Our stories of six big rivers and the motel rooms …
In such a dry continent we are indeed fortunate to live in a region with six magnificent big rivers in wild mountain country to enjoy. These rivers supply about 60% of the city of Melbourne’s water, most of the Latrobe Valley’s water for its energy and paper industries, and much of the Gippsland plains’ irrigation water for dairying and farming. These rivers also largely define the Walhalla & Mountain Rivers tourism region, and we have named, from west to east, the six motel units of Mountain Rivers Lodge after them. So this is their story, as I see it.
Room 1: Tanjil
High on a ridge to the west of Mt Baw Baw sits a tiny hamlet with the very Scottish name of Tanjil Bren. It’s a sleepy little place, which comes to life in the snow season with passing traffic to the Mt Baw Baw Alpine Resort. In fact it is the start of the Declared Hazardous Road where chains must be carried in winter.
However in the early 1900s it was a thriving centre for the timber industry, with timber mills, tramways, steam winches and logging teams with horses, axes and crosscut saws. This technology and the importance of the town came to an abrupt end on a single day. On “Black Friday”, January 1939, huge wildfires swept through the mountain communities, killing more than 70 people including 9 at Tanjil Bren. A commemorative plaque to these members of the Saxton and Rowley families, and an underground fire refuge remain there as memorials to this event.
The east and west branches of the Tanjil River flow parallel, southwards, either side of Tanjil Bren and Rowleys Ridge through the Tanjil State Forest. There are many 4WD tracks in this forest, some were badly washed out with bridges having been destroyed in the 2006 Moondarra bushfires.
After merging, to the east of the farmland near Hill End, the river flows into Blue Rock Lake near Willow Grove. The 75m high dam was built in 1979~84, mainly to supply water to the Latrobe Valley electricity industries. It also augments Moondarra Reservoir, the Latrobe Valley’s domestic water supply. The dam has a 3.6MW hydro-electric generator, and recreation facilities for picnicking, swimming, fishing and boating.
The “Tangil” river was named by explorers WA Brodribb, Dr Edward Hobson and Dr Barker in 1841. Francis Brodribb took up the Tangil Hills pastoral run in 1848. Then in 1859 Edward W Gladman discovered gold in the Tanjil River near Bull Beef Creek and Russells Creek. The mining township of Tanjil, with a population of about 150, developed in an area now flooded by the upper reaches of Blue Rock Lake. In addition to some alluvial gold, the main deposit was found in very hard rock, and this “golden cement” proved difficult and expensive to process, so that many of the mines were unprofitable, and had closed by 1884. Interpretive signage outlining this phase of the area’s history can be found at an information bay near the Blue Rock dam wall.
I have special childhood memories of family caravanning holidays prior to the building of the dam. Each Easter for many years we would camp on the Tanjil river flats along Blue Rock Road, on the Robinson’s dairy farm. Highlights included playing by the river, rabbit shooting in the evenings, and collecting a billy of fresh full-cream milk from the dairy each morning. But it’s all under water now!
Below the dam the Tanjil River flows a few kilometres further through farmland until it joins the Latrobe River near Moe.
Room 2: Tyers
The southern slopes of the Baw Baw Plateau are the source of the Tyers River, named after Charles James Tyers, Victorian Government surveyor, who surveyed a route from Melbourne to Traralgon in 1847. The plateau, called “Bobo” by the aborigines, meaning big boulders, is characterised by large rounded granite rocks. This granite is the same geological formation as that which outcrops at Wilsons Promontory, where similar granite boulders can be seen.
The West Tyers, Middle Tyers and East Tyers river branches tumble steeply downwards through forests to where they merge at Tyers Junction, now site of the Caringal Scout Camp. This area is now dissected by the South Face Road, linking Mt Baw Baw to Rawson. A particular feature of this spectacular road is the huge concrete bridge over the Western Tyers Cascades.
Since the early 1900s the forests around the Tyers River have been a great source of mountain ash and alpine ash for timber mills centred around Erica. The Forests Commission of Victoria established a large operation with a rail line from Tyers Junction to Erica, through until the 1950s. This alignment is now a Rail Trail for walking and bike riding from Collins Siding near Erica to Tyers Junction. Many interesting relics from this era can be found at the Erica Recreation Reserve and in the Erica pub.
From Tyers Junction the river flows south through the Moondarra State Park and the picturesque Seninis Campground to Moondarra Reservoir, approximately following the Moe-Erica road and the former Walhalla railway line.
Moondarra Reservoir was constructed in 1959~62 primarily as an urban/industrial water supply storage for the Latrobe Valley, with a 41m high dam wall. The area inundated by this reservoir included part of the Walhalla railway and the former township of Gould. A notable building from this township, the Cecil Inn, was relocated to the picnic area near the dam, and is now a recreation shelter for day visitors.
Below the dam, the river passes through Tyers State Park, proclaimed in 1986, which encompasses the Tyers River Gorge. The steep, craggy conglomerate rock faces are popular for abseiling. Overlooking the 100m deep gorge is Petersons Lookout, named after a leading member of the Latrobe Valley Field Naturalists. The Lookout has walkways and viewing platforms, and is accessible by car from the W2 track in summer and autumn only.
The only 4WD track fording the Tyers River was W12, which was hazardous because it often became washed out on the southern bank, so it has now been replaced by another concrete bridge, the first one having been washed away in floods. Also within the Park is a disused limestone quarry, which in the 1970s and 80s supplied the Gippsland Cement factory in Traralgon.
Just before the river reaches the Moe-Glengarry road bridge is Wirilda Environment Park, named after the wirilda wattle found in the area. This Park has picnic facilities and a swimming hole in the river where there is a weir originally constructed for a pump station. This pump station, which is still operable, was built in 1908 to provide Traralgon’s water supply prior to the building of the Moondarra dam. From here, the Wirilda Walking Track is a challenging day walk following the river upstream, including several river crossings, to the Moondarra dam.
A further few kilometres downstream, near Maryvale north of Morwell, is where the Tyers enters the Latrobe River.
Room 3: Latrobe
The largest and most central of the region’s rivers is the Latrobe, also giving its name to the Latrobe Valley, where 85% of Victoria’s electricity is generated. It is named after Charles Joseph La Trobe, Victoria’s first Lieutenant-Governor. Initially from 1839 Superintendent of the Port Phillip District, then a colony of New South Wales, he was appointed the first Lieutenant-Governor of the new colony of Victoria after its separation in 1851. He followed CJ Tyers’ route through the region in 1848.
The Latrobe River Basin can be divided into two reaches. The Upper Latrobe, above the confluence of the Latrobe, Tanjil and Moe rivers, is a relatively undeveloped wild mountain river. The Lower Latrobe from Lake Narracan near Yallourn North, to Lake Wellington near Sale has been extensively developed with storages and diversions.
The Upper Latrobe River rises between Powelltown and Noojee, in State Forests which were home to an extensive timber industry prior to the cataclysmic 1939 bushfires. Amongst the many fascinating relics from this era is “The Bump” railway tunnel, built to enable the huge and enigmatic Powelltown timber mill to access logs from the upper Latrobe once its leases in the upper Yarra had been exhausted. Flowing eastwards through Noojee, the Latrobe is boosted by the Ada, Loch and Toorongo Rivers.
Swinging south-east it passes through the Latrobe State Forest where there are many 4WD tracks and campsites popular with fishermen. Beyond the Sweetwater Conservation Reserve, the river flows through farmland near Willow Grove to Lake Narracan, immediately downstream of the confluence of the Tanjil and Moe rivers.
Lake Narracan was constructed in 1962 as a regulating storage for the Latrobe Valley power stations. However it also features facilities for picnicking and water sports, particularly power boating and water skiing.
Downstream it passes close by the Yallourn W power station and open cut coal mine. Here, in December 2007, a 70m block of riverbank collapsed, flooding the mine, and requiring an emergency re-routing of a section of river.
The Latrobe River is further boosted by inflows from the Morwell River, twice re-routed for expansions of the Yallourn and Morwell coal mines, and then the Tyers River. The river flows through the Yallourn mine on an aqueduct with tunnels underneath for the coal conveyors. This aqueduct collapsed catastrophically during a flood in June 2012, putting the mine largely out of action for nine months while repairs were made.
Continuing eastwards, the river meanders through a wide flood plain north of Traralgon and Rosedale to Sale. A couple of kilometres south of Sale, the Latrobe is joined by the Thomson River near Longford. Just downstream of this confluence, a Swing Bridge was built in 1883 to allow river traffic to access the Port of Sale. Restoration of the Swing Bridge was completed in 2006. It now operates as a tourist attraction and has become a popular site for historic film-makers.
The last few kilometres of the river take it through the wetlands of The Heart and Dowds Morasses, creating extraordinary silt jetties where it empties into Lake Wellington, part of the Gippsland Lakes system. These wetlands are popular with hunters during the duck season.
Room 4: Thomson
The Thomson River is dominated by the huge Thomson Dam Project, which was built in three stages from 1973 to 1982 by the Melbourne & Metropolitan Board of Works (MMBW). The 200m high rock-fill dam is the largest in the southern hemisphere and supplies about 60% of Melbourne’s water via a diversion tunnel to the Upper Yarra Reservoir. Originally it was intended to divert about 40% of the Thomson river flows, but in recent years it has been significantly more than this. A 6.2MW hydro power station generates electricity from releases into the lower Thomson River. The township of Rawson (originally named Robertson after the MMBW’s Chief Engineer) was built as the construction town for this project, and Mountain Rivers Lodge was known previously as the “VIP Quarters”.
Prior to the building of this dam, and flooding of the valley, I remember exciting Land Rover Owners Club trips into this valley in the late 1960s, characterised by steep spur tracks, such as Bells Spur, and beautiful camp sites along the river. For current day visitors there are now picnic areas at the Dam Wall and nearby Silvertops. The road across the wall for a number of years was closed, but is now open, and the fastest route from Walhalla to Matlock and Woods Point.
The headwaters of the Thomson River are on the northern side of the Baw Baw Plateau, swinging from west to east in an arc around Mt Whitelaw. The Thomson State Forest in this area is accessed for logging via the Thomson Valley Road from Erica.
The Jordan River also flows into the northern end of the Thomson Reservoir. This area has many interesting historic gold mining sites around Jericho, Red Jacket and Violet Town, although a number were removed or destroyed as a result of the Thomson Dam Project, and compulsory acquisitions of private land. More recently, recognition of heritage sites has included the return of relics such as the headstone from Thomas Gaffney’s grave to Jericho, and a monument to the Chinese mining community originally there.
The Baw Baw National Park and Walhalla Historic Area are downstream from the dam. Steep tracks and interesting heritage sites make this area popular for 4WD touring and camping. I remember the deep river crossing at Beardmores Track being spectacular with the spillway overflowing in the late 1980s.
During this time I was also involved in running rafting expeditions down the Thomson to Cowwarr Weir. Highlights were the 2m waterfall above The Narrows, passing under the old Poverty Point and Bruntons Bridges, careering down the minor and major gorges with four rafts tied together (16 people on board), exploring the beautiful rock pools along Deep Creek, and shooting the big rapids at the Triple Stager, Boulder Rapid and Four Foot Gap. Because of the Horseshoe Bend Tunnel it was normally necessary to pull out at the Walhalla Road Bridge and go back into the river at Coopers Creek.
These days the lower flows in the river make it less attractive for rafting or canoeing. However the river is popular for fishing, and the exciting 4WD river crossing at Coopers Creek is probably the best within a days’ drive of Melbourne. This is a feature of many of our Mountain-Top Experience tours, including the Coopers Creek copper smelting and lime kiln ruins.
Other tourist attractions include the Walhalla Goldfields Railway, running between the town and Thomson Station (at the Walhalla Road Bridge). From here an excellent Rail Trail walking track extends to Erica. Other walking tracks from Platina Station (on the Rail Trail) go down to the entry and exit of the Horseshoe Bend Tunnel. Originally called the Chinese Tunnel, it was built by the early gold miners to enable alluvial mining of about 1km of riverbed. An attempt by the river management authority to destroy it or block it was thwarted by a group of locals in 2006, resulting in its listing as a heritage site, and a partial reinstatement of the old riverbed with fish-ladder, implemented as a compromise.
The river emerges from the rugged, forested mountains at Cowwarr Weir. The weir is a concrete regulating structure located on Rainbow Creek, which is a breakaway section of the Thomson River and now forms the main course of the river through its length. The weir was constructed in 1957 to divert water for irrigation, domestic and stock supplies in the southern section of the Macalister Irrigation District. Excellent picnic and swimming facilities make it a popular destination for day visitors. These facilities were re-opened after 12 months of repairs following the devastating floods of June 2007.
From Cowwarr, the Thomson River meanders east, where it is joined by the Macalister River before arriving at the inland Port of Sale, whereupon it in turn joins the Latrobe River.
Room 5: Aberfeldy
The Aberfeldy is the last untamed river in the region, although only just! The Thomson Dam Project originally intended to put in a dam near the Donnellys Creek junction and pipe water across to the Thomson. However this never eventuated because of environmental and recreational pressures.
The north and south branches of the Aberfeldy River arise in steep, remote forests near Mt Useful and Mt Selma. From their confluence the river swings west, then south, running parallel to the Thomson River valley.
In the early gold mining era access to the Jordan River goldfields from Flooding Creek (now called Sale) was via Bald Hills (now called Seaton) and along McEvoys Track (now called Springs Road) and Maguires Track through a little settlement called Aberfeldy Crossing. Little remains of this now except for some blocks of freehold land along the valley.
One of those is at Cannons Town (later called Code’s Flat) where the Code family lived for many years, largely self-sufficient with food supplies, and educating their three children with the assistance of satellite communications. They sold produce such as honey and eggs at their front gate on Donnellys Creek Road, and ran an extraordinary gold-era music museum which was open to visitors, who often were delighted with performances of instruments such as ‘reproducing pianos’.
Further south is the former gold mining centre of Toombon, which was second to Walhalla in size and importance from 1870 to the early 1900s. Although operated for many years by various owners, the discontinuous nature of the ore-body made mining expensive, so that Toombon was never a very profitable operation. Many interesting relics remain here at the mine, down the gully at the township, and at the crushing plant site near the river. Many old buildings such as the Toombon Hotel were restored as private residences, only to be destroyed in the 2013 Aberfeldy bushfires.
Further south again is a huge pool in the river at the Donnellys Creek Junction. South from here, at Fultons Creek, and east along Donnellys Creek are many great 4WD tracks and campsites in gold mining heritage areas, also popular for fishing and gold-panning. Many historic gold-mining sites have been documented with interpretive signage throughout this region as part of the Aberfeldy Track 4WD touring routes, and are maintained by volunteers such as the West Gippsland Relic, Mining and Heritage Protection group.
Continuing south into the Baw Baw National Park, the narrow Walhalla-Matlock Road crosses the river at Aberfeldy Bridge where there is a pleasant campground with basic facilities. All of this was destroyed then rebuilt after the Great Divide Fires of 2006~07.
On a ridge above here is where a US fighter plane disappeared in 1942 and was not discovered until 1949. Many mysteries surrounded this incident, not being fully cleared up until the efforts of a local history enthusiast prompted a US Army site investigation in 2004.
The last few kilometres of the river continue through steep, inaccessible country until it flows into the Thomson River north-west of Walhalla at a junction normally seen by very few people.
Room 6: Macalister
I don’t know why, but the only river in Gippsland where gold has never been found is the Macalister. It was named by Scottish explorer Angus McMillan, when his employer Lachlan Macalister sent him from NSW in 1840 in search of new pastoral lands. Because of the many Scottish settlers (no doubt more adaptable to the harsh high country than English or Irish settlers), the Macalister River Valley also became known as the “Valley of the Glens” with grazing properties such as Glencairn, Glenfalloch, Glenlea and Glenmaggie.
The river’s source is high in the Great Dividing Range, adjacent to the Vallejo Gantner Hut near Mt Howitt, at Macalister Springs. This area is within the vast Alpine National Park, and is accessible only to bushwalkers. The river’s headwaters are crossed by the King Billy Track, just below an extensive rock scree on the steep western flank of the Howitt High Plains. Flowing southwards it plunges through an inaccessible valley west of the Butcher Country Track, to emerge at the spectacular Butcher Cascades, a campsite since aboriginal occupation, being on their transport route between the Bogong High Plains and the Gippsland Lakes.
From here to Black Soil Gully, the Macalister River Track provides access to many pleasant sections of river suitable for camping and fishing. After Glencairn the Macalister is joined by the Barkly River and then the Wellington River, a couple of kilometres north of Licola. The Wellington has an unusual source, being seepage from the remote Lake Tarli Karng through a landslide area known as the Valley of Destruction. This regulates a constant flow into the Wellington so that the Lake level simply goes up and down according to local rainfall.
Licola is a former timber milling town developed in the 1940~50s. Subsequently it was purchased by the Lions Club and opened as a campsite in 1973. In 2007 the town was devastated by The Great Divide Fires and subsequent mudslides and floods, which left the town isolated. All major roads were cut with many bridges swept away completely. Mountain-Top Experience was fortunate to be able to assist in the relief effort over several weeks, providing transport into the town via snow-covered 4WD tracks over Mt Useful.
South from Licola the river flows down a wide valley through farmlands to Lake Glenmaggie. An exception to this is a sharp ridge at Burgoynes Gap, through which the river has penetrated, to form the Macalister Gorge. From here several steep, challenging 4WD tracks enter forested mountains to the east and west of the valley.
Glenmaggie was first settled in 1841 by Malcolm Macfarlane. A small town had developed there by 1880, but this had to be relocated with the building of Glenmaggie Weir. The Glenmaggie dam was built in 1919 to provide water supply for the Macalister Irrigation District through to Maffra and Sale and involving some 600km of open channels and 40km of pipelines. Its capacity was increased by raising the wall height in 1955~57, with further strengthening works carried out in 1987~89 and a 3.2MW hydro power station installed. This was tested during the winter 2007 floods (following the Great Divide bushfires which stripped the mountains of vegetation) when the weir gates had to be opened against an onslaught of whole trees and other high speed debris, subsequently causing flooding at Newry, Tinamba, Sale and Lakes Entrance. Lake Glenmaggie is now a popular holiday destination for water sports, particularly power boating and water skiing.
Beyond Glenmaggie the Macalister River is crossed by the Coongulla Road at Lanigans Bridge. It then continues south-east through irrigated farmland to join the Thomson River a few kilometres north-west of Sale.
Ron Camier, 2008
Bathroom Wall Murals
Each of our motel bathrooms feature a wall mural of a photograph depicting some event or item of interest in our region or history. This concept was prompted by Ron seeing something similar in a caravan park in Queenstown, New Zealand during a visit there in 2016.
Room 1. Olympus Imaging Australia training day, MTE Land Rover splash, Thomson River, 2001
Room 2. Wide Load, Fowlers Building Transport, Amenities Unit arrival, MRTP Driveway, 2014
Room 3. D Day Re-enactment, Phoenix Paintball, MRTP, 2010
Room 4. MTE Defenders convoy in Thomson River, Bruntons Bridge aerial view, 2010
Room 5. Deddick Trail red mud slide, MTE tag-along tour, 2002
Room 6. Walhalla township, Long Tunnel mine tramway aerial view, 2005
