Aqueducts

The aqueducts are a few minutes walk above Halls Saddle.

"A major problem confronting the designers of Hobart's original water supply around 1860 was how to get the water from the Mountain's southern slopes across Halls Saddle to the city outskirts. The solution was unusual in its extensive use of wooden and masonry troughing and associated sandstone features.

From dams across Fork Creek and Browns River, the water had to be conveyed across Longhill Creek, (now known as Dunns Creek) to the Saddle. A wooden bridge carrying troughs across the creek, built in 1862, was in serious disrepair by 1880 when a contract was let to stonemason Joseph Hawkes to build two sandstone bridges designed by the Director of Waterworks, C.W.S James. Sandstone for the bridges appears to have been quarried at Gentle Annie Falls and transported up the Pipeline Track. The work was completed by late 1881.

As the pipeline progressed, the working conditions in which it was excavated and constructed became colder and wetter with only several months of good weather in a year. Debates and delays in Council over construction and funding meant this good weather was lost for the contractors and workers. The Council took some time to agree on stone bridges as opposed to an iron siphon, and it later was in dispute with the contractor over claimed additional expenses.

Much of the masonry troughing on the track has now been concealed underfoot. The cast iron pipes on the aqueducts are a later addition."

From Hobart City Council sign. The Pipeline Interpretation Project. An initiative of the Fern Tree Community Association, supported by the Hobart City Council. Original research by Lindy Scripps.

Mt Wellington - 6 April 2008

Having acquired a replacement vehicle while the 'Cruiser awaits its colonoscopy and possibly a diagnosis of "rebuild or die", I was able to sneak off for a walk this afternoon. The tiny blue car has a 3-cylinder motor, and cheese-cutter tyres, so I didn't think taking it up the Hartz Road would be a comfortable experience. Settled for a trip to Mt Wellington on nice bitumen roads.

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Quite cool today, although the sun did actually struggle out of the cloud cover for a few moments at one point. Had a nice walk, first on the Pipeline Track and then up to the Chalet and return. A little way below Ferntree on the Pipeline Track are the aqueducts. These were built in 1880-81, to replace a previous wooden bridge which was in serious disrepair.

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Found the Mountain Currant (Coprosma nitida) displaying its bright red fruits, making quite a contrast with the Pink Mountain Berry. In checking my identification, I note that the Pink Mountain Berry may have changed classification from Cyathodes parvifolia to Leptecophylla juniperina subsp. parvifolia. I will have to follow it up. So far, my internet investigation reveals it is complex.

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The track near the chalet was also enlivened by the Banksia (Banksia marginata) which is flowering quite profusely. I note this plant is variously called Banksia, Silver Banksia and Honeysuckle. Only one other species of banksia, B. serrata is found on mainland Tasmania. Anyway, just before you reach the Chalet, the track passes through a 'tunnel' where the banksias meet overhead.

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Encountered some mountain bikers on the Pinnacle Track, where they are not supposed to be. I'm all for drivers looking out for riders on the roads, but I do think their continual bleating about driver attitude would be appropriately accompanied by some self-moderation of their colleagues who have no regard for the law. In addition, it would be sensible if these clowns worked out how to travel at a safe speed even on tracks where they're allowed. I am awaiting advice from the Wellington Park Management Trust about how they actually manage inappropriate use of tracks by mountain bikers. If it's anything like their efforts on managing trail bikes on the back of the range, then I don't expect a very encouraging answer. I have to admit a certain feeling of schadenfreude when one of them fell off after he had passed me. How terrible of me. His crash was, fortunately, seemingly trivial.

McDermott's Farm - Pipeline Track

From the sign at the site of McDermott's Farm on the Pipeline Track.

For all its continuing natural appeal, Mount Wellington has many reminders of the impact of settlement. Around this point is much evidence of such impacts, including land clearing, building construction, the effects of fire and the channelling of water for human need. Studies point to significant use of the Mountain foothills by Palawa, Mouheneenner and other peoples of pre-European times. The Palawas helped to create the open grasslands of the Chimney-Pot Hill area through regular burning of forests to assist them in hunting game. There is evidence of seasonal occupation: rock shelters in sandstone outcrops and pieces of flaked stone on the banks of Sandy Bay Rivulet north of here.

This open area, occupied by the McDermott family from the late 1880s, was one of many private holdings in the Mount Wellington foothills at that time. Behind you on the opposite hillside is Turnip Fields, a subdivision of another of the early private mountain landholdings. Under the track about 50 metres below here you can see a stone culvert made in the early 1860s for the original water supply line. There are several more of these between here and Halls Saddle.

Bill McDermott ran a farm on this property for many decades. A unmarried recluse, his only companion a dog called Brandy Shamrock McShane. Bill left his property once a week to buy groceries in town. Bill allowed his cattle to graze on the adjacent Ridgeway Reserve, leading to a long-running dispute with the Hobart City Council. On 7th February 1967 the Black Tuesday bushfires destroyed most of the farm, but 80-year-old Bill managed to save his home and his six cattle. He planned to rebuild, but only 10 days after the fire he was gored to death by one of his fire-traumatised bulls. The location of his homw, demolished by the Council, is marked each spring by blooming daffodils.

From Hobart City Council sign: The Pipeline Interpretation Project. An initiative of the Fern Tree Community Association, supported by the Hobart City Council. Original research by Lindy Scripps.

Halls Saddle - Pipeline Track

From the sign at Halls Saddle on the Pipeline Track.

Welcome to the Halls Saddle entrance to the Pipeline Track, an easy walking trail that follows the historic Pipeline to its source at the North-West Bay River.
Before the Europeans came to Tasmania in 1803-04, these mountain foothills were visited by Palawa people. They came here hunting game, but never travelled far from natural water sources. These two factors – food and water – determined the seasonal travel patterns of the Palawa.

Settlers were more demanding. As soon as they landed on western Derwent shores they had to think about a water supply for a growing community. An early supply from Hobart Rivulet was limited by the size of the rivulet and by property owners exercising prior rights. In 1860 the Hobart Town Corporation decided to tap the water from Mt Wellington’s southeastern slopes. This saddle joining the lower slopes of Mt Wellington and Chimney Pot Hill, to the east, is named after John Hall, an original landowner in the Fern Tree area who built the first Fern Tree Inn in 1861.

Halls Saddle was a key point in Hobart’s Mountain supply system. Water from streams flowing southeast had to be diverted across this saddle to reach the Sandy Bay Rivulat reservoirs at Waterworks Reserve, from which the city could obtain its water. From about 1940, virtually all water from mountain streams above the Pipeline Track was diverted near this point to the higher-level Ridgeway reservoir. Drinking water collected from Mount Wellington is still fed to the community through pipes that are directly under the walking track ahead.

The original road between Hobart and the Huon Valley wound up the Sandy Bay Rivulet to the north of here and across this sadlle. It is the route most likely used by Charles Darwin in his ascent of the mountain when he visited Hobart Town in 1836. He later complained that his guide had led him up the wetter, more difficult southern side of the mountain.

“Timber built, bark roof, stone chimney, two storeys with upper and lower verandahs likened to Hobart’s old double-decker trams.” Situated north from here on the Sandy Bay Rivulat, Fern Grove Hut was the only privately-built two-story timber hut near the Pipeline Track. Many huts were privately built on the mountain during the 1800s, but only one has survived; Lone Cabin near the Lenah Valley Track.

From Hobart City Council sign: The Pipeline Interpretation Project. An initiative of the Fern Tree Community Association, supported by the Hobart City Council. Original research by Lindy Scripps.

Gentle Annie Falls - Pipeline Track

From the sign below Gentle Annie Falls at the Waterworks Reserve.

Before the Europeans came to Tasmania in 1803-04, these mountain foothills were visited by Palawa people. They came here hunting game, but never travelled far from natural water sources. These two factors – food and water – determined the seasonal travel patterns of the Palawa.

Settlers were more demanding. As soon as they landed on western Derwent shores they had to think about a water supply for a growing community. An early supply from Hobart Rivulet was limited by the size of the rivulet and by property owners exercising prior rights. In 1860 the Hobart Town Corporation decided to tap the water from Mt Wellington’s southeastern slopes. As you walk the Pipeline Track you can see evidence of changing construction techniques along the Pipeline Track with improving water management technologies. The first stages of construction (1861) used wooden and masonry troughing. Extensions and redevelopment use earthenware pipes (1873), cast iron pipes (1901) and steel and concrete pipes (from 1917).

If you look up at the stone outcrop you can see a channel cut into the natural sandstone, where water from the mountain cascaded down to the Upper Reservoir at Waterworks Reserve. The cascade soon became known as Gentle Annie Falls (possibly after “Gentle Annie” in the Irish folk song), a name which it has kept even [though] it has been dry since about 1940 when its water was re-directed to the higher-level Ridgeway Reservoir.

The local sandstone was also used for other pipeline works, including the stone aqueducts built at Fern Tree in 1881.To the right of the channel you can see a quarry from where building stone was cut.

From Hobart City Council sign: The Pipeline Interpretation Project. An initiative of the Fern Tree Community Association, supported by the Hobart City Council. Original research by Lindy Scripps.

Pipeline Track - 30 January 2008 - Ferntree Bower

Another quick walk after work tonight to forget about salary budgets. Walked along the Pipeline Track again for a way. Apparently the Ferntree Bower used to be a great beauty spot where people "promenaded". It's a little more modest these days. The nearby sign tells the story:

"When this part of Browns River became known as the Bower (later Fern Tree Bower) in the 1860s, the scene was very different from what it is today. A dam built across the river in 1862 made a pond, around which grew overhanging tree ferns. It bacame the Mountain's most famous beauty spot. people walked (or promenaded) along the track following the water line from the saddle at Fern Tree Inn to the Bower, where they could enjoy a leisurely picnic or a walk upstream to Silver Falls before heading home. Over time, rustic benches, tables and shelters were installed. In 1880 the Bower was the subject of controversy when the Hobart City Council removed trees to allow work to be done on new masonry troughing. The Council pointed out that the Bower was first and foremost a water collection point, but did take steps to lessen the visual impact of the tree removal.

…the sluice house and dam, along with picnic facilities and most of the natural fernery, disappeared in a devastating flash flood in 1960.

From Hobart City Council sign. The Pipeline Interpretation Project. An initiative of the Fern Tree Community Association, supported by the Hobart City Council. Original research by Lindy Scripps.

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Plaque at

"FERN TREE BOWER
These inscribed stones were salvaged from the original water tower erected in 1861 and destroyed by the Great Flood of 23rd April 1960. This tablet is erected by the Hobart City Council to commemorate its rehabilitation in 1961."

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This is a better picture of the "Wishing Well" a little further along the Pipeline Track.

Pipeline Track - 29 January 2008 - The Sluice House

Good short walk this evening along the Pipeline Track on the way home from work. The Sluice House stands just below the intersection of the Pipeline Track with Chimney Pot Hill Rd. This text appears on the nearby sign to explain it.

"This little building, known also as the "Valve House", was built in 1862 by mason John Gillon, who also built the receiving house and valve tower at the lower reservoir and dams at Browns River and Fork Creek. The cost of the whole construction was £63/7/- ($126.70 in modern currency). The hammer-dressed sandstone probably came from the outcrops at Gentle Annie Falls. The building contained a sluice gate made by the City Corporation, located directly above the original pipeline. The sluice could be raised or lowered to control flow through the pipe, allowing water to be diverted down the hillside to Sandy Bay Rivulet when work was required on the water line below this level. The diversion caused soil erosion because of the lack of a lined channel for the diverted water, though there is little sign of this now. At one point C.W. Hall, the owner of land below the sluice house, applied for compensation for soil loss, but failed on the basis that his steep, rocky land was unsuitable for cultivation.

From Hobart City Council sign. The Pipeline Interpretation Project. An initiative of the Fern Tree Community Association, supported by the Hobart City Council. Original research by Lindy Scripps.

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The dressed stone which originally covered and housed the pipeline is visible in many places along the track.

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Gentle Annie Falls drops away steeply down the hill to the Waterworks. It's a long time since water actually flowed down here.

Pipeline Track - 8 Jan 2008 - Christmas Bushes and a Wishing Well

Had a very pleasant, short, easy, after-work walk along the Pipeline Track on the way home. Nice and cool under the trees. The Wishing Well, a little way along the track, was built in the 1880s, and is still part of the water system for Ferntree and Kingborough. I quote from the sign nearby:

"The original Mountain water supply scheme ended here at Fork Creek. In 1862 John Gillon (who also built sluice houses at Browns River and Halls Saddle), supervised construction of a stone dam across Fork Creek, from which water was carried by wooden troughing to another dam at Browns River (the Bower). The troughing was replaced by pipes in 1868, when the water supply scheme was extended to Long Creek, a few kilometres to the south.

In 1881 there was a major addition to the Hobart water supply with the construction of a line from St Crispins Well to the south, and this called for construction of the "Wishing Well", in which water from Fork Creek joined the bigger flow from Plains Rivulet. The 1868 pipes to the Bower were then replaced by a 16 inch (40 cm) main. The well was fitted with a "bell-mouthed pipe, wire gauze screen, shut-off sluice and scour", according to a newspaper report of the works.

The original well had no safety precautions, although no human casualties are recorded. Before intake screens were installed, platypus, which occur in Mt Wellington streams, were known to drown in the well. The eminently practical reasons for building this structure did not stop people from ascribing to it the power to make wishes come true. For this to happen, according to local folklore, you must walk around the well three times after making your wish.

Look after our water! Throughout the history of the Pipeline Track, successive authorities have been concerned to protect catchments to ensure sustainability of the public drinking water source. Water from this pipeline is the only source of supply for Fern Tree and is a significant source for the Kingborough community. Your cooperation and care in helping to protect this supply are appreciated."

The sign credits Lindy Scripps with the research, and was erected by the Hobart City Council at the initiative of the Fren Tree Community Association. There are quite a number of similar signs along these tracks which give a good overview of the history of the Pipeline Track, its structures and the history of Hobart's water supply.

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The Christmas Bushes, Prostanthera lasianthos, are quite appropriately in flower. The leaves have serrated edges and a minty scent when you crush them. The flowers are quite distinctive, being an attractive white and purple.

Mt Wellington - 30th June 2007

Changeable weather on Mt Wellington yesterday. I had a walk on the lower slopes, first up to the Springs and then back down to the Waterworks from Ferntree. Very cold wind blowing and a bit drizzly at times higher up. The sun was lovely later on, but the view from the Pipeline Track was of the mountain wreathed in misty rain. The BoM website shows the actual temperature never above freezing. The apparent summit temperature at 2:30pm was -12.8 degrees.

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I noted that the pushbike riders continue to hurtle down shared tracks. This is despite the numerous signs reminding them to slow down (to walking pace) when they pass walkers. There are a lot of children and older people who would be very badly injured if one of these idiots connected with them. One passed me in the air a few months ago. I may have used the vernacular to remonstrate with him.

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The aqueducts along the Pipeline Track are interesting. I noticed earlier that the shop had a map/brochure about the water supply infrastructure, and I must grab one sometime. The book I have, "The Early Water Supply Of Hobart" (Crawford and Ryan) says these aqueducts were completed in the 1880s, the larger one in 1881, to supply the newly built Upper Reservoir.

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From a fungi point of view, the most interesting ones were these puffballs, a little way up the Fern Glade Track. I found the same ones quite high on the Mountain River Track in May. I haven't been able to identify them - unless they are a later form of Lycoperdon pyriforme which I found, clearly indentifiable, on the South Cape Bay Track. There are similarities, but neither these ones nor the ones on the Mountain River Track appeared to have the pimples lower down. I may have to return to get better photos.

Gentle Annie Falls - 5 Feb 2007

Not a very adventurous walk, but good for some exercise on the way home from work. Gentle Annie Falls run steeply downhill from the Pipeline Track to the Upper Reservoir at Waterworks Reserve. Basically here there is a channel cut into the sandstone, down which the water used to flow off Mt Wellington. Here you can see the huge amount of work that went into the construction of Hobart's water supply. There are steps cut much of the way up the side of the "Falls". The water hasn't flowed down here since 1940 apparently, so the "Falls" are now dry. Here's a picture of water flowing down the falls from about 1915.