Lerderderg Gorge
37°36′18″S 144°24′58″E / 37.6051°S 144.4161°E
| Lerderderg Gorge | |
|---|---|
  Location of the Lerderderg Gorge in Victoria | |
| Location | |
| Country | Australia |
| State | Victoria |
| Region | Victorian Midlands (IBRA), Western District |
| Local government area | Moorabool |
| Town | Bacchus Marsh |
The Lerderderg Gorge is in Victoria, Australia and largely within the Lerderderg State Park. The Lerderderg River which emerges from the Great Dividing Range has cut a deep gorge as it winds toward the southern plains. It is suggested that the name Lerderderg is perhaps a corruption of the Wurundjeri word "Larderdark," from 'larh' -stone house and 'dark' -peppermint gum.[1]
Location[edit]
37°37'35"S x 144°25'44"E to 37°23'42"S x 144°19'06"E
Gorge of Lerderderg River extending from Nolan Gully south to the Lerderderg ford.
Description[edit]
Lerderderg State Park and the surrounding Wombat State Forest are north of Bacchus Marsh, around one hour's drive (90 km) (56 miles) from Melbourne on the Western Highway. Its myriad tracks, gullies creeks and ridges form a wild, rugged environment enjoyed by bushwalkers, horse riders and mountain bikers.
The striking feature of this area is the 300-metre (975 feet) deep gorge that stretches south to the plains of Bacchus Marsh.
Parts of the Wombat State Forest are still actively logged, and some areas are designated for domestic firewood collection with a permit. Many roads in the Lerderderg State Park are closed between June and the beginning of November as the park is within a water catchment area.[2]
Bushwalking[edit]
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The park has been popular for bushwalking since the 1880s.[3] It covers such an area that it is still possible to walk all day and not see anybody. The most popular areas to start a walk are from Mackenzies Flat Picnic Area and O'Briens Crossing. The best walk from Mackenzies Flat is one which goes up one side of the gorge and back along the other. It goes right up to the Lerderderg Weir. From O'Briens Crossing you can either walk up or down the river. Walking up takes you to The Tunnel. If planning a walk, make sure it hasn't rained much recently, and if walking along the river walk downstream, as the bushes on the riverbed always slope that way.
Access[edit]
From the East via Bacchus Marsh-Gisborne Road and Lerderderg Gorge Road for Mackenzie's Flat picnic area, from the south-west via Myrniong and Mt Blackwood, from the northwest via Greendale-Trentham Road and O'Brien's Road for O'Brien's Crossing; often flooded, in drought years it is safe to use.
Management[edit]
Within the Lerderderg State Park and managed by Parks Victoria.
Geology[edit]
The Lerderderg Gorge is cut by the Lerderderg River into the blocks of the Rowsley, Greendale and Coimadai Faults. Side slopes are commonly of 350 to 400 metres (1,138 to 1,300 feet) with some vertical rocky cliffs up to 60 m (195 feet) high. The topography of the area is dominated by long narrow ridges and steep secondary spurs, with a high degree of rock outcrop on ridge crests, slopes and stream channels. Lower Ordovician sandstones[4] and mudstones intruded by numerous small quartz veins form the dominant geology.[5] The river descends steeply through boulders along a convoluted course with several steep-sided gooseneck meanders.[6]
In a 1994 assessment of soil erosion in the shire of Bacchus Marsh, Spinoso and Rollings used the Universal Soil Loss Equation to confirm identification in 1973 and 1985 by the Land Conservation Council of Victoria of "an appreciable erosion hazard on steep slopes increas[ing] in intensity in the low rainfall areas in the south east. Particularly high hazards exist in the Lerderderg Gorge...associated with steep slopes and erodible soils."[7]
Gold is reputed to have been found in the Lerderderg River early in 1851 and was mined in November and December that year near Blackwood.[8] In his 1869 report Smythe noted the Blackwood goldfields "on the upper tributaries of the River Lerderderg which have cut deeply into the schists, exposing in some places high cliffs," and quoted from contemporary Mining Surveyors' Reports that; "The formation of the Blackwood goldfield is peculiarly favorable for allnvial miners with limited capital, inasmuch as there is no deep sinking required, nor machinery for lifting water, as there is ample fall for drainage in every part; that, in fact, the only outlay necessary is for sluicing-boxes and mining tools. Thus equipped, a party with small capital, and a fair share of skill, patience, and perseverance, may realize a competency in a few years."[9] In 1855 the 'Geelong Rush' began when 300 diggers arrived, soon joined by 2000 to work the alluvial deposits of the Lerderderg River known as Adelaide Flat, Nuggetty Gully, Ballan Flat, Frenchman's Gully, Long Gully and Yankee Gully. By September around 13,000 diggers and associated trades were on the goldfield. Gold mining continued, conducted by individuals and small companies who panned the creek, dug shafts and diverted the waters to wash gold took place in the Lerderderg Gorge.[10] Their most notable engineering was the diversion of the Lerderderg River at Tunnel Bend, cut 25 m through solid rock, in order to extract alluvial gold in the large meander of the original river bed.[11] Chinese miners reworked ground others had left and cleaned the river to bedrock. Remains of water races, stone walls and mining spoils can also still be seen.[12]
Vegetation[edit]
The vegetation of the Gorge follows the pattern of increasing rainfall from south to north, with the dry eucalypt forests of stringybark and box near the mouth of the gorge, and box-ironbark along ridges, progressing to taller, damper Messmate (Eucalyptus obliqua) and Peppermint Gum (Eucalyptus radiata and Eucalyptus dives) forests at the north. By the riverbank are Eucalyptus ignorabilis and Manna Gums, while in the understorey Gahnia microstachya, Lepidosperma tortuosum and Persoonia juniperina are uncommon elsewhere in western Victoria,[13] and a range of grevilleas, wattles and hakeas cover the gully steeps and sometimes impede passage along the river banks and bed.
Fauna[edit]
Eastern Grey Kangaroos, Swamp Wallabies, and Echidnas are also about during the day, and occasionally Koalas are seen in the Manna gums. Platypus may be present but are rarely sighted.[14] The Greater Glider, Mountain Brushtail Possum, Bent wing Bat and Powerful Owl are active at night.
Tiger, Red-bellied Black and Brown snakes may be encountered, but more common are skinks, and the fast-moving Jacky Dragons (Amphibolurus muricatus) and Mountain Dragons (Rankinia diemensis).
Fish species include the tiny Mountain Galaxias,[15] River Blackfish, whose scarcity was noted as early as 1906,[16] and Estuary perch that all survive regular droughts and low summer flows in waterholes.[17] Introduced European perch and Common carp are well established. The Gorge and the nearby Brisbane Ranges are the most westerly range of the Rocky River Frog.
Birdwatching is a rewarding activity; between 1893 and 1899 the Brittlebank brothers observed birds west of Melbourne, recording many from the Lerderderg Gorge, their greatest contribution to local ornithological knowledge being a paper on the birds of Myniong published in The Victorian Naturalist which listed every bird species which Charles and Thomas had recorded in the district, 158 species in total, including birds now declining, threatened or rare; the Gang-gang Cockatoo, Regent Honeyeater, and Letter-winged kite; and other birds found in the Gorge including the White-naped Honeyeater, White-throated Treecreeper, Crimson Rosella, Square-tailed kite, Rainbow lorikeet, Spangled drongo, Cicadabird, Hooded Robin. Black-faced Monarch, White-browed and Grey-crowned Babbler and Dollarbird.[18] Frequently seen are the Sulphur-crested Cockatoo which nests in the gorge and feeds in surrounding grasslands. Wedge-tailed Eagles inhabit tall trees in the steep gulleys.
Significance[edit]
The Lerderderg Gorge is one of the major river valleys of Victoria
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ Geocaching. "Geocaching - The Official Global GPS Cache Hunt Site". www.geocaching.com. Retrieved 10 October 2022.
- ^ O'Shaunessy, P. J., Hartland, R., and Bren, L. 1995. `A report on the effects of forest harvesting on water yield and quality in the Lerderderg Catchment'. Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Research Report.
- ^ "Picturesque Victoria". The Argus. 25 June 1887. p. 13. Retrieved 11 October 2022.
- ^ Beavis, F. (1970). "Cleavages and Linear Structures in Ordovician Sandstones, Victoria". Geological Magazine. 107 (5): 429. Bibcode:1970GeoM..107..429B. doi:10.1017/S0016756800057630. ISSN 0016-7568. S2CID 129464749.
- ^ Deformation in the Ballarat Slate Belt, central Victoria, and implications for the crustal structure across southeast Australia D. R. Gray; C. E. Willman Australian Journal of Earth Sciences: An International Geoscience Journal of the Geological Society of Australia, 1440-0952, Volume 38, Issue 2, 1991, Pages 171 – 201
- ^ Rosengren, Neville J. (1986). Sites of Geological and Geomorphological Significance in the Western Region of Melbourne. Melbourne: University of Melbourne. Dept. of Geography, Victoria. Dept. of Conservation, Forests, and Lands, Arthur Rylah Institute for Environmental Research. Ecological Inventory and Evaluation Section
- ^ Spinoso, Connie; Rollings, Nick; Department of Land Information (March 1994). "Conference paper : Assessment of Soil Erosion in the Shire of Bacchus Marsh". Researchgate.
- ^ Flett, James (1996). The history of gold discovery in Victoria (2nd ed.). ISBN 9780959717327. OCLC 1030129834.
- ^ Smyth, R. Brough (October 1869). "II.—The Gold-Fields and Mineral Districts of Victoria, With Notes on the modes of Occurrence of Gold and other Metals and Minerals. By R. Brough Smyth, F.G.S., Secretary for Mines for the Colony of Victoria, etc., etc., etc. Melbourne, 1869. 4to, pp. 644. Illustrated with One hundred Sketches, Plans, Maps, and Sections. London: Trübner and Co., Paternoster Row". Geological Magazine. 6 (64): 459–463. Bibcode:1869GeoM....6..459.. doi:10.1017/s0016756800163083. ISSN 0016-7568.
- ^ Brain, R. S. (1891). Report of the Royal Commission on Gold Mining : third and final report. Australia: Government printer. p. 193. OCLC 38716475.
- ^ Vines, Gary; Ward, Andrew; Melbourne's Living Museum of the West (1990). Industrial heartland : introduction to the Western Region Industrial Heritage Study. Highpoint City, Victoria: Melbourne's Living Museum of the West. p. 8. ISBN 9780947308155. OCLC 27607839.
- ^ Stone, Derrick I. (2009). Walks, Tracks and Trails of Victoria. Collingwood, VIC: CSIRO Publishing. pp. n.p. ISBN 9780643095878. OCLC 421309690.
- ^ Robin, Taylor; Weatherly, Richard; Tatnall, David (1999). Wild places of greater Melbourne. Collingwood, Vic: CSIRO. p. 164. ISBN 9780643063648. OCLC 222736201.
- ^ Melody, Serena; Griffiths, Josh; Williams, Geoff (September 2015). "Platypus Fyke-netting Guidelines" (PDF). Platypus Spot.
- ^ Gloss, Gerard P. (1996). "Effects of a predatory fish (Galaxias olidus) on the structure of intermittent stream pool communities in southeast Australia". Australian Journal of Ecology. 21 (2): 217–223. ISSN 0307-692X.
- ^ Crisp, Christopher (15 September 1906). "COORNMILL". Bacchus Marsh Express. p. 1. Retrieved 11 October 2022.
- ^ Boulton, A. J.; Lake, P. S. (February 1992). "The ecology of two intermittent streams in Victoria, Australia, II. Comparisons of faunal composition between habitats, rivers and years". Freshwater Biology. 27 (1): 99–121. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2427.1992.tb00527.x.
- ^ Hewish, Marilyn (2006). "Historical notes on Charles and Thomas Brittlebank, pioneer naturalists in the Werribee Gorge district, west of Melbourne". The Victorian Naturalist. 123 (5): 314–317.