The transport of goods and passengers within the Gippsland region, as well as from Melbourne to Gippsland was a major hurdle in opening Gippsland, and all its riches, to Melbourne and beyond . . .
Surrounded by mountains to the east and swamps to the west, an easy overland route was barely navigable in those early years.
” . . . The first road into Gippsland was Macalister’s stock route from the Maneroo [south-east coast of New South Wales] to Corner Inlet [Port Albert] . . . “
– Source: Excerpt – Gippsland Times “The Beginnings of Gippsland” by John Wilson, published 5th June 1947
” . . . Men on horse-back could find their way overland to Melbourne, but there was scarcely a track as yet, and even as late as 1848 there was no recognized road, and nothing but a struggling way through virgin bush and round the great swamp. The first road into Gippsland form Melbourne went south of Kooweerup Swamp, around Tarwin and Anderson’s Inlet . . . “
– Source: Excerpt – Gippsland Times “The Beginnings of Gippsland” by John Wilson, published 5th June 1947
Transporting goods to the earliest port of Port Albert, took days by road (much longer in inclement weather) over the most difficult terrain – heavy carts having to cross large rivers and navigate morass . . .
Transport via the lakes was the only viable option to connect Gippsland to the outside world – and even this, was hugely dependent on the natural opening between the lakes system and the ocean being navigable.
The solution was some amazing engineering and building accomplishments:
- – The Swing Bridge over the Latrobe River
- – The Sale Canal joining the Gippsland Lakes system directly to the township of Sale
- – The Railway system connecting Melbourne to Sale and then the extension to the Port of Sale
- – The Entrance maintaining a permanent opening between the Gippsland Lakes system and the ocean
The following excerpt published in ‘The Argus’ on the 14th August 1885, best describes the situation at hand:
“The Borough of Sale, in Gipps Land, is connected by railway with Melbourne, and is also within three miles of a navigable stream. This stream is called the Latrobe River, and empties itself into Lake Wellington, the westernmost of the famed series of Gipps Land Lakes. The Sale wharves are at a point on the Latrobe River, about 10 miles from Lake Wellington, and near the junction of the Glengarry River with the Latrobe. From that point upwards the main stream is known as the Thomson River. Steamers drawing about 6ft (the maximum) of water, run on the lakes between the Sale wharves and Bairnsdale; and, in fact, Sale has water communication with the outer world via the Gipps Land Lakes entrance, the improvement of which is now proceeding. The short distance of three miles between the Borough of Sale and its wharves has always been a drawback, inasmuch as it has involved the extra handling of goods, and caused great inconvenience to passengers. In the first instance, the town would have been built on the stream had it not been for the low-lying land on the banks of the watercourse. Several years ago the idea of “taking the lakes”to Sale was mooted. It was, on the other hand, proposed to continue the Gipps Land railway to the wharves. But the latter project was open to so many objections that it was soon abandoned. The railway would have to be carried a long distance on piles over country liable to be flooded; the old settlement would have been seriously injured, if not totally destroyed; and a new township would have had to be built in a most uninviting spot – a morass. . . “
” . . . There was, however, a preliminary work to be done, and that was the substitution of a swing-bridge over the Latrobe River, just above the wharves for a fixed bridge which spanned it, and was, of course, an obstacle to the extension of the limit of navigableness. The Government recognised the necessity of this improvement, and a capital swing bridge was erected by them about two years ago, . . . “
For the full article, follow the link: The Sale Canal.
A couple of proposals were tabled as pictured on the Sale Canal Proposals Plan. The excerpt of the following article published in The Australasian on the 8th August 1885 best describes the proposed works:
The full article can be viewed via the following link: Town News
The Sale Canal works began in 1886. They were carried out in three stages. The main contractor being TG Mattinson who was joined by Mr Monie for the third or Swinging Basin stage. The digging of the canal was by shovel and wheelbarrow, supplemented by horse scoops, a stationary traction engine and the dredge ‘Wombat’. The soil was distributed over the adjacent low lying ground. It took many years for the mud and bareness of the banks to revegetate.
The following excerpt from an article published in the Mercury in March 1886 describes:
” . . . great trouble owing to the water breaking in from the river and welling up through the surface, and the great quantity of dead timber to be excavated. In some cases trees were growing over the branches of other trees at the moderate depth of eight or ten feet, the roots of the former being no less than six feet through. With this network of timber and the water breaking through, the men have been kept hard at work for the past fortnight, day and night shifts being employed . . . A steam engine on the bank is pumping out as much as comes in . . . In the bed of the canal about five earth-scoops are at work, though about twice that number would be acceptable if teams could be procured.”
In February of 1890 the construction of a 70-chain railway track to connect the Sale railway with the canal was contracted and commenced. In that same month the first pile of the wharf at the Port of Sale was driven by the Mayor of Sale, Councillor JJ Drew. March 1890 saw water enter the canal. The remaining excavation was to be completed by the dredge ‘Priestman’.
On the 1st September 1890, the canal railway was opened for business which marked the completion of the rail-water connection. A hastily arranged ceremony celebrated this remarkable combination of infrastructure which are all still regarded as marvels of engineering, design and building achievement.
From as early as 1857 paddle and screw steamers were the heroes of transport in the region. It took over thirty years to build the infrastructure to efficiently link Gippsland’s Steamers to Melbourne via The Entrance (completed in 1889) and to the rail via the canal (completed in 1890). By this time the depression hit with a vengeance – railways were penetrating further and further into Gippsland – therefore slowly, but surely, eroding the transport trade from the steamers.
Incidentally, only a few decades later, road transport lead to the demise of the railways . . .
Today, the Sale Canal is lined with parks, reserves, walking and bike trails – perfect for picnics, rowing and enjoying the great outdoors. The Port of Sale and the canal are a reminder of the miraculous achievements of our had working pioneers. There is just a hint of the romantic era of the steamer in the air but sadly, not one of the many paddle or screw steamers have survived to tell the story of yesteryear . . .
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