Bookings Enquiries Michael Keats The Party

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1 The Bush Club Inc., The Greater Blue Mountains National Park- Wollemi National Park -The Glowworm Tunnel area and the plateau on top- from the GWT carpark Friday 3 rd February 2017-Track Notes Short title The Glowworm Tunnel and the plateau above Date Friday 3 rd February 2017 Leader Michael Keats/ Brian Fox Maps, etc. Department of Lands topographic map, 1:25000, Ben Bullen, S, second edition, GPS setting, WGS 84. Walk Park at the end of the Glowworm Tunnel Road. Walk through the tunnel description then climb to the base of the cliffs to the north and walk along this cliff line and route and continue up the northern branch of Tunnel Creek to approx. GR where a slot provides access to the plateau. Head SE to approx. GR and inspect old relics from the WVR and or coal exploration in 1970s. Then attempt to enter Honeycomb Canyon from the south end, perhaps exiting the branch that heads NE. Then make our way along the cliff edge to the top of Size 8 canyon, GR If time permits we will return via a spur /ridge on the eastern side of the north branch of Tunnel Creek to connect with the Pagoda Track. Alternatively we can head down into Sutherland Gully and exit via the Pagoda Track. About 8km, expect challenges Rating Gear issues 5-6, M, LTW BRING A TORCH for the Glowworm Tunnel. Have clothes to change into in the car for afterwards. 2 litres of water. GPS, PLB, appropriate head and footwear, tape (leader), electrolytes, maps, compass. Numbers Max 8 Meeting point Pymble 0545, McDonalds carpark Richmond 0635, Clarence Zig Zag 0800, Bungleboori Camping Ground 0820 Transport Club cars. Comments This walk is ambitious and may not be possible to complete. Scrambling, tape work possible getting wet Close of ASAP Bookings Enquiries Michael Keats mjmkeats@easy.com.au The Party Michael Keats (leader), Brian Fox (co-leader), Yuri Bolotin, John Anderson, Lucy Morris, Hodaka Morita, Daryl Watson, Jafar Calley, Harold Thompson, Scott Marshall, members, George Maroun, Thomas Ebersoll and Romain Equi, guests, 13. The Weather The morning was almost autumn, totally overcast with low cloud obscuring the plateau top. The temperature 16 degrees; about midday the cloud ceiling lifted but remained, as the sun 1

2 broke through the humidity soared and we all sweated profusely. Max temperature 23 degrees. Plot of the walk as done overlaid on an aerial photograph. Recorded Brian Fox, prepared by Yuri Bolotin. Restructure of the walk Less than 4 hours after releasing details of the walk I was contacted by the Blackheath office of the NPWS advising that the Glowworm Tunnel access road was closed for bridge reconstruction. If I wanted to proceed then I could still visit the Glowworm Tunnel but only via the Old Coach Road. After some thought I decided to do the walk as planned, more or less, but in reverse. This resulted in an incredible, spectacular day out as evidenced in the picture portfolio with this report. Sadly for those who were counting on a walk through the Glowworm Tunnel, this did not happen. Place Names in the area Glowworm Tunnel is located at the northern end of Glowworm Tunnel Road, accessed via Clarence or State Mine Gully, Lithgow. It was here that the old Wolgan Valley Railway line 2

3 wound around the base of the cliffs, then through a tunnel approximately 400m long. The creek near this tunnel is called Tunnel Creek and has also been referred to as Penrose Creek. This was the second tunnel constructed in 1907 for the railway to Newnes from Newnes Junction, off the Main Western Line. The first tunnel is now vehicular access to the Glowworm Tunnel and about 3km closer towards Lithgow. The Glow Worms are a larval stage of a harmless, luminous species of fungus gnat, family Arachnocampa. Spelling has varied on different maps, such as Gloworm Tunnel; Ben Bullen Topo, first edition, Glowworm Tunnel Road; Cullen Bullen Topo, second edition, as well as Glow Worm Tunnel and Glow-worm Tunnel, web sites. Ben Bullen Topo Map, GR See Book 2, Walk 2.12, for detailed Track Notes. Honeycomb Canyon is a 600m long canyon, generally orientated north south, having its southern entrance near the intersection of the Glowworm Tunnel Track and the Pagoda Track. It was first explored by Andrew Valja and Dave Lockwood in Ben Bullen Topo Map, GR See Book 3, Walk 3.18, for detailed Track Notes. Old Coach Road was constructed between Clarence and Newnes and closely follows the route of the former Wolgan Valley Railway line from Clarence. The road is still in use today (from near Deanes Siding, GR , to the information board at GR ) and is maintained by the National Parks and Wildlife Service in case access is required to fight bushfires. Alongside a part of this road can be seen steel stanchions and steel bars, which were used to support the petrol pipeline from Glen Davis to Newnes Junction. Cullen Bullen and Ben Bullen Topo Maps. The Lithgow Mercury 8 th June 1906, p. 4 records the road from Clarence to Wolgan is now 21 miles from Clarence, among the gorges. A good road has been found down Penrose Gorge should be through to Wolgan in a few weeks. This road was used in part to deliver construction materials for the Wolgan Valley Railway line (April ) and also to provide access to the new township of Newnes. Ref: Parish of Barton, 1915, notation LB (Note: LB07 refers to Land Board 1907). A map dated 10 th April 1907, which accompanied an application for a Post Office at Greens Camp (near the present day Glowworm Tunnel), shows the name Coach Road. The term Old Coach Road was recorded in Stephens, Eric. Wolgan Railway Notebook, and Lithgow Mercury 2 nd May 1934, p. 4. The railway coach used on the railway line consisted of a general passenger compartment to seat 30, guard s compartment, a special compartment at the end with folding table and lavatory. The coach was constructed by Metropolitan Amalgamated Railway Coach Works, Lancaster, England. Pagoda Track is a 700m walking track that links the southern side of the Glowworm Tunnel Track at GR to the Old Coach Road at GR Ben Bullen Topo Map. See Book 3, Walk 3.8, for detailed Track Notes. Petrol Pipeline In 1937, National Oil Pty Ltd was set up at Glen Davis to produce petrol from kerosene shale. A four inch diameter pipeline was constructed from Glen Davis to Newnes and onto Newnes Junction on the Main Western Line to transfer the petrol to rail. The first petrol pumped through the pipeline was on the 23 rd July Ref: Skidmore, J A. Mineral Oil Industry in NSW, 1995, p

4 Size 8 Canyon, 200m in length, is shaped as the letter C. Located 1.1km east of Wolgan River and the junction with Tunnel Creek. Named by Michael Keats on his Bush Club walk, 8 th April The tight access to this canyon would require any explorers, male or female, to be that dress size or less. Ben Bullen Topo Map, entry GR See Book 3, Walk 3.8, for detailed Track Notes. Tunnel Creek* is about 4km in length. It rises about 4.5km east, north east of Wolgan Pinnacle and flows generally north west into the Wolgan River. The Glowworm Tunnel is located midway along Tunnel Creek. This creek was originally named (see) Penrose Creek. Cullen Bullen and Ben Bullen Topo Maps, headwaters GR , junction GR See Book 3, Walk 3.18, for detailed Track Notes. Whispering Gallery is located 100m north east of the locked gate on the Pagoda Track and Plot of the walk as done overlaid on a topographic map. Recorded Brian Fox, prepared by Yuri Bolotin. 4

5 700m north east of the Glowworm Tunnel, Newnes Plateau. This 85m long overhang has a dry elevated floor and its southern extremity features an almost spherical cavern. In the centre is a small string waterfall that drops down from a slotted keyhole in the domed roof. Quite by accident, it was discovered that this is a whispering wall, so a quietly spoken comment at one end can be clearly heard at the other. Named by Michael Keats and Brian Fox on a Bush Club walk, 2 nd January Ben Bullen Topo Map, GR to Wolgan Valley Railway branched from the Main Western Line at Newnes Junction, GR , and terminated at Newnes, GR Construction of the Wolgan Valley Railway of some 31 miles 50 chains (51km) from Clarence on the Great Western Railway line to Newnes commenced in November 1906 and was effectively completed in November The line ceased carrying rail traffic in Ref: Hicks, George and O Brien, Dennis. Shays in the Valley. According to Bentley, James. Black Smoke. Blue Mountains, 1988, p. 77, the line finally closed in This private railway line was built to carry oil, wax, sulphate of ammonia, coke and other various products from the Commonwealth Oil Corporation s shale mine and refinery at Newnes to where it joined the Main Western Line at Newnes Junction. From here, products went on their way to Sydney or, in the case of the coke, to the Lithgow blast furnace. Ref: Bentley, James. Black Smoke. Blue Mountains and McKillop, Bob. Furnace, Fire and Forge, 2006, pp Track Notes At 0900 we parked at the locked gate on the Old Coach Road, GR , completed introductions and I explained the changes forced upon the planned walk. I also advised that we would be adding two walkers to our number at about Thomas Ebersoll and his overseas working assistant Romain Equi, were as we spoke, walking up from Newnes along the Old Coach Road and would meet us at the pagoda Track Junction. The group headed off at 0909 enjoying the unexpectedly cool conditions. A stop was made at GR and the story behind the steel bridge explained. The repurposing of the old railway lines from the WVR as structural components for this bridge and also as trestles along the length of the pipeline was part of a waste not philosophy that stood Australia in good stead. A few hundred metres on we were greeted by Thomas and Romain. They had arrived early and decided to walk up from the junction of the Pagoda Track and the Old Coach Road and meet us. After introductions the walk resumed and the second locked gate was vaulted at At the north end of the loop in the road beyond the locked gate we stopped so that Brian and I could explain that this innocuous location lead to the Whispering Gallery and in the higher reaches of the adjoining Sutherland Gully 1 the magnificent Coach Galleries. 1 Sutherland Gully rises on the western side of Tiger Snake Canyon Track and 1km east of the Glowworm Tunnel. It flows for 2.5km generally north west through Coach Galleries over the Pagoda Track and railway alignment and into the Wolgan River. This gully dissects the plateau from the Glowworm Tunnel in the south and Point Sutherland on the north. Donald Sutherland was a Consulting Engineer and General Manager of The Commonwealth Oil Corporation Ltd mine and refinery at Newnes in 1906, at the time when the Wolgan Valley Railway was being constructed. Named on a Bush Club Walk by Michael Keats, Yuri Bolotin and Brian Fox, 27 th January Ben Bullen Topo Map GR to

6 At the Pagoda Track turnoff, GR Brian stopped to take a photo of the temporary signage about the closure of the Glowworm Tunnel Track. After a few hundred metres heading north it was time to leave the road and climb the ridge, GR Brian on a bridge built from railway lines from the old Wolgan Valley Railway to carry the petrol pipeline across a deep ravine. Photo: Jafar Calley. Our chosen random route delivered more than we expected, another previously unrecorded habitation cave very likely related to the Wolgan Valley Railway period ( ) when Green s Camp was buzzing with activity, GR Noting that the steep sides of Sutherland Gully were too close we checked our position and headed west to the top of the ridge, GR that separated the Sutherland Gully water shed from the northern extension of Tunnel Creek. Once on the ridge crest we changed direction again heading down several contours NNW, then west. At 1004 the dense forest gave way to heath land followed by open rocky platform country with a few low pagodas and the occasional struggling prostrate Leptospermum (L. arachnoides). Simultaneously the views expanded from the confines of a dense forest to a panorama of the central Wolgan Valley. Donkey Mountain was centre stage. 2 Greens Camp is located about 200m east of the track intersection of Pagoda Track and the main track to the Glowworm Tunnel, and about 38km from Clarence. Initials F R and a date 7/1/1907 are carved into a rock face rediscovered by Mark Langdon, September On 1 st May 1907, a post office was set up at Greens Camp with Mr E. Sheared as postmaster. Ref: Taylor, Greg. J. Newnes, History of a Blue Mountains Oil-Shale town, undated, p. 34. Greens Camp was the name of a railway construction camp for the Wolgan Valley Railway. During construction, this camp housed up to 600 people. Ref: Letter from Henry Martin, storekeeper, The Gorge via Clarence, dated April Cullen Bullen Topo Map, GR

7 Lucy poses in a found habitation cave not far from the site of Greens Camp. Photo: Brian Fox. The apparent cliff edge, GR , (we were still back 200m from the edge) had much to commend it as a good place for morning tea. It was 1006 so with such a view we settled down for ten minutes to enjoy it all. During the break I checked the map and noted we were less than 200m from Size 8 Canyon and also a similar distance from Forge Point 3 100m below and where many of the current group had walked on 27 th January 2017 with Yuri Bolotin when the Wolgan Balcony 4 was first explored and proved as a negotiable route. As we walked along the cliff edge Brian and I recalled that the attempt to walk up from the base of Size 8 Canyon was thwarted because it became too narrow to squeeze through. Recollections of my visit to the top of this canyon 8 th April 2009 were similar, it was just a physical impossibility to descend due to the very tight nature of the upper slot network. 3 Forge Point is located 1km north, north west of the Glowworm Tunnel on the cliff line, where the old Wolgan Valley Railway line at the base of this cliff line changed direction from north west to north east. Ref: Eardley, G H. & Stephens, E M. The Shale Railways of NSW, 1974, p This name relates to a forge used to fabricate the railway lines. Herbert Sidney Rosewarne records, Forge Point was also called Cable Point. Cable was the employed railway construction ganger. Ref: Stephens, Eric. Wolgan Railway Notebook, Ben Bullen Topo Map, GR Wolgan Balcony is a 1km ledge between two cliff lines above the Wolgan River and above the Wolgan Valley railway alignment, 1.1km north, north west of the Glowworm Tunnel. The ledge offers extensive views of the Wolgan Valley and Donkey Mountain. Named on a Bush Club Walk by Michael Keats, Yuri Bolotin and Brian Fox, 27 th January Ben Bullen Topo Map GR to

8 Members of the group threading their way to the cliff edge near Size 8 Canyon. Photo: Yuri Bolotin. Lucy and Romain at the cliffs near the mouth of Size 8 Canyon. Photo: Brian Fox. 8

9 Descending a gully south of Size 8 Canyon. Photo: Yuri Bolotin. Sometimes the steps on platey pagodas were missing! Brian assists Lucy, Thomas and George wait their turn. Photo: Yuri Bolotin. 9

10 Brian in one of the many non-negotiable slots in Size 8 Canyon. Photo: Yuri Bolotin. 10

11 In a non-negotiable slot in Size 8 Canyon. Left to right, Jafar, Michael and Yuri. Photo: Brian Fox. 11

12 High on the cliffs overlooking the Wolgan Valley between Size 8 Canyon and Honeycomb Canyon. Photo: Yuri Bolotin. The group silhouetted on the skyline high on the cliffs looking south towards Tunnel Creek between Size 8 Canyon and Honeycomb Canyon. Photo: Yuri Bolotin. 12

13 Looking deep into Honeycomb Canyon. Photo: Brian Fox. 13

14 One of the feeder slots into Honeycomb Canyon. Photo: Yuri Bolotin. Daryl near Honeycomb Canyon, Thomas and Brian near the edge of the main slot. Photo: Yuri Bolotin. 14

15 A dramatic window view through to the Wolgan Valley at Size 8 Canyon, GR Photo: Brian Fox. 15

16 Seven members threading their way to the cliff edge and lunch site. Photo: Yuri Bolotin. The first challenge of Size 8 Canyon presented at 1036, GR It was the top of northern most slot entry. The next half an hour just flew as we successively tested each slot seeking a way down. Some slots were more successful than others but in every case we were confronted with slots just too narrow to negotiate, GR Despite the frustration the views were totally magical. The window view over the Wolgan Valley is extraordinary, GR , the two flanking pagodas standing like sentinels. If we had more time (or less on our planned agenda!) we could have climbed the northern most one, from the top of which would be further truly spectacular views. I will be back because this is such a dramatic place and in addition we ran out of time to complete the program. Leaving Size 8 Canyon as unfinished business left us desiring more good things. We were not to be disappointed. At 1115, GR it is possible to walk right on the cliff edge. There is no vegetation to spoil the view or the experience. It is all about rock, cleaved rock faces, great overhanging blocks and dramatic drops. Pictures of the group as a skyline profile were captured by Yuri who patiently waited at GR for us to walk/negotiate our way to an amazing place, GR The picture says it all. Less than 100m on and before Honeycomb Canyon there is another great viewing platform to look south across the mouth of Tunnel Creek. These views are stunning because they are virtually vegetation free. 16

17 Thomas contemplates the view over an unnamed slot, Tunnel Creek and the plateau south. Photo: Yuri Bolotin. Nine members of the group on the way to Tunnel Point. Left to right, Jafar, Harold, John, Daryl, Michael, Scott, George, Thomas and Hodaka. Photo: Yuri Bolotin. 17

18 A rare view of Tunnel Creek gorge from Tunnel Point. Donkey Mountain on the horizon, the former Wolgan Valley Railway ran in the base of this gorge. The western exit of the Glowworm Tunnel is immediately under our position. Photo: Brian Fox. An old relic seen at GR , 8 th April Photo: Michael Keats. We were unable to relocate this item. 18

19 The southern cliffs of Tunnel Creek opposite Tunnel Point. Photo: Yuri Bolotin. The northern cliffs of Tunnel Creek from Tunnel Point. In the foreground, Jafar, Michael, George and Scott. Photo: Yuri Bolotin. 19

20 Historic mineral lease marker at our lunch site, Left to right, Michael, Lucy, Yuri, Jafar and Scott. Photo: Brian Fox. 20

21 Another historic mineral lease survey marker on the cliff edge at, Photo: Yuri Bolotin. Next on the agenda was exploring Honeycomb Canyon. Our cross country trek to get there was via heavily dissected terrain. Observant Brian noted a high level dry cave at GR This cave contained two seriously long canyoning ropes, one about 30m and another one at least 60m in length. The shorter rope had been in the cave for a long time and looked very unsafe to use. We pushed on and minutes later entered the northern end of the main slot that morphs into Honeycomb Canyon, GR Again we had entered a playground with so much to see and explore. The next forty minutes saw us weaving in and out of slots, clambering up, scrambling down and generally enjoying another special place. We knew from the huge displacement between the cliff top and the plateau and the fact that Honeycomb Canyon ends as a dry waterfall we were never going to be able to descend it without abseiling gear. Even with that constraint there was so much to enjoy and give visual pleasure and stimulation. Leaving the Honeycomb Canyon complex we headed west seeking a point right on the cliff edge above the alignment of the former Wolgan Valley Railway for lunch. Our chosen spot was at GR , the vertical drop just on 100m. The stunning view to the north was a series of ragged pagodas that delineated Honeycomb Canyon; to the south the magic rain forest filled gully of Tunnel Creek and the ochre coloured cliffs beyond. The spot was special for another reason a heavily weathered mineral lease survey marker that has seen more than 100 summers come and go. Again I was reminded of the tough and resilient early surveyors who traversed this country with heavy gear, primitive mapping equipment, few creature 21

22 comforts, no workers compensation and very likely an irate boss who could not understand why survey work in this country took so long. On top of everything else, these men had to be able to find materials and build cairns. The whole group at Tunnel Point. Left to right Romain, Thomas, Yuri, Daryl, Jafar, George, Michael, Scott, Lucy, John Brian, Harold and Hodaka. Time exposure photo Brian Fox. Lunchtime reveries over, we resumed our exploration at The cliff top walk from our lunch location was along the northern cliff line of plateau above Tunnel Creek. It is some of the wildest and most dissected terrain in the area. The payoff is truly magnificent scenery. Again I had a moment of reverie and thought about engineer Henry Deane who with his team and hundreds of workmen using little more than picks, shovels and wheelbarrows made the Wolgan Valley Railway a reality. In a trancelike state we moved along the cliff edge to the most spectacular spot of all on this walk- one more bushwalkers ought to visit a place Brian, Yuri and I have named Tunnel Point, GR This natural edifice commands views over Tunnel Creek to the west that are framed by multi-tiered amphitheatre like walls that in turn frame a view of Donkey Mountain set in harmony in the Wolgan Valley. Directly below and beyond sight are the residual remains of the Wolgan Valley Railway and the western entrance of the Glowworm Tunnel. It is a destination worth the effort to visit even if you ignore the rest of the walk. We posed here for a group photo and then took time to record our own pictures. We spent just over half an hour here. Tunnel Point is directly above the GWT, some 100m+ underneath it. It was now 1338 and it was realised that there would not be time or energy to explore the Glowworm Tunnel below. While the map distances are short however the time required to do 22

23 justice to exploring the old infrastructure around the tunnel and visiting the Glowworm Tunnel itself, it was not going to happen. In addition the humidity had shot up and the air temperature had risen. We then left Tunnel Point and began making our way along the western side cliff tops of the northern extension of Tunnel Creek. The way was full of amazing pagodas and intricate slots. The area has to be revisited because there is more to see. After appreciating just how much effort was involved it was decided to head for the central ridge and then return directly to the Old Coach Road. The crest of the ridge, GR was free of big trees and it is possible that at some stage a rough track was made along this ridge to get men and equipment to work on stabilising the cliff face from lowered bos n chairs above the railway line. When I visited 8 th April 2009 we found rusting pipes, old cans, the remains of a meter and a collection of beer bottles date stamped 1971 at GR A photo of an old gauge found on that occasion is included in this report even though we did not find the site on this walk. Another reason to return. At 1407, GR we changed direction and headed directly down to the Old Coach Road. A drink stop was taken at GR on the road. Now it was time for the group to say farewell to Thomas and Romain they headed north and downhill to Newnes while the rest of us headed south and uphill to the locked gate and the vehicles. We arrived at Total distance walked 10.5km, total ascents 450m. Table of Times, Locations and Grid References Time Location Grid Reference 0900 Locked Gate Old Coach Road GR Leave after briefing and introductions GR Old steel bridge for the Glen Davis Newnes Junction pipeline GR Track head to the Whispering Gallery GR Pagoda Track junction with the Old Coach Road GR Discovered old habitation cave GR Ridge top Sutherland Gully & north extension of Tunnel Creek GR Heading NNW GR Change direction to west GR Start of views west over Wolgan Valley GR Morning tea near cliff edge, 10 minutes GR Above Size 8 Canyon GR Playing in Size 8 Canyon GR Window over the Wolgan Valley through Size 8 Canyon GR At cliff edge GR Great views over the Wolgan Valley GR View south of Tunnel Creek ravine GR Dry cave with abseiling ropes GR Honeycomb Canyon - exploring GR Lunch, 19 minutes and old mineral lease survey marker GR Great viewing point GR Tunnel Point 32 minutes of enjoyment + group photo GR On ridge GR

24 1407 On ridge GR Descending cliffs to Old Coach Road GR On old Coach Road and farewell to Thomas and Roma GR Back at vehicles GR Yuri s pictures Harold s pictures Jafar s video Cliff edge study near Honeycomb Canyon. Photo: Yuri Bolotin. BCSNW GWT+ plateau top Track Notes /MK 24