah Canal No 1 walk – structural differences in the Canal

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The Canal comprised three different flume structures;

In the ground channel

In or on the ground narrower channel with concrete or metal arms across the top

Raised aqueduct

Tarraleah Canal No 1 walk – the original river bed

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The Canal, with and without the Derwent River water flowing through it, has featured in my recent posts. Perhaps you have been wondering about the location of the original river bed. As I walked I felt it close by and sometimes I could see it. After considerable thought I did not attempt to reach its edge during this walk. It was wild country down there. The distance between the Canal and the stony river bed was usually no more than 150 metres, but the hillside dropped away drastically losing 250 feet as it dropped down steeply. Judging by cliffs that I saw on the other side of the river bed, I imagined that access to the river bed on my side would not always have been possible. I could see no value in forcing my way through the thick vegetation to try and reach the river bed and then forcing my walk back up the steep incline to the Canal, with the idea of repeating the process at intervals. I simply could not see the value in such an activity. Besides, the bush density was such that a machete would probably have been the only way to make a path, and this wasn’t a tool I carried with me.

When I saw the river bed, it was a stony snake winding between forested hills. It seems so much further away in the photographs than it was in reality.

At one point, when I stared down a scree-like slope I considered making the steep trek to the river edge.

But the nature of the terrain screamed the potential of a ‘rolled ankle’ and so I continued walking along the Canal close by.

Tarraleah Canal No 1 walk – the ‘bridge’ crossings

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At intervals, Hydro Tasmania has structured simple narrow crossing bridges over the Tarraleah Canal number 1. The various vintages of these crossings seem to indicate changing needs over time.