MT. ROUSE & DISTRICT HISTORICAL SOCIETY
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1.
“Some of Life’s Adventures” by Arthur
Jones
My early years of life were marred by
tragedy. Born into the depression years of the early 1930s on
Merseyside (UK), life for my parents was really hard. My mother died
when I was two years old in 1934. T.B was very prevalent in these
times.
I spent the next seven years brought up with my grandmother
and her youngest daughter (my father’s sister). Although they were
kind to me it was no substitute for not having a mother.
After my
father remarried and set up home I had to go and live with them –
sounds good, but it wasn’t. In May 1941 my stepmother gave birth to
a baby girl. A direct hit on the hospital during an air raid in
Liverpool, the baby was killed at 4 days old.
In the same week our
house was bombed and I was buried in the cellar (which acted as an
air raid shelter). We were then homeless and I lived in an air raid
shelter for the next six months before being evacuated.
I had been
hoping to go to Canada, but after the sinking of “The City of
Benares”, a ship that had left Liverpool with a load of evacuees,
the British Government stopped sending evacuees by ship.
Eventually
I was sent to a place called Machyulleth in North Wales and never saw
any of my family for the next 3½ years.
The people I lived
with were very kind to me, but there again no substitute for a
mother.
Returning to Merseyside after the war, life wasn’t much
better. The only good thing one could say was that the bombing had
stopped.
In 1946 at the age of 14 I left school and became a
Timekeeper’s assistant in a large shipyard. At 16 I became an
engineering Apprentice in the same shipyard. Even though I had left
school early, I attended night school throughout my
apprenticeship.
This apprenticeship was interrupted for 2 years
when I was conscripted into the British Army in 1950
I was trained
as an Ordnance Explosives Technician.
There were many thousands of
tons of explosives left over from WW11 and these had to be disposed
of. It was one of those jobs that no one seemed to want, but by 1950
something had to be done. All this stuff was at least 5 years old by
this time; this made the job far more hazardous and so No. 1
Explosives Disposal Unit was formed, which I became part of.
We
took most of the more unstable stuff up into the mountain area of
Snowdonia, in North Wales, where we detonated it.
The more heavy
pieces, like bomb shells and hand grenades were dumped into the Irish
Sea. (Unfortunately most of this is still there).
In the
demolition area in North Wales, sheep used to wander into the area.
We always tried to chase them away, even threw stones at them.
Unfortunately many were killed.
The British Government paid
compensation to the farmers for their losses. For proof the farmers
cut the ears off the dead sheep (which had their marks on).
Every
Monday morning one of us had to go and collect bundles of ears tied
with string from the Guard House and fill in the necessary claim
forms.
I aw many sheep blown to pieces, and even to this day more
than 50 years later, it still remains a mystery how sheep can be
blown to smithereens and still leave their bloody ears behind.
Back
to the shipyard to finish off my apprenticeship, because of my Army
service I didn’t complete my time until I was 23 (seven years after
I started).
I then achieved my ambition and became a sea going
Engineer in the Merchant Navy. (The time was early 1955)
I served on oil tankers for about 2 years, and many incidents occurred, which I have written about in recent years. I know many here today have read my stories.
A couple of incidents worth a mention; While in Dakar, which in those days was part of French West Africa, I was arrested by the Foreign Legion and put on an Identification Parade. I just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time and someone was murdered (A most frightening experience); Then hurricane “Flora” in the Caribbean, when sea water was coming down the funnel into the engine room. (I almost thought it was safer in the Army).
I joined another oil tanker, the “Athel King” and spent most of the next six months between the Persian Gulf and Balikpapan in Borneo, which was part of the Dutch East Indies, and Shell (a Dutch company) had a refinery there. The crude oil from the Middle East was refined and distributed around the Far East.
On one of the trips down to Borneo I developed chronic toothache. The Dutch dentist at Balikpapan had left for annual leave in Europe. The only dentist within 100 kms was at an Indonesian Army camp.
Transport was arranged for me in what they called a “Jeepney” – a sort of weekly mail service, which went from Balikpapan via the Army camp to some of the most remote villages anywhere in the world. As we arrived I these villages the reception was always the same – screaming women and children, most of whom had never seen a white man before, greeted us. Actually it was quite frightening. The tooth extraction was a success.
There were stories that Japanese Soldiers were still hiding in the jungle and didn’t believe the war was over. My concern was that I would become the last casualty of WW11- ten years after it had finished.
On the way home from the Persian Gulf we had to go via the Suez Canal, the time was July 1956 – after failed negotiations with the French and British Governments to nationalise the Canal Colonel Nasser (President of Egypt) decided to teach them a lesson and sank about 60 ships in the Canal, blocking International shipping. This act caused major problems world wide and changed sea travel for all times. We scraped through in the last convoy.
After Suez I joined a refrigerated Cargo/Passenger ship, the “Oakland Star” and arrived in Melbourne in November 1956, just in time for the Olympic Games.
I liked Melbourne. One of my fondest memories was seeing crowds of people outside shop windows – on investigation they were seeing television for the first time, T.V had arrived in Australia.
After 4 months on the Australian Coast, we headed back to the U.K.
It would be another 12 years before I came back to Australia (1968).
After leaving the sea I worked mainly on construction work in Power Stations. The longest spell was Trawsynyd Nuclear Power Station, where I spent 2 years on construction and 3 years on maintenance whilst the power station was operating.
Also, by this time I was married with 3 children.
I took a job as a Diesel Technician with the Commonwealth Railways in South Australia. This job was advertised in a London newspaper, the main attraction for this job was it provided a house.
We supplied electric power to some of the remote areas between Port Augusta, Oodnadatta and Alice Springs, by installing and maintaining Diesel/electric generators.
Ed.:
Here the third and final installment:
The family then moved to Hobart where I was employed by the Hydro Electric Commission (H.E.C.) (now privatised).
I spent the next 3 years at the construction site of Strathgordon, in the South West of the state. I lived in the staff house at Strathgordon whilst my family lived in Hobart. I came home every Friday evening and went back early on Monday morning. During my time with the H.E.C I was also employed (part time) with the Tasmanian Education Department, teaching apprentices at evening classes.
My job with the Hydro (as it was called) was the maintenance of all mechanical equipment used in tunnelling and underground excavation of the power station. I had a small team of tradesmen, mainly fitters and boilermaker- welders. Most of the work involved rock drilling equipment and mine de-watering plant.
On medical advice I gave up this job to be at home, as my wife hade become very ill, she passed away at age 43.
With my new found experience in mining equipment I got a job as Service Engineer with “Ingersol Rand” a multi national more popularly known for their air compressors.
I travelled extensively around Tasmania, from the mines on the West Coast to the woodchip plant at Triabunna on the East Coast. All sorts of industry used pumps and compressed air, which was the main business of IR (in Tasmania). One job I really hated was going to Risdon Prison. Every 3 months the emergency generating equipment had to be tested. The underground mines and tunnels were claustrophobic, but nothing like inside a prison. We were searched going in, but the search coming out was far more intensive, seats were remover and underneath the car with mirrors on long sticks – what a relief to get out.
Now that my 3 children had become independent and I had wanted to get away from Tasmania – too many bad memories, so I took a job with the Electricity Commission of Papua New Guinea at Port Moresby (certainly a big climate change if nothing else).
It was 1976 and PNG had become independent of Australia. I was part of a team training Indigenous people to take over the jobs that had been traditionally the reserve of whites. It was a wonderful experience and I travelled extensively whilst there. The biggest highlight was the Mt Hagan show that was only held once every two years. I’m sure in the end I learned more from them than they ever learned from me.
Back in Australia in 1977 where I took a job with “Unilever” in Port Melbourne, this was the longest job in my life; 13 years.
Not long after arriving in Melbourne I met Barbara; we were married in the “Wayside Chapel” in King’s Cross, Sydney in the November of that year. We have recently celebrated our 30th Anniversary.
I took early retirement in 1990 and bought the Old Manse in Penshurst. After 18 years in which time I totally renovated the old place and Barbara transformed the garden it is now time for both of us to retire and so we have bought a house in Hamilton Village and will be leaving Penshurst in May.
May I just finish off by saying on behalf of both Barbara and myself we have thoroughly enjoyed our time in Penshurst and have always felt as though “we belong” which is something quite new to me.
Thank You!
2. Flora of the Penshurst Region
By Elizabeth Hatfield
The region around Penshurst and including Mt Rouse is part of the Western Volcanic Plains of Victoria. This area is generally not as diverse in its flora as the heathland areas, and was grassland and savannah woodland prior to European settlement. It has been estimated that there were around 550 species of indigenous flora for the region. It remains largely open plains today. Original vegetation took a beating when the area was developed for agriculture and stock from the 1840s and 1850s but remnants can be found on some roadsides and railway reserves. The plains were managed with mosaic burning and the soil was friable in the areas where murnong (yam daisies) grew, as they were regularly dug over during harvest by the Djab wurrung and Jardwadjali people.
Yule suggests that Mt Eccles is probably the only area similar to its pre- European state, and the area around Mt Rouse, known as the Hamilton basalt plain was originally "…sparse savannah woodland of manna gum, blackwood, lightwood and…..the flats….wet tussock grassland, possibly of white tussock or snow grass (Poa australis)…"
Collection of botanical specimens was not a priority in the early European years and what was collected was sent to London or Kew for scientific analysis. When Dr Ferdinand Mueller (Baron von Mueller) was appointed Colonial Botanist in 1853 and set the task of beginning a thorough survey of the country's vegetation he began a 43 year job. In the years following that time he estimated that he had collected 350,000 specimens. His work has been continued by the Field Naturalists Club of Victoria.
George Robinson described the area in 1841 as an aside in his diaries as having "dwarf banksias, gums, cherry tree" and being "well grassed". Earlier than this, in the 1830s, Major Thomas Mitchell described the view of Mt Rouse from Mt Napier as a large blunt mound of earth standing up out of the rolling plains. So it is unclear whether Mt Rouse was actually treed or not prior to European use of the area for agriculture.
The area includes parts classified as "Plains grassy woodland" and "Stony Rises" by the Land Conservation Council. The woodland being sparse River Red Gums and Drooping Sheoaks with wallaby and spear grasses underneath. The stony rises include more herb rich habitats.
The Mount Rouse scoria cone has been used for quarrying and would seem to have undergone several changes of vegetation since European arrival. If it had some tree growth prior to this, it had been completely cleared by some time in the mid 1900s as there is a photo on the Mount Rouse and District Historical Society website of a completely bare Mount. Pinus radiata trees were planted on the North side around the 1930s-1950s (local oral history) and the South side was replanted with native plants (some indigenous) in the 1970s. The pines were removed from the North side in 2002 and an indigenous tree and grass replanting done on 1/9/02. These plants suffered from the attentions of wallabies, and a further attempt was made in mid-2004 with similar results.
According to Corrick and Fuhrer, original species for the area would have included:
Leptorhynchus tenuifolius: Wiry buttons
Microseris: Yam daisy
Burchardia umbellata: Milkmaids/Popoto
Caesia calliantha: Blue grass lily
Astrostipa spp: Spear grass species
Themeda triandra: Kangaroo grass
Douglas and O'Brien add some further grasses and herbs to this list, suggesting that the grasslands were largely perennial tussocks with small native herbs also occurring. These grasses also occurred as "understorey" under the sparse trees in the savannah woodland areas.
Danthonia spp: Wallaby grasses
Poa spp: Tussock grasses
Ptilotus macrocephalus: Feather heads
Ptilotus spathulatus: Pussy tails
Convolulus angustissimus: Pink/blushing bindweed
Eryngium ovinum: Blue devil
Cynoglossum suaveolens: Sweet hounds tongue
Chrysocephalum apiculatum: Common everlasting
Trees were sparse, but probably included:
Eucalyptus camaldulensis: River red gum
Eucalyptus melliodora: Yellow box
Eucalyptus ovata: Swamp gum
Casuarina stricta: Drooping she-oak
Acacia melanoxylon: Blackwood wattle
Acacia mearnsii: Black wattle.
Today Mt Rouse has a cover of the trees planted on the South side with some grasses underneath and a relatively bare North side where the wallabies decimated the more recent plantings. Some species, however have survived and some appear to be re-colonizing. (Personal survey, November 2004)
Indigenous species include:
Acacia mearnsii: Black wattle
Acacia melanoxylon: Blackwood
Banksia marginata: Silver banksia
Casuarina stricta: Drooping sheoak
Eucalyptus spp ( E. melliodora and E. ovata may have been included in the planting)
Senecio quadridentatus: Cotton fireweed
Senecio lautus: Fireweed/variable groundsel
Acaena novae-zelandiae: Biddy biddy (bur)
Pteridium esculentum: Bracken fern
Danthonia setaceae: Bristly wallaby grass
Poa spp
Gonocarpus tetragynus: Common raspwort
Juncus subsecundus: Finger rush (in crater marsh area)
Themeda triandra: Kangaroo grass
There are also a number of native Australian plants not indigenous to the area which have been included in planting at various times. This demonstrates the changes in thinking about revegetation over the past 50 years or so, as it is now considered preferable to use only local plants where possible. However, on Mt Rouse some other plants can be found including:
Kunzea ambigua/ericoides: White kunzea
Prostanthera rotundifolia: Round leafed mint bush
Callistemon spp
Eucalyptus spp
Non-native species include:
Various thistle species
Marrubium vulgare: Horehound
Verbascum virgatum: Twiggy mullein
Plantago lanceolata: Plantain
Solanum nigrum: Black nightshade
Brassica rapa: Wild turnip
Holcus lanatus: Yorkshire fog grass
Briza maxima: Big quaking/shivery grass
Aviva fatua: Wild oats
Anthoxanthum odoratum: Sweet vernal grass
Bromus diandrus: Great brome
Lolium rigidum: Ryegrass
Dactylis glomerate: Cocksfoot
Further suggestions and or corrections welcome.
"The Natural History of Victoria" ed. M.H. Douglas and L.O'Brien. Autralian Institute of Agricultural Science, Horsham, 1971
"Wildflowers of Victoria" M.G.Corrick and B.A.Fuhrer, Blooming Books, Hawthorn, Australia
"The People of Gariwerd" Gib Wettenhall, Aboriginal Affairs Victoria 1999.
"Flowers and Plants of Victoria" G.R.Cochrane, B.A.Fuhrer, E.R.Totherham and J.H.Willis, A.H.&A.W.Reed, 1968
"Land Flora of Victoria. Extract from Victorian Yearbook No76 1962" Commonwealth Bureau of Census and Statistics, Victorian Office
"From Forest, Swamp and Stones. A history of the Shire of Minhamite" P.Yule, Warrnambool Institute Press, 1988
George Augustus Robinson diary 1841; cf. Mt Rouse and District Historical Society's archive; http://home.vicnet.net.au/~penshist/members/index.htm
"Historic Places Special Investigation. South Western Victorian Descriptive Report: Land Conservation Council 1996
Elizabeth Hatfield - November 2004
Please Write to Us
We would be delighted to upload short stories, 'old' photographs etc relating to 'Old Shire of Mount Rouse', i.e. 'watch this space'. Time and space allocation will depend on supply. We have had numerous e-mailed contributions, queries, and requests, including Mount Rouse Tragedy - by Debbie Down, Penshurst Motoring Pioneers - by Malcolm Grant, and Penshurst Revisited - by Murray Hedgcock, now archived, and several others. We are most grateful to our Vicnet Net host, and have used virtually our total allocation of 5 Mb of "cyberspace". The cost of uploading is negligible. We have now moved our archive to one of our members' ISP, since it turned out to be too costly for us to subscribe to an ISP, while our member had 5 MB unused space. Our very small Society's resources are indeed limited, at a membership fee of $3/year, and no external funding.
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Saturday, 24 May 2008