Motoring trip around the Koo Wee Rup Swamp in 1929

Take a motoring  trip around the Koo Wee Rup Swamp in 1929. From The Herald, July 18, 1929, see here. 

Herald Tourist Bureau

Circuit of Koo-Wee-Rup Swamp

Day Outing of many attractions

(By our Special Motor Writer)

Though most tourists to Lang Lang and San Remo now travel by way of Pakenham and Koo-wee-rup on splendidly surfaced roads, much more attractive country is seen when the route followed is the old though fairly rough road from Dandenong to Lang Lang by way of Cranbourne and Tooradin.

The two roads combined provide an excellent triangular route for a one-day outing, and, though two or three short stretches of road in the hills near Cranbourne will be greasy after rain, the full route is passable in all weathers, and will be improved each week by the reconstruction now in progress.

Dandenong, 19. 6 miles from Melbourne, by the Prince's Highway, is the starting point for the tour. Setting the speedometer at zero at the Shire Hall, the town baths are passed first on the left, then the road to Frankston on the right, and at 1.0 mile speedometer reading turn right from the Prince's Highway, where a finger post directs to Cranbourne. 

Watch the level crossing at 1.1. then follow the good asphalt road. Unfortunately it does not last for long. At 2.3 cross the Eumemmering Creek, where new irrigation works are being finalised; another creek bridge at 2.5, pass a road on the left at 3.1, and the main road becomes an earth formation at 3.2.

THROUGH BELTS OF BUSH
To here the country traversed is fairly flat and devoted mainly to grazing. Go left at the fork at 3.9, where a sign shows right to Lyndhurst and rolling country is entered crossed by belts of bush.Use care at 6.8. where the clay surface is tricky, if wet, and again on more clay at 7.3. Beyond the cross roads at 7.5 very fine pastoral country is entered, a feature being the splendid plantations of trees, which form windbreaks to the different holdings.

 The road is pot-holed for a fairly long distance from here, but the side tracks will be found good. Another cross road is passed at 8.7, then Cranbourne railway station on the right. Cross the rail at 8.8, then follow the very pot-holed road through Cranbourne (two hotels) to the junction with the Clyde-Frankston road at 9.7. Keep straight on at the junction, the road entering scrub and bracken-covered country, while the first view of the distant Strezlecki ranges is obtained directly ahead.

MOUNTAIN TEA-TREE
Some sand pits are passed on the left, then a narrow gauge rail crossed, at 10.7, in a belt of the mountain tea-tree. At 11.3 there is a road on the right to Hastings, followed by a short patch of slippery road, then some new road construction works, where the road is unfinished and slippery. This going ends at 12.9 and at 13.1 a metal road begins, though in places the side tracks will be found more comfortable.

Five-Ways Junction is reached at 13.7, and at 13.9 (the fifth road) go half left, a finger post directing ahead to Devon Meadows and Cannons Creek. The road continues from there in fairly good condition, through gums and ti-tree, to the creek at 15.9, then through bracken country to an irrigtion bridge at 16.8. Pass the former Sherwood Hotel at 17.0. and fairly open farming country will be entered.

VIEW OF THE RANGES
Watch the turn over the creek at 18.0, and at 18.4 a splendid view will be obtained on the left of the Gippsland Ranges, snow-capped at this season. At 18. 6 the first head-water of Western Port is skirted, Tooradin P.O. is passed at 18. 7, then Tooradin Hotel, where a road runs left to the station, while a long railed bridge leads ahead over a picturesque inlet. Generally this is filled with a fleet of fishing craft and private yachts, and, eliminating the mangroves, has somewhat the appearance of a Norfolk Broad estuary.

The road enters particularly dense scrub at 19.5 - mainly Captain Cook ti-tree, though there are frequent growths of native cherry and white-blossomed shrubs. At 21.0 keep on where a road runs left to Dalmore. and thereafter keep Western Port on the right, the road running across flats, grown with mangrove and pierced at intervals with by creeks and salt water Inlets. These bridges are at 21.6. 22.1 (watch). 22.2, 22.4. 23.3, 23.4. and the road between them is specially well surfaced. This section of very flat country makes the distant ranges very noticeable, and they form a blue horizon on three sides.

DONKEYS GRAZING
At 24.0 keep on at the junction (left to Koo-Wee-Rup), and pass through splendid grazing country, here an occasional donkey may be seen grazing contentedly in a herd of cattle, or with lamb-companioned sheep.

 At 25.6 a splendid road comes in on the left from Pakenham. This is the natural turning point for the route described, but for those who desire to see it there exists, three miles further on, and after passing a bridge under construction and crossing the Yalock Creek, probably the finest hawthorn hedge in the State. It is in splendid trim; now it is bearing a profuse growth of scarlet haws, and is three miles long. It ends in kangaroo wattle just before Lang Lang, where a cross road leads left to Drouin and right to Nyora by the South Gippsland Road, or to San Remo, Wonthaggi and Corinella.

Returning to 25.6 turn into the road to Pakenham. Right to the Prince's Highway this will be found to be excellently surfaced in all weathers. It leads first to a junction, at 26.8, where turn sharp right, then cross the rails at 26.9. turning sharp left, without entering Koo-Wee-Rup, where a finger post shows ahead to Bayles, Bunyip and Warragul and left to Pakenham.

MANY BRIDGES
There is a road on the right at 27.1, then a bridge at 27.5, followed immediately by a road on the right, a second bridge, then a cross road, and finally a big double bridge. Again, at 27.7 there is a road left, then another bridge, and a finger post to Pakenham, Pass the cross roads at 28.7 and another cross road at 30.8. To here the road skirts the Koo-Wee-Rup swamp, and is bordered by an earth works, with occasional private bridges as entrances to farms.

At 31.8 passed a road on the right, turn left over bridge, then turn right, leaving another road on the left. At 32.9 use caution in making the fairly sharp left turn, for a big unprotected ditch borders the road ahead. Pass a cross roads next and at the junction, at 33.9, turn left, pass Pakenham station, then cross the railway line and Pakenham East post office will be reached at 36.6.

Continuing on, Pakenham Junction will be reached at 37.2. where first keep on, then turn half left into the Prince's Highway. From there the road is splendid back to Dandenong (reached in 16.8 miles, or 54.0 miles total speedometer reading.

Progressive readings for this section are: — Officer (41.2), Beaconfield and Cardinia Creek (42), Berwick (45.5), Narre Warren (47.9) and Eumemmering Creek (52.3).

Road names at Cora Lynn, Vervale, Iona and catani

The Pakenham Gazette of December 21, 1976 had this article about road names - the issue is that roads had a change of name when they crossed from the Shire of Berwick/Shire of Pakenham* to the Shire of Cranbourne - the Shire boundary was the No. 7 Drain Road, now itself renamed to Mynard Road. So in the end the only change that I can see is that Sinclair Road in the Shire of Berwick was renamed Bennett Road in line with the Shire of Cranbourne name. Dessent Road still becomes Taplins Road; Simpson Road still becomes McDonalds Road; Pitt Road still becomes Humphries Road and Little Road still becomes Carses Road. The article says that finality has now been reached in regard to three of these roads. Well clearly not - I presume that the Councils threw it into the 'too hard' basket - in which case - why can't we get Sinclair Road back? The original family property, 56 acres (Lot 25, Section N) taken up by my great grandfather, James Rouse, in 1903, has two road frontages - Murray Road and Sinclair Road, so we know Sinclair Road well. W Sinclair is on the Koo Wee Rup East Parish Plan (in Sinclair Road) owning 120 acres, Allotments 28 & 29, Section N - I think he deserves his road back!

Standard names for three roads
Some time ago Pakenham Shire Council initiated  a move to standardise , if possible, the names of the roads passing from this to the neighbouring Shire of Cranbourne. Finality has now been reached in regard to three of these roads. 

Pakenham Council passed the matter over to the Berwick-Pakenham Historical Society which came up with the various recommendations based mainly on the names of the original or early settlers on the roads concerned. These recommendations were then passed onto the Shire of Cranbourne.

That municipality passed back its comments to last week's meeting of the Pakenham Council. They considered that the following standard names should be used Bennetts, Taplins, McDonalds, Pitt and Little.

(The Historical Society had recommended Bennetts, Dessent, Simpson, Pitt and Little and council sought further information about the recommendations for Simpson Road)

In a brief  discussion Cr Moore pointed out that there was agreement in regard to the names of three of roads - Bennetts, Pitt and Little. Why not adopt those and leave the others open for later discussion? he asked.

Council agreed with this view and carried a motion in line with it.

*Shire of Berwick was established May 5, 1868. It split in 1973 and the City of Berwick and the Shire of Pakenham were formed on October 1 in that year. The Shire of Cranbourne was established February 2, 1868.

Road between Bayles and Cora Lynn

I came across this article, in a report from a Shire of Berwick meeting,  about the 'new' road between Bayles and Cora Lynn in the Dandenong Journal of May 5, 1954. I had no idea that this road was constructed so recently - I assumed it would have been there since the Swamp was settled. What is called the No.4 Yallcok Drain Road in the article, also called the No. 4 Drain Road was changed to Dineen Road in 2018 (or maybe late 2017). At the same time the  No. 7 Drain Road south was changed to Mynard Road and No. 7 Drain Road north to Jeffers Road. Personally, I think it's a shame to lose those historic names.

The Bayles-Cora Lynn Road is pretty ordinary and is still  not up to standard, 65 years after it was constructed. It is especially bad from Bayles to Roper Lane - which is the old Shire of Cranbourne section. From Roper Lane to Cora Lynn is much better in comparison; this section is in the old Shire of Berwick.

Dandenong Journal May 5, 1954

http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article218509021

New Road between Bayles, Cora Lynn
Having constructed a road which will replace the adjacent shire road along the west side of the No. 4 Yallock Drain between Bayles and Cora Lynn, the State Rivers suggested that council now take it over. The State Rivers indicated if council was prepared to do this, it was willing to pay it a lump sum to bring it up to the required standard. A similar proposal has been put up to Cranbourne Shire regarding the section in their area.—Referred to the engineer and Riding councillors for recommendation.

The Western Port Road

The Western Port Road started at Dandenong and traversed the old Shire of Cranbourne from Cranbourne to Tooradin to Tobin Yallock (the original Lang Lang township). This section is now known as the South Gippsland Highway. The road later continued onto Corinella and Bass and this section eventually became known as the Bass Highway. The section of road from Dandenong to Tooradin had obviously been passable to some extent as early as 1839 because we know that Samuel Rawson and Robert Jamieson overlanded their cattle to Tooradin in the December of that year and then continued on by boat to their Yallock Station on the Yallock Creek.

 
Niel Gunson in his book The Good Country: Cranbourne Shire* says it was fairly clearly defined by the 1850s, however it wasn’t until 1859 that a permanent roadway was surveyed which allowed access by wheeled traffic and livestock. In spite of this, Gunson writes that transporting stock from the Yallock Creek Station to Melbourne still took four days in the 1850s and 1860s. Even though the road was formed it wasn’t until 1868 that the section from Dandenong to Cranbourne was metalled.

The main problems with the road was the need to cross the inlets (such as Lyall’s and Moody’s Inlets) before bridges were constructed. In 1845, Edward Cockayne was given the right to operate a ferry service but he was a bit eccentric and unreliable and sometimes ignored the signals of the travellers (such as a lit fire or the firing of a pistol) so they were forced to spend a night marooned on the side of the inlet. His licence was finally cancelled in 1853. Cockayne occupied a hut where Harewood is now located and it is believed that the stables on the property date back to the time of Cockayne’s occupancy. Cockayne Inlet in Western Port Bay is named after Edward.

In 1864, a John Carson offered to conduct a ferry service, but this was declined by the Cranbourne Road Board. In 1865 James Smethurst erected two bridges over the Inlets, according to Gunson, I am not sure which Inlets he is referring to but the same year the mail contractor, John Murphy, complained about the state of the Yallock and Tobin Yallock bridges. The bridge at Tooradin was built in 1873.

However, people were resourceful in those days and traversing creeks and inlets didn’t stop commerce and the trappings of civilisation as on November 13, 1860 a weekly mail service was introduced to Corinella via Yallock and by 1865 there was a two day a week coach service from Cranbourne to the Bass River also via Corinella.

The southern end of the Western Port Road was constructed in the 1860s. Joseph White, author of the book One hundred years of history: Shire of Phillip Island and Woolamai 1875-1928, Shire of Bass 1928-1975** said the road was originally surveyed in 1862 and the first route from the settled areas near Tobin Yallock in the Shire of Cranbourne was by a cattle track that kept to the tops of the range as the coastal route was swampy and needed many creek crossings. The opening of the road led to settlement being opened up and as we said before the establishment of a Cobb & Co. coach service. Very little work was done on this section of the road until the Shire was formed in 1875 and it received another boost in 1913 when the Country Roads Board was established and took over responsibility for the road.

There was a report on the state of the Western Port Road in the Leader newspaper of September 19, 1874. The newspaper correspondent was talking about the development of the Grantville area and had this to say about the journey to the settlement.

A coach (Cobb's) leaves the Star Hotel from Dandenong every morning in week days. There is a very good metalled road from thence to the flourishing post town of Cranbourne - 9 miles - but the remainder of the road from the latter place here is simply execrable. Some portions of it are even worse than execrable, for they are, in this season of the year, and the three months just passed, absolutely dangerous, and do anything but credit to the road surveyor's department. After leaving Cranbourne, there is a couple or three miles of fairly metalled road, but after that (and this passage I pen for the especial benefit of the above department) come the counterparts of the Great Dismal Swamp, and the Valley of the Shadow of Death. One spot in particular, called Frenchman's Hole, or Flat-bottomed Creek, is highly dangerous to a stranger. The mails are carried over this beautiful spot twice a week, on horseback, and no doubt the man who carries them could give a much more graphic account of this picturesque route than myself. Be that as it may, the traffic on it is much on the increase, and I consider it shameful neglect on the part of the post-office authorities not to organise a better system of mail delivery for this district; and the sooner they let us have three deliveries a week instead of two the better for our convenience and their reputation. [You can read the full article here.]

Frenchman’s Hole was near Lang Lang and according to Niel Gunson, a Frenchman had tried to cross the two miles of the flat land but he disappeared down a hole, covered with water and only his hat was ever discovered or so the legend goes.

*The Good Country: Cranbourne Shire by Niel Gunson, published by the Shire of Cranbourne in 1968

**One hundred years of history: Shire of Phillip Island and Woolamai 1875-1928, Shire of Bass 1928-1975 by Joseph White, published by the Shire of Bass in 1974.

100 years ago this week - Dalmore Roads

100 years ago this week comes this report from the Lang Lang Guardian  of September 8, 1915 about Dalmore ratepayers prepared to pay extra to get their roads fixed.  Apparently Dalmore was a 'quagmire covered with scrub'  The roads were partly bad as a great many tons of potatoes were being sent to the Dalmore Station. Dalmore Station had opened on October 1, 1888, it was originally called Peer’s Lane, then Koo-Wee-Rup West, then Dalmore. 

The School at 'the end of Ballarto Road' was the Cardinia State School, No. 3689, which had opened on November 3, 1911. The Church they are referring to is the Cardinia Presbyterian Church which was completed in October 1915.

Lang Lang Guardian  September 8, 1915.

http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article119512856