SELF-DRIVE TOURS TOURS FROM SYDNEY OR CANBERRA TO MILDURA

Transcription

1 19 th Australasian Engineering Heritage Conference, Mildura SELF-DRIVE TOURS TOURS FROM SYDNEY OR CANBERRA TO MILDURA You can design your own tour from these notes! The length of the tour, the route you take and the attractions you wish to visit are all optional! This set of notes will suit people travelling from their homes in Sydney, Preamble. Newcastle or Canberra or arriving by air at Sydney Airport SO LET S GET STARTED!! To drive to Mildura from Sydney takes about 9.5 hours nonstop. The suggestions below may all be used and the journey extended up to five days or sections missed and shortened to two or three days. Perhaps you may choose one route for the forward journey and pick up other suggestions on the return. Two main routes are suggested here. The first heads south via Goulburn, Wagga Wagga and Hay whilst the second takes a more westerly direction via Lithgow, Bathurst and Hay. Route 1. Sydney, Goulburn, (Canberra), Gundagai, Wagga Wagga, Narrandra, Hay, Balranald, Mildura Places/objects of engineering heritage interest/significance, en-route: Day 1 Direct road distance Sydney to Canberra 286 km which will take about 3 hours 1 Towrang roadside rest stop east of Goulburn convict built culvert. 1

2 2 Goulburn Waterworks and Appleby beam pumping engine (check opening times). Goulburn Waterworks. The Appleby beam engine at Goulburn is one of only very few operating beam engines remaining in Australia. Image: Tony Sheffield. 3 Canberra Burley Griffin Lake Scheme, Cotter River Dam precinct. Scrivener Dam which forms Lake Burley Griffin, Canberra s iconic water feature. Image: Owen Peake. g/wiki/lake_burley_gri ffin 2

3 4 Canberra Mount Stromlo Observatory remains. Mount Stromlo Observatory was largely destroyed by a bushfire in The remains of the telescope domes have been retained along with one telescope which survived the fire. The image shows part of the foundation of one of the destroyed telescopes. The Great Melbourne Telescope which was used at Mount Stromlo from 1944 to 2003 was destroyed in the fire however the remains of the telescope are now back in Melbourne being restored to its original condition for installation back in its original home in the Botanical Gardens, Melbourne. Image: Owen Peake. atory 5 Canberra Tharwa Timber truss Bridge over the Murrumbidgee River. Tharwa Bridge, which crosses the Murrumbidgee River in the south of the ACT has recently been restored. The Percy Allan designed timber truss bridge was built in 1895, long before Canberra was built. It is interesting to look downstream at the vigorous little river and contemplate how far it has to run before it arrives at the Southern Ocean. Image: Owen Peake. wa_bridge End of first day. Stay in Canberra which has a wide range of accommodation and restaurants. There are many things to see in Canberra so a second day might be in order if you have time and are not already familiar with the better sites in Canberra. 3

4 Day 2 - Direct road distance Canberra to Hay 510 km which will take about 5.5 hours 1 Gundagai heritage road and rail bridges across Murrumbidgee River and floodplain Railway Viaduct across the Murrumbidgee Flood Plain. app/visit/viewattractiondetail.aspx?id= Adelong Falls gold mill ruins (approximately 70 km loop southward from Hume Hwy). The remains of the Reefer Battery at Adelong show how dramatically the engineering of gold extraction has changed in 165 years in this country. The mill was water powered and used hammer mills to crush the rock prior to separation of the gold. This goldfield operated from Junee - railway station and railway roundhouse museum. Junee Roundhouse Museum. Image: Museum & Galleries NSW. Class Z24 steam locomotive at Roundhouse Museum 4

5 4 Darlington Point towers from former 1905 bascule bridge re-erected in caravan park. We are more familiar with lift span bridges to allow river traffic to pass on the Murray, Murrumbidgee and Darling Rivers. However in this stretch of the Murrumbidgee there were several bascule bridges. This span from the 1905 Darlington Point Bridge has been reerected at the entrance to a caravan park. Image: Travelling-Australia Home. heritage/darlington-point-bridgemurrumbidgee-river Carrathool Bridge incorporating bascule span over Murrumbidgee south of Carrathool. Another bascule span alongside more familiar NSW timber truss spans at the bridge south of Carrathool. This bridge was built in 1924 and was designed by Percy Allan. Image: Wikipedia. End of second day. Stay in Hay which has a wide range of accommodation and restaurants. Day 3 - Direct road distance Hay to Mildura 300 km which will take about 3.25 hours 2 Shearer s Hall of Fame, Hay. Shearer s Hall of Fame, Shear Outback, Hay NSW. Image: Museums & Gallaries NSW hear-outback/ 5

6 3 Balranald towers from former lift span bridge on display in caravan park. End Day 3 in Mildura at the accommodation you have arranged for the conference. Route 2. Sydney, Blue Mountains, Lithgow, Bathurst, West Wyalong, Griffith, Hay, Balranald, Mildura Places/objects of engineering heritage interest/significance, en-route: Day 1 - Direct road distance Sydney to Bathurst 200 km which will take about 3 hours 1 Penrith 1867 wrought iron, box girder, Victoria Bridge over the Nepean River. Victoria Bridge Penrith, over the Nepean River was built in 1867 originally as a railway bridge. It now carries the Great Western Highway. ge_(penrith) 2 Lennox s 1833 Mitchell s Pass Bridge near Glenbrook (oldest masonry bridge on mainland). Lennox s 1633 Mitchell Pass Bridge. age/mitchell%e2%80%99s-pass-andlennox%e2%80%99s-horseshoe-bridgelapstone1833 6

7 3 Victoria Pass Road Convict built, descends western side of Blue Mountains. Victoria Pass in This image is a scan of a tinted black & white print. Image: Image by Katoomba photographer Harry Phillips, from about Blue Mountains City Library Local Studies Collection. heritage/victoria-pass-blue-mountains Lithgow Ruins of Former Ironworks ( ). Ruins of 1929 Davy blowing engine building which supplied air to the blast furnace at Lithgow Ironworks. The steelworks closed in 1929 and operations were transferred to Port Kembla. 01_steel.html 5. Bathurst 1876 wrought iron, lattice girder, railway bridge over Macquarie River. End of first day. Stay in Bathurst which has a wide range of accommodation and restaurants. Day 2 Direct road distance Bathurst to Hay 520 km which will take about 5.75 hours 1 Cowra Roundhouse Museum. 2 Griffith Murrumbidgee irrigation area. 7

8 3 Darlington Point towers from former 1905 bascule bridge re-erected in caravan park. We are more familiar with lift span bridges to allow river traffic to pass on the Murray, Murrumbidgee and Darling Rivers. However in this stretch of the Murrumbidgee there were several bascule bridges. This span from the 1905 Darlington Point Bridge has been re-erected at the entrance to a caravan park. Image: Travelling-Australia Home. tage/darlington-point-bridge-murrumbidgeeriver Carrathool Bridge incorporating bascule span over Murrumbidgee River south of Carrathool. Another bascule span alongside more familiar NSW timber truss spans at the bridge south of Carrathool. This bridge was built in 1924 and was designed by Percy Allan. End of second day. Stay in Hay which has a range of accommodation and restaurants. 8

9 Day 3 - Direct road distance Hay to Mildura 300 km which will take about 3.25 hours 1 Hay Base of former 1874 swing bridge. Conserved pivot of Hay Swing Bridge. All that is left. ment/protecting-heritage/moveable-span-bridge- study-volume-2-bascule-and-swing-span-bridges-part- 2.pdf 2 Shearers Hall of Fame, Hay. Shearer s Hall of Fame, Shear Outback, Hay NSW. Image: Museums & Gallaries NSW hear-outback/ 3. Balranald towers from former lift span bridge on display in caravan park. End Day 3 in Mildura at the accommodation you have arranged for the conference. Note: Many of the above places/objects have formal engineering heritage recognition and further information can be obtained by accessing the respective nomination documents downloadable from the EHA Australian Engineering Heritage Register at: Groups/Engineering-Heritage-Australia CHANGE CONTROL VERSION 1 27 AUGUST 2017 VERSION 2 2 SEP