Caretakers
Former Caretakers Jim Grassby (left) and Dennis Reeves in 2005
Management and control of the aqueduct was a complex job. The length of the aqueduct was divided into a number of administrative control sections: 0'Shannassy, Cement Creek, Warburton, Dee, Don, Wandin, Mt Evelyn and Silvan. Each section had a resident caretaker (in a house provided by the Board) who had an assistant caretaker and a number of other part-time personnel to help undertake the numerous tasks involved (only the O'Shannassy and second (1950's) Dee caretakers residence remain today). Some outbuildings and artifacts of the other residences remain but the houses themselves are gone.
The principal role of the caretakers and their assistants was to manage the day to day operation of the aqueduct and to ensure the aqueduct was kept clean and remained flowing at all times. This was often no easy feat. The caretakers were always on call 24/7 (one caretaker, Steve Pollard, worked for 13 months straight on call 24 hours a day, due to the lack of support staff).
They never knew when a problem would arise - a tree falling across or into the channel; animals (deer, wombats, rabbits) falling into the channel; a crack, break or leak in the channel wall; a landslip; flooding of the channel, etc. On cold and stormy winter nights in particular when the rain (or snow) was pelting down and the wind was blowing a gale and temperatures were hardly above freezing, it was a daunting task for the caretakers to go out in the middle of the night with a lantern or torch to check on the channel, with huge mountain ash trees swaying and groaning menacingly in the dark, sometimes crashing all about them in an unpredictable manner. Many caretakers tell of these terrifying events and freely admit that they have never been so scared. Their job was often dangerous and caretakers regularly put their lives on the line to ensure the aqueduct remained clear and the water always flowed. The roar of the wind in the forests in a big blow and the volume of debris rained down on the aqueduct and access track from trees hundreds of feet high has to be seen to be believed. It was (and still can be) a very scary place to be in a big storm. No-one told the caretakers when to go out check the situation - they slept with one ear on the weather and they could "read" the conditions and knew when things might go awry and which section was most likely to be affected. Caretakers were also called upon from time to time to be drivers, mechanics, painters, fire-fighters, first-aiders, tree fellers, fencers, carpenters, welders, cooks, telephone linesmen, lead jointers, plumbers, electricians, road workers, concreters, labourers, clerks, storemen and general "jack of all trades".
A series of smaller section huts (only a few meters square) were built along the aqueduct for caretakers to take shelter in adverse conditions. They were generally a timber framed structure clad with timber or corrugated iron. Some were fitted with fireplaces or old pot belly stoves and old World War 2 army style canvas beds with kapok mattresses (the rats and possums loved these). Any furnishings like old lounge chairs, tables, etc were scrounged from home leftovers - or the local tip. It was a tough life.
In the early days, caretakers patrolled the aqueduct on foot, carring a hurricane lamp. Warburton caretaker Bill (Pop) Woods was out one night in the pitch black and his lantern blew out. He ended up falling in the aqueduct and had a devil of a time getting out. Later, torches and battery powered lanterns were used.
For many years, bicycles were used to patrol the aqueduct and caretakers received a "bicycle allowance" of seven shillings and six pence (about 75 cents) a week. Lanterns (later torches) were often tied to the front of the bikes and some caretakers made a container up on the side of the bike to hold their rake, fern hook or shovel.
The "modern day" caretakers (from the 1980's onwards) always reckoned they had it easy compared to their earlier counterparts - they had vehicles, radios, lighting plants, wet weather gear and modern machinery.
Even on routine days, there was much work to do. Chlorine was regularly added to the aqueduct water to help purify it and kill algae and it was the caretaker's job to monitor and manage the chlorine flow to ensure that exactly the right amount was in the aqueduct at all times. Regular measurements were taken every day to ensure the correct mix was in place. It was especially important that a constant pre-determined rate of water flow was maintained in the aqueduct at all times. If the rate of flow fell, insufficient water would be delivered at the outlet - if the rate of flow increased too rapidly, the aqueduct could overflow. Because the majority of the aqueduct flowed through steep, mountainous country the aqueduct intersected many creeks and, particularly in winter, flows in these creeks could reach river proportions. Every creek or watercourse crossing the aqueduct was actively monitored and managed. Sluice gates (controlled by a manually operated turncock) allowed water to flow into or out of the aqueduct at the intersecting point (there were probably a hundred or more of these along the length of the aqueduct). Private residences abutting the aqueduct (generally on the down side of the channel) also often drew water directly from the aqueduct for their own supplies.
The flow rate and water height was methodically checked and recorded in a book every day by each caretaker and they opened and closed sluice gates as required to let water in or out of the aqueduct (24/7) to maintain the correct flow rate. Another major task of the caretakers was to clean the large steel gratings that were in place to trap debris and keep the channel clear. Large amounts of debris (primarily sticks, branches, leaves and bark but often dead animals also) would accumulate and it was a significant job to regularly clear these gratings. To cross from one side of the aqueduct to the other was in itself a simple but hazardous task (it was difficult to get out of the fast-flowing freezing cold water) and the caretakers used simple crossing-boards to achieve the task. If repairs were necessary 'weir boards' could be inserted into slots formed in the concrete wall to stem the flow of water temporarily, or large metal barriers (again manually operated) could be employed in some sections.
The caretakers had to also regularly patrol the aqueduct looking for wombat holes, leaks, cracks or other signs of damage to the channel. If any damage was found, it was the caretakers job to fix it. After all of the "official" work was completed, caretakers would spend the rest of the day doing maintenance - mowing, painting, fixing broken equipment, repairing gates and fences, ordering new chlorine supplies, etc. Finally, the caretakers would record the days activities in a diary and note any new work or materials required. They would then ring (later radio) into the Warburton depot at 4.30 pm and knock off at 4.45 pm at the caretakers residence (where they were on call 24/7).
The caretakers were under the control of a Works Supervisor based at the Warburton Depot.
On Wednesdays and Fridays the caretakers would go to the Warburton Depot and hand in any necessary paperwork, drop off equiment needing major repair, pick up anything needed from the depot store and fill the vehicles with fuel. Caretakers were also allowed on these days to go to the bank, as wages were paid direct to their bank accounts on a fortnightly basis. In earlier days, caretakers were met on the aqueduct track at designated points by a 'pay car' driven by a chauffeur with a plain clothes guard to protect the paypackets which held cash.
Caretakers were often envied by other workers for their relatively high pay (an 'A' Grade caretakers salary was around $30,000 per year in 1986) but when these other less-skilled workers were occasionally called upon to assist the caretaker in times of emergency, they went home cold, wet and exhausted and reckoned the caretakers were 'nuts' to do what they did! Even whilst on leave caretakers could be called back and may have to return to the job immediately (pursuant to the Emergency Act).
The caretakers homes were owned and supplied by the Board but the caretakers still had to pay rent (about $60-70 per week in the mid 1980's).
Caretakers were of necessity very tough, inventive and self-reliant men and came from a diverse range of backgrounds. They used their own initiative to solve problems and worked as a team. The men were necessarily resilient, needing to recover quickly from little or no sleep, long days, minor injuries, exposure to the elements and long-suffering wives and families. They, and their families, were committed to their task and the aqueduct could not have operated so effectively for so long without their untiring efforts and dedication. Many times, wives braved treacherous conditions to bring their man a cuppa or a hot meal on a cold night. The caretakers are the true "Heroes of the Aqueduct".
The principal role of the caretakers and their assistants was to manage the day to day operation of the aqueduct and to ensure the aqueduct was kept clean and remained flowing at all times. This was often no easy feat. The caretakers were always on call 24/7 (one caretaker, Steve Pollard, worked for 13 months straight on call 24 hours a day, due to the lack of support staff).
They never knew when a problem would arise - a tree falling across or into the channel; animals (deer, wombats, rabbits) falling into the channel; a crack, break or leak in the channel wall; a landslip; flooding of the channel, etc. On cold and stormy winter nights in particular when the rain (or snow) was pelting down and the wind was blowing a gale and temperatures were hardly above freezing, it was a daunting task for the caretakers to go out in the middle of the night with a lantern or torch to check on the channel, with huge mountain ash trees swaying and groaning menacingly in the dark, sometimes crashing all about them in an unpredictable manner. Many caretakers tell of these terrifying events and freely admit that they have never been so scared. Their job was often dangerous and caretakers regularly put their lives on the line to ensure the aqueduct remained clear and the water always flowed. The roar of the wind in the forests in a big blow and the volume of debris rained down on the aqueduct and access track from trees hundreds of feet high has to be seen to be believed. It was (and still can be) a very scary place to be in a big storm. No-one told the caretakers when to go out check the situation - they slept with one ear on the weather and they could "read" the conditions and knew when things might go awry and which section was most likely to be affected. Caretakers were also called upon from time to time to be drivers, mechanics, painters, fire-fighters, first-aiders, tree fellers, fencers, carpenters, welders, cooks, telephone linesmen, lead jointers, plumbers, electricians, road workers, concreters, labourers, clerks, storemen and general "jack of all trades".
A series of smaller section huts (only a few meters square) were built along the aqueduct for caretakers to take shelter in adverse conditions. They were generally a timber framed structure clad with timber or corrugated iron. Some were fitted with fireplaces or old pot belly stoves and old World War 2 army style canvas beds with kapok mattresses (the rats and possums loved these). Any furnishings like old lounge chairs, tables, etc were scrounged from home leftovers - or the local tip. It was a tough life.
In the early days, caretakers patrolled the aqueduct on foot, carring a hurricane lamp. Warburton caretaker Bill (Pop) Woods was out one night in the pitch black and his lantern blew out. He ended up falling in the aqueduct and had a devil of a time getting out. Later, torches and battery powered lanterns were used.
For many years, bicycles were used to patrol the aqueduct and caretakers received a "bicycle allowance" of seven shillings and six pence (about 75 cents) a week. Lanterns (later torches) were often tied to the front of the bikes and some caretakers made a container up on the side of the bike to hold their rake, fern hook or shovel.
The "modern day" caretakers (from the 1980's onwards) always reckoned they had it easy compared to their earlier counterparts - they had vehicles, radios, lighting plants, wet weather gear and modern machinery.
Even on routine days, there was much work to do. Chlorine was regularly added to the aqueduct water to help purify it and kill algae and it was the caretaker's job to monitor and manage the chlorine flow to ensure that exactly the right amount was in the aqueduct at all times. Regular measurements were taken every day to ensure the correct mix was in place. It was especially important that a constant pre-determined rate of water flow was maintained in the aqueduct at all times. If the rate of flow fell, insufficient water would be delivered at the outlet - if the rate of flow increased too rapidly, the aqueduct could overflow. Because the majority of the aqueduct flowed through steep, mountainous country the aqueduct intersected many creeks and, particularly in winter, flows in these creeks could reach river proportions. Every creek or watercourse crossing the aqueduct was actively monitored and managed. Sluice gates (controlled by a manually operated turncock) allowed water to flow into or out of the aqueduct at the intersecting point (there were probably a hundred or more of these along the length of the aqueduct). Private residences abutting the aqueduct (generally on the down side of the channel) also often drew water directly from the aqueduct for their own supplies.
The flow rate and water height was methodically checked and recorded in a book every day by each caretaker and they opened and closed sluice gates as required to let water in or out of the aqueduct (24/7) to maintain the correct flow rate. Another major task of the caretakers was to clean the large steel gratings that were in place to trap debris and keep the channel clear. Large amounts of debris (primarily sticks, branches, leaves and bark but often dead animals also) would accumulate and it was a significant job to regularly clear these gratings. To cross from one side of the aqueduct to the other was in itself a simple but hazardous task (it was difficult to get out of the fast-flowing freezing cold water) and the caretakers used simple crossing-boards to achieve the task. If repairs were necessary 'weir boards' could be inserted into slots formed in the concrete wall to stem the flow of water temporarily, or large metal barriers (again manually operated) could be employed in some sections.
The caretakers had to also regularly patrol the aqueduct looking for wombat holes, leaks, cracks or other signs of damage to the channel. If any damage was found, it was the caretakers job to fix it. After all of the "official" work was completed, caretakers would spend the rest of the day doing maintenance - mowing, painting, fixing broken equipment, repairing gates and fences, ordering new chlorine supplies, etc. Finally, the caretakers would record the days activities in a diary and note any new work or materials required. They would then ring (later radio) into the Warburton depot at 4.30 pm and knock off at 4.45 pm at the caretakers residence (where they were on call 24/7).
The caretakers were under the control of a Works Supervisor based at the Warburton Depot.
On Wednesdays and Fridays the caretakers would go to the Warburton Depot and hand in any necessary paperwork, drop off equiment needing major repair, pick up anything needed from the depot store and fill the vehicles with fuel. Caretakers were also allowed on these days to go to the bank, as wages were paid direct to their bank accounts on a fortnightly basis. In earlier days, caretakers were met on the aqueduct track at designated points by a 'pay car' driven by a chauffeur with a plain clothes guard to protect the paypackets which held cash.
Caretakers were often envied by other workers for their relatively high pay (an 'A' Grade caretakers salary was around $30,000 per year in 1986) but when these other less-skilled workers were occasionally called upon to assist the caretaker in times of emergency, they went home cold, wet and exhausted and reckoned the caretakers were 'nuts' to do what they did! Even whilst on leave caretakers could be called back and may have to return to the job immediately (pursuant to the Emergency Act).
The caretakers homes were owned and supplied by the Board but the caretakers still had to pay rent (about $60-70 per week in the mid 1980's).
Caretakers were of necessity very tough, inventive and self-reliant men and came from a diverse range of backgrounds. They used their own initiative to solve problems and worked as a team. The men were necessarily resilient, needing to recover quickly from little or no sleep, long days, minor injuries, exposure to the elements and long-suffering wives and families. They, and their families, were committed to their task and the aqueduct could not have operated so effectively for so long without their untiring efforts and dedication. Many times, wives braved treacherous conditions to bring their man a cuppa or a hot meal on a cold night. The caretakers are the true "Heroes of the Aqueduct".
Trees down in the aqueduct
The following quotes taken directly from former caretakers give a small insight into their nature:
"We used to point a light up into the trees when working at the grating on windy nights - you could hear the "crack" of trees breaking all through the forest and we wanted to be able to see if one was coming down over the grating so we would have time to jump clear before it landed" - Don Thomson
"My worst winter night gave me a tally of 28 trees down (a "tree" was considered to be anything over 30cm thick) - it took 2 days with 10 men, 2 trucks and front end loader to clean it up. It was estimated the winds were up to 60 knots.....and the water still flowed!" - Dennis Reeves
"In the middle of the night, with the wind blowing a gale, it was scary. I was in the army for 5 years and I have been more scared up there than I was on the front line" - Jim Grassby
"Its amazing how you develop an ear for the weather, even in the deepest sleep in the middle of the night. A big wind blowing over the top of the trees could pretty well be ignored, but when the chimes tinkled on the back verandah you knew you were in trouble and had to get up straight away. The wind still wakes you up years after leaving the job, it took a long time to learn to sleep through the night" - Don Thomson
"I started work on the aqueduct in June 1946, 2 weeks after the Dee landslide. A large chunk of the mountainside had given away and a 50 metre long timber trestle bridge had to be constructed to carry the aqueduct and side road. The timber spars and stringers for the bridge were cut up at Cement Creek and were lowered into place by a flying-fox type arrangement that "tipped" the massive timber poles into a vertical position - it was a big job" - Lindsay Moore
"On one occasion I needed to transport some large lengths of timber several kilometres down the channel - it was too heavy to carry in our truck so I floated it down, tied with a piece of rope. I walked beside the channel holding the rope, guiding the timber along like walking a dog. After a while the rope wore through due to the friction on the concrete edge of the channel and the timber just took off down the channel - I had to jump in the channel to stop it. The channel is really hard to get out of once you get in, the current pushes you along and there is no leverage for you to climb or get out - its also freezing cold: lots of animals drowned in there" - Dan Humphries
"One morning four of the men went up to Cement Creek to spray some Blackberries. They came back mid-afternoon looking white as a sheet. When I asked why they were back so early, one replied "we have had enough, we just came across our twenty-third Tiger Snake for the day and we hate snakes!" - David Lynch
"There were a group of us working frantically on the preparations for the Queens visit to O'Shannassy Quarters in 1954. We got lovely flowers in pots from the local nursery and put them in the gardens to make them look nice (we took them out the next day and returned them to the nursery). I also helped instal the new bed for the Queen - it had a lovely purple and gold bedspread (I am one of the few people who can say they have been in the Queens bed!). We had just finished work around 4.30pm and were going out the front gate as we saw the police on horses escorting the Queen coming up the road. I saw her in Warburton the next day - she looked lovely" - Lindsay Moore
"There were some pretty good Trout in the channel at times and there were always lots of Deer around, so we never went hungry" - David Lynch
"Some of the fellas who didnt have a drivers licence - Joe Nathan was one - continued using their pushbikes until around 1980. After Joe retired, a drivers licence became a requisite for a caretaker" - Dennis Reeves
"After the Ash Wednesday bushfires in 1983 the big rocks on the mountains were so hot that we found a lot of Deer whose hooves had melted on the rocks, so we had to put the poor things out of their misery" - David Lynch
"We get to be good judges of the wind and time our patrols to suit it. There's a saying that 'the harder it blows, the harder we goes.' Once every 2 hours would not be unusual on a windy night. If all is well we might come back to house and snooze in front of the fire for a couple of hours before going back out for another look. On a bad night we mightn't get back all night, stuff blows in just as fast as we can get it out" - Kevin Dunn
" Some of the blokes would tie a channel board to the side of their pushbike so they ready access to one if they ever needed it" Dennis Reeves
"One day we got trapped in the end of the O'Shannassy Reservoir tunnel by the rising water, the only way out was to climb up the inspection ladder shaft through the dam wall - its a hundred feet straight up on a slippery metal ladder" - David Lynch
"We rarely went out at night without calling to see who else was out. If your section was ok and the adjoining caretakers were having a rough trot, you would try to help out by overlapping your boundaries and assist where possible. There were many nights when I was cold, wet and tired and heaved a sigh of relief when I saw another set of headlights coming to my aid" - Dennis Reeves
"After the War, wagonloads of screenings and sand were brought up to Warburton by rail. The Board only had one small 4 ton tipper truck so we had to hire another one to help move the materials. We had to shovel the sand and screenings out of the wagons pretty quick as the Board was paying for the time the wagons sat there and the railways wanted them back in service. It was pretty hard work and the square mouthed shovels were working overtime - we worked until 10 pm some nights" - Lindsay Moore
"You had to be careful of chlorine canisters in the heat. The liquid chlorine would expand in hot weather (the canisters weighed around 2000 pounds - 920kg) and if it got too hot the concave ends of the steel canisters could become convex and in worst case scenario explode. We always had at least 2 canisters in the shed (they were winched in from the truck onto a steel gantry by block and tackle) and they lasted about 2 weeks before the next delivery" - Dennis Reeves
"We used to point a light up into the trees when working at the grating on windy nights - you could hear the "crack" of trees breaking all through the forest and we wanted to be able to see if one was coming down over the grating so we would have time to jump clear before it landed" - Don Thomson
"My worst winter night gave me a tally of 28 trees down (a "tree" was considered to be anything over 30cm thick) - it took 2 days with 10 men, 2 trucks and front end loader to clean it up. It was estimated the winds were up to 60 knots.....and the water still flowed!" - Dennis Reeves
"In the middle of the night, with the wind blowing a gale, it was scary. I was in the army for 5 years and I have been more scared up there than I was on the front line" - Jim Grassby
"Its amazing how you develop an ear for the weather, even in the deepest sleep in the middle of the night. A big wind blowing over the top of the trees could pretty well be ignored, but when the chimes tinkled on the back verandah you knew you were in trouble and had to get up straight away. The wind still wakes you up years after leaving the job, it took a long time to learn to sleep through the night" - Don Thomson
"I started work on the aqueduct in June 1946, 2 weeks after the Dee landslide. A large chunk of the mountainside had given away and a 50 metre long timber trestle bridge had to be constructed to carry the aqueduct and side road. The timber spars and stringers for the bridge were cut up at Cement Creek and were lowered into place by a flying-fox type arrangement that "tipped" the massive timber poles into a vertical position - it was a big job" - Lindsay Moore
"On one occasion I needed to transport some large lengths of timber several kilometres down the channel - it was too heavy to carry in our truck so I floated it down, tied with a piece of rope. I walked beside the channel holding the rope, guiding the timber along like walking a dog. After a while the rope wore through due to the friction on the concrete edge of the channel and the timber just took off down the channel - I had to jump in the channel to stop it. The channel is really hard to get out of once you get in, the current pushes you along and there is no leverage for you to climb or get out - its also freezing cold: lots of animals drowned in there" - Dan Humphries
"One morning four of the men went up to Cement Creek to spray some Blackberries. They came back mid-afternoon looking white as a sheet. When I asked why they were back so early, one replied "we have had enough, we just came across our twenty-third Tiger Snake for the day and we hate snakes!" - David Lynch
"There were a group of us working frantically on the preparations for the Queens visit to O'Shannassy Quarters in 1954. We got lovely flowers in pots from the local nursery and put them in the gardens to make them look nice (we took them out the next day and returned them to the nursery). I also helped instal the new bed for the Queen - it had a lovely purple and gold bedspread (I am one of the few people who can say they have been in the Queens bed!). We had just finished work around 4.30pm and were going out the front gate as we saw the police on horses escorting the Queen coming up the road. I saw her in Warburton the next day - she looked lovely" - Lindsay Moore
"There were some pretty good Trout in the channel at times and there were always lots of Deer around, so we never went hungry" - David Lynch
"Some of the fellas who didnt have a drivers licence - Joe Nathan was one - continued using their pushbikes until around 1980. After Joe retired, a drivers licence became a requisite for a caretaker" - Dennis Reeves
"After the Ash Wednesday bushfires in 1983 the big rocks on the mountains were so hot that we found a lot of Deer whose hooves had melted on the rocks, so we had to put the poor things out of their misery" - David Lynch
"We get to be good judges of the wind and time our patrols to suit it. There's a saying that 'the harder it blows, the harder we goes.' Once every 2 hours would not be unusual on a windy night. If all is well we might come back to house and snooze in front of the fire for a couple of hours before going back out for another look. On a bad night we mightn't get back all night, stuff blows in just as fast as we can get it out" - Kevin Dunn
" Some of the blokes would tie a channel board to the side of their pushbike so they ready access to one if they ever needed it" Dennis Reeves
"One day we got trapped in the end of the O'Shannassy Reservoir tunnel by the rising water, the only way out was to climb up the inspection ladder shaft through the dam wall - its a hundred feet straight up on a slippery metal ladder" - David Lynch
"We rarely went out at night without calling to see who else was out. If your section was ok and the adjoining caretakers were having a rough trot, you would try to help out by overlapping your boundaries and assist where possible. There were many nights when I was cold, wet and tired and heaved a sigh of relief when I saw another set of headlights coming to my aid" - Dennis Reeves
"After the War, wagonloads of screenings and sand were brought up to Warburton by rail. The Board only had one small 4 ton tipper truck so we had to hire another one to help move the materials. We had to shovel the sand and screenings out of the wagons pretty quick as the Board was paying for the time the wagons sat there and the railways wanted them back in service. It was pretty hard work and the square mouthed shovels were working overtime - we worked until 10 pm some nights" - Lindsay Moore
"You had to be careful of chlorine canisters in the heat. The liquid chlorine would expand in hot weather (the canisters weighed around 2000 pounds - 920kg) and if it got too hot the concave ends of the steel canisters could become convex and in worst case scenario explode. We always had at least 2 canisters in the shed (they were winched in from the truck onto a steel gantry by block and tackle) and they lasted about 2 weeks before the next delivery" - Dennis Reeves
For more information on the 1939 bushfires go here.... https://www.ffm.vic.gov.au/history-and-incidents/black-friday-1939
The "Maggie" Line
MMBW radio transmitter
Close coordination and cooperation between the caretakers of each section was essential to ensure all of these tasks were coordinated and the aqueduct operated as an efficient whole. An unusual feature of the system was the creation of a magnetic telephone line (the "maggie" line) along the length of the aqueduct linking all of the caretakers. Wind-up magneto telephones were located in the various caretakers huts and residences and were connected to the head office / workshops at the Board's Warburton Depot. Caretakers could communicate with each other and the office by "ringing" a number of times. Each operator had a particular number of rings that would identify them - eg two longs, a short and a long, etc. The ceramic conductors that carried the line were generally affixed to trees or poles and a few of these can still be seen to this day.
The maggie line was an invaluable piece of infrastructure in keeping the caretakers in touch with each other and the depot and enable the operation of the aqueduct to be coordinated and delivered in the most efficient and effective manner possible. The line was also valuable in dealing with emergencies (of which there were many) or if a caretaker got into trouble and needed help.
In later years, the maggie line was replaced with more "modern" radio equipment. In the early days, caretakers patrolled the aqueduct on foot or by bicycle, later years saw them provided with vehicles by the Board (initally, small Datsun sedans but later, 4 wheel drives).
Marker posts were placed along the aqueduct every mile to identify the location (eg we have a tree down near the 20 mile post). The caretakers also identified some of the other major locations and creeks along the aqueduct with mile signs so that the could be readily identified.
The maggie line was an invaluable piece of infrastructure in keeping the caretakers in touch with each other and the depot and enable the operation of the aqueduct to be coordinated and delivered in the most efficient and effective manner possible. The line was also valuable in dealing with emergencies (of which there were many) or if a caretaker got into trouble and needed help.
In later years, the maggie line was replaced with more "modern" radio equipment. In the early days, caretakers patrolled the aqueduct on foot or by bicycle, later years saw them provided with vehicles by the Board (initally, small Datsun sedans but later, 4 wheel drives).
Marker posts were placed along the aqueduct every mile to identify the location (eg we have a tree down near the 20 mile post). The caretakers also identified some of the other major locations and creeks along the aqueduct with mile signs so that the could be readily identified.
O'Shannassy Lodge
O'Shannassy Lodge
Another particularly interesting feature of the aqueduct was the O'Shannassy Lodge (or Chalet) constructed by the Board abutting the channel, not far from O'Shannassy Weir.
Whist the establishment had several official purposes, it was most used by Board of Works Commissioners as a weekend retreat. It was a somewhat luxurious establishment and many entertaining weekends were held there.
The Lodge was even famously used by 27 year old Queen Elizabeth for an overnight stay when she and Prince Phillip visited Melbourne in 1954. In later years it was used as a conference venue and today is leased privately as a drug rehabilitation centre.
In its early days a water wheel in the aqueduct drove a generator to power the Lodge and in later years a diesel generator was used to do the job.
Whist the establishment had several official purposes, it was most used by Board of Works Commissioners as a weekend retreat. It was a somewhat luxurious establishment and many entertaining weekends were held there.
The Lodge was even famously used by 27 year old Queen Elizabeth for an overnight stay when she and Prince Phillip visited Melbourne in 1954. In later years it was used as a conference venue and today is leased privately as a drug rehabilitation centre.
In its early days a water wheel in the aqueduct drove a generator to power the Lodge and in later years a diesel generator was used to do the job.