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19th Australasian Engineering Heritage Conference, Mildura

SELF-DRIVE TOURS

TOURS FROM SYDNEY OR CANBERRA TO MILDURA

You can design your own tour from these notes! The length of the tour, the

route you take and the attractions you wish to visit are all optional!

This set of notes will suit people travelling from their homes in Sydney,

Newcastle or Canberra or arriving by air at Sydney Airport

SO LET’S GET STARTED!!

Preamble.

To drive to Mildura from Sydney takes about 9.5 hours nonstop. The suggestions below

may all be used and the journey extended up to five days or sections missed and

shortened to two or three days. Perhaps you may choose one route for the forward

journey and pick up other suggestions on the return.

Two main routes are suggested here. The first heads south via Goulburn, Wagga Wagga

and Hay whilst the second takes a more westerly direction via Lithgow, Bathurst and Hay.

Route 1. Sydney, Goulburn, (Canberra), Gundagai, Wagga Wagga,

Narrandra, Hay, Balranald, Mildura

Places/objects of engineering heritage interest/significance, en-route:

Day 1 – Direct road distance Sydney to Canberra 286 km which will take about 3 hours

without stops.

1 Towrang roadside rest stop east of Goulburn – convict built culvert.

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2 Goulburn Waterworks and Appleby beam pumping engine (check opening times).

3 Canberra – Burley Griffin Lake Scheme, Cotter River Dam precinct.

Goulburn Waterworks. The Appleby beam engine

at Goulburn is one of only very few operating

beam engines remaining in Australia.

Image: Tony Sheffield.

http://www.goulburnwaterworks.com.au/

Scrivener Dam which

forms Lake Burley

Griffin, Canberra’s

iconic water feature.

Image: Owen Peake.

https://en.wikipedia.or

g/wiki/Lake_Burley_Gri

ffin

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4 Canberra – Mount Stromlo Observatory remains.

5 Canberra – Tharwa Timber truss Bridge over the Murrumbidgee River.

End of first day. Stay in Canberra which has a wide range of accommodation and

restaurants.

There are many things to see in Canberra so a second day might be in order if you have

time and are not already familiar with the better sites in Canberra.

Mount Stromlo Observatory was largely destroyed by

a bushfire in 2003. The remains of the telescope

domes have been retained along with one telescope

which survived the fire. The image shows part of the

foundation of one of the destroyed telescopes. The

Great Melbourne Telescope which was used at

Mount Stromlo from 1944 to 2003 was destroyed in

the fire however the remains of the telescope are

now back in Melbourne being restored to its original

condition for installation back in its original home in

the Botanical Gardens, Melbourne.

Image: Owen Peake.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Stromlo_Observ

atory

https://greatmelbournetelescope.org.au/

Tharwa Bridge, which crosses the

Murrumbidgee River in the south of

the ACT has recently been restored.

The Percy Allan designed timber

truss bridge was built in 1895, long

before Canberra was built. It is

interesting to look downstream at

the vigorous little river and

contemplate how far it has to run

before it arrives at the Southern

Ocean.

Image: Owen Peake.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tharwa_Bridge

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Day 2 - Direct road distance Canberra to Hay 510 km which will take about 5.5 hours

without stops.

1 Gundagai – heritage road and rail bridges across Murrumbidgee River and floodplain.

2 Adelong Falls gold mill ruins (approximately 70 km loop southward from Hume Hwy).

3 Junee - railway station and railway roundhouse museum.

Junee Roundhouse Museum. Class Z24 steam locomotive at Roundhouse Museum

Image: Museum & Galleries NSW. Image: Miles Pierce.

The remains of the Reefer Battery at Adelong show

how dramatically the engineering of gold

extraction has changed in 165 years in this country.

The mill was water –powered and used hammer

mills to crush the rock prior to separation of the

gold. This goldfield operated from 1852.

Image: Miles Pierce.

https://www.goldtrails.com.au/article/adelong/

1907 Railway Viaduct across the

Murrumbidgee Flood Plain.

Image: Miles Pierce.

http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/heritage

app/visit/ViewAttractionDetail.aspx?ID=50120

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4 Darlington Point – towers from former 1905 bascule bridge re-erected in caravan park.

5 Carrathool – Bridge incorporating bascule span over Murrumbidgee south of

Carrathool.

End of second day. Stay in Hay which has a wide range of accommodation and

restaurants.

Day 3 - Direct road distance Hay to Mildura 300 km which will take about 3.25 hours

without stops.

2 Shearer’s Hall of Fame, Hay.

Shearer’s Hall of Fame, Shear

Outback, Hay NSW.

Image: Museums & Gallaries NSW

https://mgnsw.org.au/organisations/s

hear-outback/

We are more familiar with lift span bridges to

allow river traffic to pass on the Murray,

Murrumbidgee and Darling Rivers. However in

this stretch of the Murrumbidgee there were

several bascule bridges. This span from the

1905 Darlington Point Bridge has been re-

erected at the entrance to a caravan park.

Image: Travelling-Australia Home.

https://www.engineersaustralia.org.au/portal/

heritage/darlington-point-bridge-

murrumbidgee-river-1905

Another bascule span alongside more familiar

NSW timber truss spans at the bridge south of

Carrathool. This bridge was built in 1924 and was

designed by Percy Allan.

Image: Wikipedia.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carrathool

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3 Balranald – towers from former lift span bridge on display in caravan park.

End Day 3 in Mildura at the accommodation you have arranged for the conference.

■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■

Route 2. Sydney, Blue Mountains, Lithgow, Bathurst, West Wyalong, Griffith,

Hay, Balranald, Mildura

Places/objects of engineering heritage interest/significance, en-route:

Day 1 - Direct road distance Sydney to Bathurst 200 km which will take about 3 hours

without stops.

1 Penrith – 1867 wrought iron, box girder, Victoria Bridge over the Nepean River.

2 Lennox’s 1833 Mitchell’s Pass Bridge near Glenbrook (oldest masonry bridge on

mainland).

Victoria Bridge Penrith, over the Nepean

River was built in 1867 originally as a

railway bridge. It now carries the Great

Western Highway.

Image: Miles Pierce.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victoria_Brid

ge_(Penrith)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victoria_Brid

ge_(Penrith)

Lennox’s 1633 Mitchell Pass Bridge.

Image: Miles Pierce.

http://www.visitsydneyaustralia.com.au/mitchells-

pass.html

https://www.engineersaustralia.org.au/portal/herit

age/mitchell%E2%80%99s-pass-and-

lennox%E2%80%99s-horseshoe-bridge-

lapstone1833

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3 Victoria Pass Road -1838 Convict built, descends western side of Blue Mountains.

4. Lithgow – Ruins of Former Ironworks (1906 – 1928).

5. Bathurst – 1876 wrought iron, lattice girder, railway bridge over Macquarie River.

End of first day. Stay in Bathurst which has a wide range of accommodation and

restaurants.

Day 2 – Direct road distance Bathurst to Hay 520 km which will take about 5.75 hours

without stops.

1 Cowra Roundhouse Museum.

2 Griffith – Murrumbidgee irrigation area.

Victoria Pass in 1910. This image is a scan of a

tinted black & white print.

Image: Image by Katoomba photographer

Harry Phillips, from about 1910.

Blue Mountains City Library Local Studies

Collection.

https://mountvictoria.nsw.au/our-great-

places/victoria-pass/

https://www.engineersaustralia.org.au/portal/

heritage/victoria-pass-blue-mountains-1838

Ruins of 1929 Davy blowing engine

building which supplied air to the blast

furnace at Lithgow Ironworks. The

steelworks closed in 1929 and operations

were transferred to Port Kembla.

Image: Miles Pierce.

http://www.lithgow.com/historyavenue/19

01_steel.html

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3 Darlington Point – towers from former 1905 bascule bridge re-erected in caravan park.

4 Carrathool – Bridge incorporating bascule span over Murrumbidgee River south of

Carrathool.

End of second day. Stay in Hay which has a range of accommodation and restaurants.

We are more familiar with lift span bridges to

allow river traffic to pass on the Murray,

Murrumbidgee and Darling Rivers. However in this

stretch of the Murrumbidgee there were several

bascule bridges. This span from the 1905

Darlington Point Bridge has been re-erected at

the entrance to a caravan park.

Image: Travelling-Australia Home.

https://www.engineersaustralia.org.au/portal/heri

tage/darlington-point-bridge-murrumbidgee-

river-1905

Another bascule span alongside more

familiar NSW timber truss spans at the

bridge south of Carrathool. This bridge

was built in 1924 and was designed by

Percy Allan.

Image: Miles Pierce.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carrathool

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Day 3 - Direct road distance Hay to Mildura 300 km which will take about 3.25 hours

without stops.

1 Hay – Base of former 1874 swing bridge.

2 Shearers Hall of Fame, Hay.

3. Balranald – towers from former lift span bridge on display in caravan park.

End Day 3 in Mildura at the accommodation you have arranged for the conference.

Note:

Many of the above places/objects have formal engineering heritage recognition and

further information can be obtained by accessing the respective nomination documents

downloadable from the EHA Australian Engineering Heritage Register at:

https://www.engineersaustralia.org.au/Communities-And-Groups/Special-Interest-

Groups/Engineering-Heritage-Australia

CHANGE CONTROL

VERSION 1 27 AUGUST 2017 VERSION 2 2 SEP 2017

Shearer’s Hall of Fame, Shear

Outback, Hay NSW.

Image: Museums & Gallaries NSW

https://mgnsw.org.au/organisations/s

hear-outback/

Conserved pivot of Hay Swing Bridge. All that is left.

Image: Miles Pierce.

http://www.rms.nsw.gov.au/documents/about/environ

ment/protecting-heritage/moveable-span-bridge-

study-volume-2-bascule-and-swing-span-bridges-part-

2.pdf