Yarra Track
Encyclopedia
The Yarra Track is the former name of the gold fields road from Healesville to the Woods Point and Jordan
Goldfields, in Victoria, Australia. A direct route via the Yarra River
and the Great Divide
, was discovered by Reick in September 1862. This became known as the `Yarra Track’. Early in 1863, the Government decided to construct a road along the route. Its original width varied between 12 and 20 feet, and was designed to accommodate horse drawn vehicles. This Track involved the climbing of the Black Spur
, descent into the Acheron
Valley, and then through Marysville
to the Cumberland where it followed the existing route. The old route through Paradise Plains subsequently dropped out of vogue.
In 1865, the first drays and wagons reached Woods Point via the Yarra Track, but they could only get through during the summer months. The Yarra Track shortened the trip to Woods Point from Melbourne to a little over one hundred miles, compared with two hundred and twenty miles via Jamieson
.
Clement Wilks
, an engineer with the Victorian Department of Roads and Bridges, was a member of the Yarra Track Committee responsible for building this coach and dray road, designing a number or small bridges and culverts including the Wilks Creek Bridge
, on the Marysville Road, and Big Culvert
.
Two main construction camps were established in new localities on the Yarra Track at Healesville and Marysville. These were surveyed as towns to serve as base camps for construction teams and as staging towns when the coach route was completed. Marysville was founded and surveyed in August, 1864. Healesville was surveyed in September 1864, which resulted in the deviation of the settlement at New Chum. Healesville was at the furthest point coaches could travel along the route from Melbourne. From there, a packhorse track climbed through the mountains to the diggings. Shanties were built every five or six miles from New Chum to the diggings. Accommodation houses and stores were strung along the rest of the road.
The Black Spur section became a popular tourist destination and sought after location for notable early photographers in Victoria, such as Nicholas Caire and J.W. Lindt. In 1916 a bus service was introduced, taking travellers over the route in two twelve-seater Buick charabanc
s. The journey from Melbourne took four and a half hours.
Jordan River (Victoria)
The Jordan River is a small river in Gippsland, Victoria, Australia. It is a tributary of the Thomson River. It rises on the southern slopes of the Great Dividing Range south of Woods Point and flows into northern end of the Thomson Reservoir....
Goldfields, in Victoria, Australia. A direct route via the Yarra River
Yarra River
The Yarra River, originally Birrarung, is a river in east-central Victoria, Australia. The lower stretches of the river is where the city of Melbourne was established in 1835 and today Greater Melbourne dominates and influences the landscape of its lower reaches...
and the Great Divide
Great Dividing Range
The Great Dividing Range, or the Eastern Highlands, is Australia's most substantial mountain range and the third longest in the world. The range stretches more than 3,500 km from Dauan Island off the northeastern tip of Queensland, running the entire length of the eastern coastline through...
, was discovered by Reick in September 1862. This became known as the `Yarra Track’. Early in 1863, the Government decided to construct a road along the route. Its original width varied between 12 and 20 feet, and was designed to accommodate horse drawn vehicles. This Track involved the climbing of the Black Spur
Black Spur
The Black Spur is a road between the towns of Healesville and Marysville in Victoria, Australia.-Statistics:* Length : 30* Corner Ratio: 80%* Corner Speeds: 60-120 km/h* Legal Speed Limit: 80 km/h* Traffic : 2-5* Bumpiness: Smooth...
, descent into the Acheron
Acheron River (Victoria)
The Acheron River is a inland river in Victoria and a tributary of the Goulburn River. The river rises in Yarra Ranges National Park near Acheron Way and flows into the Goulburn River near Alexandra. It is 84 kilometres long and has 10 tributaries. Its major tributaries are Steavensons River,...
Valley, and then through Marysville
Marysville, Victoria
Marysville is a small town, 34 kilometres north-east of Healesville, in the Shire of Murrindindi in Victoria, Australia. The town, which previously had a population of around 500 people, was devastated by the Murrindindi Mill bushfire on 7 February 2009. On 19 February 2009 the official death toll...
to the Cumberland where it followed the existing route. The old route through Paradise Plains subsequently dropped out of vogue.
In 1865, the first drays and wagons reached Woods Point via the Yarra Track, but they could only get through during the summer months. The Yarra Track shortened the trip to Woods Point from Melbourne to a little over one hundred miles, compared with two hundred and twenty miles via Jamieson
Jamieson, Victoria
Jamieson is a small town in Victoria, Australia. It is located at the junction of the Goulburn River and Jamieson River, north-east of Melbourne. The name is believed to have been derived from George Jamieson, a shepherd who grazed sheep in the area in the 1850s...
.
Clement Wilks
Clement Wilks
Clement Wilks was a notable Civil Engineer and Architect in colonial Victoria, Australia.-Early days:Clement Wilks was born at Peckham Rye, Surrey, 15 February 1819, the youngest son of the Rev. Mark Wilks, of Paris...
, an engineer with the Victorian Department of Roads and Bridges, was a member of the Yarra Track Committee responsible for building this coach and dray road, designing a number or small bridges and culverts including the Wilks Creek Bridge
Wilks Creek Bridge
Wilks Creek Bridge is a former timber and bluestone road bridge on the Yarra Track just off the picturesque Black Spur route, between Narbethong and Marysville, Victoria. It was built in 1870 to the design of colonial Public Works Department engineer Clement Wilks as part of the construction of a...
, on the Marysville Road, and Big Culvert
The Big Culvert
The Big Culvert is a substantial bluestone arch culvert on the historic Yarra Track near Cambarville, Victoria, Australia. It was built in the 1870s as part of the improvements to the road from Melbourne to the Woods Point and Jordan Goldfields...
.
Two main construction camps were established in new localities on the Yarra Track at Healesville and Marysville. These were surveyed as towns to serve as base camps for construction teams and as staging towns when the coach route was completed. Marysville was founded and surveyed in August, 1864. Healesville was surveyed in September 1864, which resulted in the deviation of the settlement at New Chum. Healesville was at the furthest point coaches could travel along the route from Melbourne. From there, a packhorse track climbed through the mountains to the diggings. Shanties were built every five or six miles from New Chum to the diggings. Accommodation houses and stores were strung along the rest of the road.
The Black Spur section became a popular tourist destination and sought after location for notable early photographers in Victoria, such as Nicholas Caire and J.W. Lindt. In 1916 a bus service was introduced, taking travellers over the route in two twelve-seater Buick charabanc
Charabanc
A charabanc or "char-à-banc" is a type of horse-drawn vehicle or early motor coach, usually open-topped, common in Britain during the early part of the 20th century. It was especially popular for sight-seeing or "works outings" to the country or the seaside, organised by businesses once a year...
s. The journey from Melbourne took four and a half hours.