A trip from Dandenong to Bunyip by rail on the Gippsland line

In a previous post we did a road trip from Dandenong to Garfield along the Gippsland Road - so this month I thought we will take the same journey on the railway, on the Gippsland line. The Gippsland line was the first railway line to straddle the Koo Wee Rup Swamp, the second one was the Great Southern line, which you can read about here.

The Gippsland line, from Melbourne to Sale,  was opened in stages - Morwell to Sale - June 1, 1877; Oakleigh to Bunyip - October 8, 1877; Moe to Morwell - December 1, 1877; Bunyip to Moe - March 1, 1878 and the last stretch from South Yarra to Oakleigh on April 2, 1879 (1).

Interesting to note that the line from Dandenong to Bunyip was finished by 1877 and all the railway stations we pass today (except one) were in place by around 1885, about 130 years ago. Given that the population of the area (the old Shire of Berwick) in the mid 1880s was around 6,300 and the population of the same area today is about 200,000 and given that the only new station in all that time (apart from the short lived industry specific General Motors Holden stop) is the Cardinia Road Station and, thirdly, given that the majority of the stations are now unmanned and have minimal shelter structures  it seems that there has been a remarkable lack of government money spent on public transport infrastructure in the area in the last 130 years. There was however some money spent on the line in the 1950s as it was duplicated from Dandenong to Morwell and also electrified due to the need to transport briquettes from Yallourn to Melbourne (2).

The railway line from Oakleigh to Bunyip opened, as we said,  in October 1877 and originally the only stations between Dandenong and Bunyip were Berwick and Pakenham. According to some newspaper reports the official opening seems to have been October 5 even though most sources say that it is October 8, so that may have been the first day of passenger services (3).  

Railway Timetable

South Bourke & Mornington Journal June 1, 1881 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article70049456

When the line opened it did not actually get you into Melbourne as the section from South Yarra to Oakleigh didn’t open until April 1879. As a journalist in the South Bourke and Mornington Journal of October 10, 1877 wrote after his trip on the railway line   It is not necessary to dwell on the mistake now so lamentably obvious, which was committed in beginning the line at a point 10 miles from Melbourne - only to be reached by means of horse drawn wagons and carts - but practical men outside of the service of the Government, which, of course is prudently reticent on the subject, estimate that as much money has been wasted in the cartage of materials for the first section and part of the second as would have built a large part of the now needed section from Melbourne to Oakleigh (4).

The information about the date of the Railway Station openings comes from an interesting website Vicsig  http://vicsig.net/  which calls itself the ‘Premier Victorian Rail resource’.   

We will start at the Dandenong Railway Station. This station became a junction station on October 1, 1888 when the Great Southern line, which eventually went to Yarram, opened as far as Tooradin.  

The next station along the line was opened on November 18, 1956 to serve the General Motors Holden Factory which at one stage employed 3,000 people.  The Station closed July 2002 and you can still see remnants of it as the train passes by.

The Hallam Station opened on December 1, 1880 as Hallam’s Road and changed its name to Hallam in May 1904. Hallam was a ‘flag station’ when it opened and only stopped when there were passengers to discharge or a  flag was displayed to indicate that there were passengers to be picked up.  As early as May 1883 the local residents were asking the Railways for increased platform accommodation (according to a newspaper report) and if you have ever been past the station in the morning peak hour you would know that the platform accommodation is still inadequate.

The Narre Warren Station opened on March 10, 1882. A local influential resident, Sidney Webb agitated for the railway station and after it was completed he agitated for a road to be put from the Princes Highway to the railway station, the road was not surprisingly called Webb Street. The original Narre Warren settlement, well north of the Highway was renamed Narre Warren North after the new town developed around the station.

Woodcut of Berwick Railway Station, 1877

Source: Early days of Berwick and its surrounding districts (Berwick Pakenham Historical Society)

Berwick opened October 8, 1877, one of the original stations. Beaconsfield opened December 1, 1879. The Officer Railway Station began as Officer's Wood Siding, constructed to despatch timber from land owned by the Officer family to Melbourne. It was renamed Officer in February 1899. Sir Robert Officer was at one time the Health Officer for Hobart and a member of the Legislative Council and in the early 1840s he moved some of his interests to the main land. It was his son, William, who had their Mt Misery property, near Beaconsfield, and after the railway line was opened he used to rail his sheep from his other property at Deniliquin to Officer in times of drought.

Cardinia Road station opened on April 22, 2012. The next stop, Pakenham was an original station. The town that developed around the station was known as Pakenham East, initially in opposition to the ‘old’ town of Pakenham which had developed around the La Trobe Inn (also known as Bourke’s Hotel) on the Gippsland Road, near the Toomuc Creek. Eventually Pakenham East over took not only the original town of Pakenham, but its name as well although it was still referred to as Pakenham East well into the 1960s.

Nar Nar Goon. There were various reports in the papers saying that the residents of Nar Nar Goon had petitioned the Minister of Railways for a siding and platform in August 1878, they tried again a year later in August 1879 but were told there was no money and even if there was the Railway Department considered a station at Nar Nar Goon unnecessary. The Station opened April 1, 1881. 

Tynong - like Nar Nar Goon there are newspaper reports that Tynong residents agitated for a railway station after the line was opened, and Vicsig website has the opening date at February 12, 1880. However, in August 1880 it was reported that a deputation introduced by Mr Mason, M.L.A., and Mr. Buchanan, M.L.C., waited upon the Commissioner of Railways, and asking that a siding should be constructed at the intersection of Kelly-road with the Gippsland line, near Tynong (5), so the Vicsig date seems to be  a but early. Either way, there was a station at Tynong by April 1881 (6).

The Garfield station developed from a timber siding in the same way that Officer did. The Cannibal Creek Siding opened in December 17, 1884 to accommodate the Cannibal Creek Saw Mill Company and it was renamed Garfield in March 28,  1887.

Garfield Railway Station, c. 1910

Image from the book North of the Line: a pictorial record  published by the  Berwick Pakenham Historical Society.

Bunyip was opened October 1877 as one of the original stations and the extension of the line from Bunyip to Moe opened March 1, 1878. 

Just before you get to the Bunyip Railway Station there is an electricity substation which has been heritage listed, which I must say was a surprise to me. The Heritage citation says that it is one of 19 sub and tie stations constructed between 1952 and 1954 from Nar Nar Goon to Traralgon for the electrification of the main Gippsland line.  It is listed as it is historically significant as it serves as an important reminder of the electrification of the first main line in Australia. It is technically significant as it serves as an important reminder of the electrification of the first main line in Australia and the system of electric locomotives associated with the transportation of briquettes and the industrial growth in the Latrobe Valley and it is socially significant as it represents an important tangible link with the transportation of brown coal and the associated coal and briquette industry located at Latrobe Valley which was central to the economy and economic development of the State of Victoria particularly in the 1950s. (7).

Footnotes

(1) These dates are from Victorian Railways to '62 by Leo J. Harrigan (Victorian Railways, 1962)

(2) Duplication dates from Vicsig - Dandenong to Narre Warren - November 18, 1956; Narre Warren to Berwick - February 25, 1962; Berwick to Officer - May 13, 1956; Officer to Pakenham - February 27, 1955; Pakenham to Nar Nar Goon - October 10, 1954; Nar Nar Goon to Tynong - June 28, 1953 and Tynong to Bunyip - August 19, 1956. 

The line between Dandenong and Warragul was Electrified  July 21, 1954. 

(3) South Bourke and Mornington Journal October 10, 1877, see here

(4) South Bourke and Mornington Journal October 10, 1877, see here

(5)  South Bourke and Mornington Journal, August 18, 1880, see here.

(6) The Argus, April 13, 1881, see here.

(7) Victorian Heritage Register http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article70049456

Eleven Mile Bridge, Cora Lynn

There was a report in the Dandenong Journal of April 26, 1944 from the Shire of Berwick Engineer, Mr H.L. Keys, on the Eleven Mile bridge at Cora Lynn. He said This is a  three span timber bridge over the Main Drain on the 11 mile road. The central span is 40 feet with two approach spans of 30 feet each. Forty feet span in a timber bridge of this class is altogether too large and it is remarkable that it has stood up to heavy traffic for so long. The whole bridge is  now in an advanced state of decay and it is difficult to see how any repairs of a permanent nature can be effected. However, as it may be some time before the construction of  a new bridge can be considered I would suggest that about 40 pounds be spent in renewing some of the decking and running deck and that notices restricting the carrying capacity of the bridge to 2 tons be posted'

Dandenong Journal April 26, 1944

http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article214165386

Mr Keys was correct in saying that it may be some time before a new bridge could be built as it wasn't until the War was over that money and man power could be found for a new bridge. The Dandenong Journal reported on July 23, 1947 that a tender for just over £1,055 was accepted by the Shire of Berwick to build a replacement bridge over the Main Drain at the Eleven Mile Road. The tender was from the Sippo Brothers.

The Sippo Brothers were recognized bridge builders and had been used and would be used by the Shire on many previous and future occasions.   For instance, in March 1942, they were working on the bridge at Cora Lynn which was completed by July 1943; they then moved onto the construction of a timber culvert on the corner of the Nine Mile and the Eleven Mile Roads at Tynong; also in 1943 they constructed culverts and approaches on the Nar Nar Goon-Longwarry Road. In December 1947 they won a tender to recondition three bridges in the Shire of Berwick on Narre Warren-Cranbourne Road, Leckie Road and Foy’s Road.  

However, back to the Eleven Mile Bridge.   In August 1947 the Country Roads Board (the CRB) approved the tender for the construction of the bridge which was to be a three span timber and rolled steel joist (RSJ) bridge. The CRB would reimburse the Council 5/6^th of the cost. By December 1947, the Dandenong Journal reported that the piles had been driven and the concrete sheeting cast. RSJs will be delivered as soon as available. It is suggested that the filling of the approaches be carried out by direct labour. [It was] anticipated that the new front end loader would be available for this work early in the New Year.

My father, Frank Rouse, remembers the way the piles were driven in - the wooden pile had a steel frame next to it which was stabilised by cables attached to the drain banks. The top of the steel frame, which was higher than the piles, had a pulley through which a cable with a one ton weight attached was positioned over the top of the pile. The cable was attached to the back of a Dodge truck - the truck would move forward to raise the weight, then the cable was released and the weight would drop onto the top of the pile which forced it in and then the process was repeated and then the steel frame was moved to the location of the next pile.

Later in December 1947 it was reported that the crossheads have been fixed and the contract is now held up pending receipt of rolled steel joints.  In the New Year they were waiting for the delivery of decking and essential iron work.   

By the end of April 1948, the bridge was nearly finished, but they needed to acquire land on the south side of the bridge for a road deviation.   The land was being acquired from McMillans. It appears that the agreement to transfer the land happened in June 1948 and the compensation required (apart for the land payment presumably) was new fencing and an iron grate. In the August of that year the Dandenong Journal reported that the approaches to bridge over 11-mile will be commenced at an early date, weather permitting,  which perhaps indicates the work was nearing the end.

Who were the Sippo Brothers?  According to the book ‘Call of the Bunyip’ by Denise Nest, Simon Sippo, who was born in Finland, and his wife Ollie (nee Warren) arrived on the Koo-Wee-Rup Swamp in September 1893, the first three of their children were born in Footscray and the remaining six in Bunyip South.  Simon was a bridge builder and in 1911 was building a bridge at Yallock and won contracts to build bridges in Heatherton Road and Corrigan Road for the Shire of Dandenong.

His sons obviously continued in the same occupation and it was William Leslie Sippo and, I believe, Alfred Liddle Sippo who were the ‘Sippo Bros’. There is a report in the Dandenong Journal of June 24, 1942 saying that Alfred Sippo would be released from military duties to enable him to complete the Cora Lynn bridge.

Eleven Mile Bridge August 27 1962

State Rivers and Water Supply Commission photo

State Library of Victoria Image RWP/C7638

You can see by the photo above that the drain has suffered from erosion over the years as it quite shallow compared to the 2015 photo, below. The Eleven Mile bridge had been repaired over the years with strengthening and a new deck or two but was demolished in November 2015 and the new bridge completed the next month. The cost of the new bridge was $700,000, half funded by the Council and half by the Federal Department of Infrastructure and Development. I have some photos of the construction of the bridge, here.

The wooden Eleven Mile bridge, taken October 24, 2015.

Fatal Shooting at Weatherhead's saw mill near Glenlyon

When Alf Weatherhead was eleven years old, he was involved in a fatal shooting on Easter Saturday, April 6, 1907 at his father's saw mill near Glenlyon. I had only vaguely heard about this when I was growing up, however I had a phone call out of the blue, from a nephew (or grand nephew) of the little boy who was shot and I felt really guilty about the whole thing, even though none of it is my fault. I sort of got the impression that the family of the boy thought that it was less of an accident and more a deliberate act. I was told that at 2.30 in the afternoon Alf was playing with Stanley and Gordon Barber. Gordon and Alf walked towards the hut; Alf must have picked up the gun and said 'I can shoot you' and Gordon said 'No, you can't' and Alf shot him.  The gun was supposed to be unloaded. 

The two newspaper reports have the name of the family incorrectly listed as Barbour, nor Barber. Gordon was the son of George and Francis (nee Chandler) Barber. His death certificate says he was   6 years, ten months old and there was an enquiry into his death held by William King, J.P on April 8 which determined that he died from a  'haemorrhage as a result of  a gunshot wound in the neck.' 

I can see that would be an unsatisfactory determination if I was the parents of little Gordon.

The Age April 9 1907

http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article196152641

FATAL SHOOTING ACCIDENT. DAYLESFORD. Monday.

A fatal shooting accident occurred at Weatherhead's saw mill, near Glenlyon, on Saturday. Mr. Barbour, of Korweinguboora, who carts timber from the mill to Daylesford, took his two boys with him to the mill during the Easter  holidays, where they played with the proprietor's son, aged about eleven years. While Mr. Barbour was away with a load on Saturday a gun that young Weatherhead had been using accidentally exploded, and the charge struck young Barbour, aged seven years, full in the face and chest, killing him almost instantly.

A similar report appeared in The Leader of April 13, 1907

http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article196647843

Alf was the youngest son of Horatio Weatherhead (18/5/1853 to 24/10/1925) and Eleanor Hunt (17/2/1856 to 15/5/1927). They had nine children Fred (1881 - 1955, married Ethel Ellen Wesley in 1910), Ada (1883 - 1966, married Edward Shelden in 1903), Charles (1884 - 1957, married Emily Hunt in 1908),  Arthur (1886 - 1945, married Inez Coombs in 1912),  George (1888 - 1944, married Annie Ainger in 1916), John (1890  1892), Frank (1893 - 1970, married Alice Burleigh in 1923), Alf (1895 - 1976) and Eva (my grandma, 1901 - 1982, married Joe Rouse in 1922)