The photographs, below, of the Plowright Brothers sand mining operation on the Main Drain just out of Koo Wee Rup are from the Koo Wee Rup Swamp Historical Society collection. The photographs are undated but the Siding closed in 1931 (1), which dates them to between 1926 - 1932.
Marilyn Ramsay in Steam to Strzelecki: the Koo Wee Rup to McDonald’s Track Railway (2) wrote this about the sand mining -
To service the sand mining industry the Railways Department (during 1925 and 1926) built sidings on the line between Koo Wee Rup and Bayles, at three miles one chain and four miles from Koo Wee Rup. In March 1925 Cameron Bros. began transporting water-washed sand pumped from the Main Drain along a 2-foot gauge steel-railed tramway which they had built to the siding. The next year Plowright Bros and the Koo Wee Rup Water Washed Sand Co, each took over part of Cameron Bros operations . Plowright's tramline to the 3-mile siding ran almost two miles north-east, and the Koo Wee Rup Water Washed Sand Co.'s. tramline ran about one and a half mile along the line of Backhouses Road to the Main Drain. Initially both tramlines were operated by horse but later Fordson tractors provided motive power. The skips were filled from hopper tanks beside the Drain and tipped from a platform into railway trucks at the siding. I have written about the Strzelecki railway line, here.
This report is from the Koo Wee Rup Sun of June 24, 1926, just before the Plowright Brothers operation commenced -
Plowright Brothers commence operations
Koo Wee Rup Sun June 24, 1926
Who were the Plowright Brothers? John Plowright of Station Street in Koo Wee Rup passed away September 24, 1942 aged 55. He was the husband of Isabel (nee Bethune) and the father of Jean and Lindsay. An obituary (3) said that he had been a resident of Koo Wee Rup for 30 years. John and his two brothers, David (died in 1969 aged 77) and William (died in 1967 aged 74) were born in Kings Lynn, Norfolk in England the sons of John and Sarah Ann (nee Harrison) Plowright (4).
The death notice of John Plowright
Dandenong Journal September 30, 1942
Another obituary (5) also said that he had been in business for 18 years, which means the business would have started around 1924. At the time of John's death he was a partner and director of the firm Plowright, Albion Sand and Gravel Co.
Obituary of John Plowright
The Age September 30, 1942 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/206823665
Plowright Brothers was acquired by an new company, Albion Sand and Gravel Co., in 1930 (6).
Plowright Albion Sand and Gravel Co., formed.
The Age December 27, 1930 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/203274094
The captions on the photos of the Plowright Albion operation are partially taken from the original captions as written on the back of the photos.
At the Main Drain - Plowright Albion Sand Co. Sand Pumping Unit, c. 1926-1931.
Image: Koo Wee Rup Swamp Historical Society.
At the Main Drain - Loaded truck being towed to rail siding, c. 1926-1931.
Image: Koo Wee Rup Swamp Historical Society.
At the Main Drain - Trucks filled with water washed sand leaving the hopper, c. 1926-1931.
Image: Koo Wee Rup Swamp Historical Society.
At the Main Drain - Sand passing through hopper onto trucks, c. 1926-1931.
Image: Koo Wee Rup Swamp Historical Society.
This article from the Koo Wee Rup Sun of April 12, 1926 explains how the operation
works at the Railway Siding.
At the Railway Siding - Trucks are winched up an elevated ramp and tipped into the waiting railway trucks, c. 1926-1931.
Image: Koo Wee Rup Swamp Historical Society.
At the Railway Siding - The elevated ramp, c. 1926-1931.
Image: Koo Wee Rup Swamp Historical Society.
Footnotes
(1) Ramsay, Merilyn Steam to Strzelecki : the Koo-Wee-Rup to McDonald’s Track Railway (Australian Railway Historical Society, 1991) p. 69
(2) See above
(3) Obituary - Dandenong Journal September 30, 1942, see here.
(4) Dandenong Journal September 30, 1942, see here and Indexes to the Victorian Births, Deaths and Marriages.
(5) The Age September 30, 1942, see here.
(6) The Age December 27, 1930, see here.
