1924.
VIUTORIA.
---~------
l~EPORrr
FROM
THE PARLIAMENTARY STANDING COMMLrr~1EE ON RAlhWAYS
ON THE
~~NDERSON'S INTiET AND IiOWER TARWIN VALLEY CONNECTING RAIJjWL~Y;
TOGETHER WITH
MIN1YTES OF J:DVIDENCE.
Orderea by the I.egislative Assembly ttJ be pti-nlcd. 30th Oduber, h"~'!.
!\:lJ Jt!ltlutr:i'~:
II, J. GREEN, oonms;\u;;Nl' pmX'I'f.~ .U:LUQUIN&. n.Ul,WA~$ STANDING COMMf1'Th:1t fhtt'ORT No, 1.--{60.)-16281. EXTRACTED FROM THE VOTES AND PROCEEDINGS OF THE LEGISLATIVE A8SEMBLY.
TUESDAY, 22ND ,JULY, 1924,
28, LINES OF RAn"WAY REb'ERRED TO R.HLWAYS STANDING COMMITTE1L-Motion made, by leave, and qu;)stion~That the following questions he referred to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Railways for inquiry and report :~- • * • • • * • * * • (4) 'fhe question of connecting the di:,;tricts around Anderson's Iulet and t.he Lower Tarwill VallE'Y with the existing railway system by mf'41nS of .It 5 fL 3 in. gauge railway, • • • • * • * (Mr. Hoga,,)~put and agr!'ed to.
MEMBERS OF THE PARLIAMENTARY STANDING COMMITTEE ON RAILWAYS,
(Fifteenth Committee.)
The lIon. J. W. BILLSON, JlLL,A., Chairman: The Hon. A, Bell, M.L.C., The Hon, H. F. Richardson. M.L.C, .T. D. Deany, Esq., M.L.A., (Vice-Chairman), A, E, Lind, Esq" M,L.A., R. H. Solly, Esq., M.L.A.
AP1'nO..8'rlLA'l'E COST OF REt'ORl'. E -'. d• •• BOO REP 0 R 1'.
'fHF] PARLI.umXTARY SL\XDIXG CO~mITTEE ON I{AIT~WAY,', to which the Legislatiy;) Asocmbly referred the q1l8St,ioll of connecting the ,Iistriets around Anderson's Inlet and the I,ower Tarwin Valley with the existing railway sptelll hy means of a 5 ft. 3 in. gauge railway, Ims the honour to report 'as follows ;~
DESCRIPTION OF DTSTRICT.
1. Anderson's Inlet i" a pidnresque estll~,ry on the Vietorian coast, ahout midway bet,ween Port Phillip Heads lmd WilSOll'S Prom1mtory. The Tal'wln River, after flowing under the South eastern milway line gt a point nearly midway between Tnrwin and lIIecniyan. and continuing through rich alluvial flats at Lower Tarwin. empties into the inlet at its eastern end. At the western end, near the ;;eD, entranre to the inlet, is the township of Inyerloeh. which i.~ rapidly growing in popularity as a Keasiile resort, lecause of the safe bathing in the inlet, and the ele,m. hroad. ~a,ndy ceaches, with their /l,djaecnt helts of ti-b'ce, affording ample ,hade to picnickers', Eetween the inlet nud Bass Strait is l\ naITOW ton/(Ue of land extending from Lower Tarwin westwu,rd, for" length of about II miles to Poiut Sniythe, where t,here isa rescl've of some noo >'ercs for public recrcl1tion purposes, .Jnttinf( out from Point Smythe Oil the e?"tsm side of the entrance to t1lC inlet is l\ sand,har, '{'oint ~orman i,., on the western sille of the entrance not more t,hall l\ quarter of ?, mile 01' so from Point Smythe. so t,hat the inlet is "Jmost hllld-iocked, A narrow, tortuous, shallow dJallnol exist,; between Point Norman and the Band-h,l' extendinp; from Point Smythe. Vessels of sm",11 draft. 10 Or 12 feet, are a,ble to enter OJ' leayo the inlet, at high tide, and \;llioad 01' rceeiYe cargo at Tnverlorh Jetty, at }laher',; Lauding (a little to tlw west of the mouth of Pound Creck, which flOWN into the inlet, 4 mile,; above Inverlneh). and also at the wh8,rf in the Tarwin HiveI' at Lower Tarwin township, distilnt ahout :\ miles from the month of tlwt, stream.
2. The "olIntry {a)):,; gradually frol\l the K()r\l1llll\lJT"~V'()ng,,tha~F()ster mil way line t{) the coast, ami in tlw desceut the q,u1lity of the soil diminishm; exccpt: where the fertile hill soils have been waBhed dowIl in the valleys of the '1'[1rwin Rivcl'. Pound Creek, and other small streams. Appronchillg the inlet, there arc' occasional ridges of better land ol'i,!l;il111lly timhered with messmate, A good ,leal of UlC timbo)' I",,, 1.eol1 ri11gharked, gnd Rome of the lan,l dem'C,1 and cropped. Oat;; and other eerealB do well 011 the rises when ,OWl\ with fertilizer", hut titere ,He belts of sp,ndy country negrer the inlet and the ('oast covered with ti~trce c;cl'Ub, prickly mimosa, bracken, dogwood, heath. &e., with ;;t.imtcrl gums a,lId >1 few hOlJeY'Iwldc;;, the Ill,tler, however, jJ,ttaining quite n. large size.
3, Thi" ,scrnhhy country iB generally regarded as being 011 the poor side, hnt sc:"tlered throughout are shallow valley;; or depressionB whieh when cleared and drained grow fair crop;; of maize, millet, and oats, espeeiBlly if assisted by bone dust, hils;c slag, or superphosphate. It was stated in evidence th8t these s",l1dy loam;; would also give payahle flOpS of potatocs, onions, and other vegetahles if better tm!"port facilitios were aV3,ilahle. At preBent the emt of earting t{) statious on the South-ea.fit Hailway is too high to le"xe " prolit"hle retum to the growers, The . eheap transport by ,mter was counteracted hy t}lC delay in getting the producn to tJIC 1I1el bourne market, owing to the ketch Ripple, which tmdes hah,con Melhourne "nd Anderson's Inlet, being sometimes preventEd for several day, hy adveroc weather eouditioll' from putting out to sea. 4. At Lower Tarwiu there is an area of all01lt 14,000 acres of rich river fiats, forming some of the fiuest pasturage land in the State. These flats arc eovered mostlY with strawberry clover and rye grass, the former having heen SOWJl hy the late ~ir. Black ovcr 50 years ago. The annua! rainfall of the district, avemged over a period of 20 years. is 33l, inchcs. The roa,(\s of the Lower Tarwin district are mostly hgd, but at Inver!oeh there is an excellent macadam road for the 8 miles to \Vonthaggi, a fair"rcad between IuycrIoch and Outtrim, alld a good gravel road for the ,1, miles between 'j{ongwak settlement and Outtrim railv, ar station, Froltl Kongwak low'1rds Inverloch the country is of a light, sandy nature, with heath and ti,trce predominating. 4
BOLTES AND Co.'!TS OJ<' PROPOSIW RAILWAYS. 5. A number of routes were cluggest,.,d for serving the dintrich nuder consideration, and :Mr. C. H. Perrin, Chief Bngineer for Railway COll"trnction, informed the Committee that the estimated costs "'ould be as follow :~
i1J:.JtjWS! CUt\(, LrU'i(tll, 1\11ling (;r;vt,~ rp~! 1''''1 Mile T'lb.j ('''5f" "Rout-1:. Jh"lhb.
.\l!;p~. Ont'1u ('Iud!>" t £ Buffalo to Lower 1'arwin lIt 55 15 S,UOO 8:!J,lOO Wonthagg\ to Invcrloch .. R 6ii :lO 6).'300 5O,4Of) .lumbunna to Inverloch 131 on J2 25,000 :H4,OOO
Outtrim to InverJoch, via l{nugwtlk 101 :)0 ~ 12 1750 134,iJ(~J
6. The ~stimated cost of tho rant,., from .JnmoUlllm to lllverioch is based 011 an old t-rial survey, and passes through very difficnh country, reqlliring II tunnel. 'fhe first 2 miles o[ the Outtrim to Inverloch proposal are estimated to cost £35,000 " mile, but local residents claimed that if the extension commenced from North Outtrim or frum an intenne(liate point between Outtrim and North Outtrim this amount could he materially rednced.
OTHER SUCIGESTED ROUTES. 7. At Korumourra a line was suggested leaving that town and following the valley of the Foster River, rullliing parallel with the existing KorumbulTa-Outtrim line, at Ii distan0e of 2 to 4 miles from it., t.hen tapping the Kongwak area, and proceeding to lnverloch. 8. The Kongwak w:tnesoos unanimously supportec\ a proposal to bring the line from Jeetho (situated nearly midway between Nyora and Korumhurra) to Kongwak, and thence to Inverloch. No recent estimat.e in COIUlcxion 'I\'ith this line had been prepared by the Chief Engineer for Railway Construction, but particulars were supplied of estillli\tes taken out in 1909 for a proposed line from .Jeetho via Kongwak to Wonthaggi. For the section from Jeetho to Kongwak the cost on the 1909 basis was £,')2,000, whirh to-day would represent about £104,000, or £10,400 a mile. 9. At Lower Tarwin it was also suggested that a COllllcxion from Buffalo to Lower Tarwin should be extended along the north shore of Anderson's Inlet to Inverloch, and thence to Wonthaggi, affording an alternative route for the carriage of timber from ,~tatiollS on the Scnth-eastern line to the Wonthaggi coal mines. ThiH route would skirt the shore of the inlet for nearly 12 miles, and would th11!l for that section have a gathering ground fOf traffic on the north side only.
NYORA-WONTHAGGI RAILWAY. 10. The Bass Valley line to Woolamai was originally constructed to develop the agri cultural possibilities of that district.. Later on, when coal was discoverecl at Wonthaggi, the line was extended to that town. As indicating how little the settlers ha YO chanO'ed from their orioinal occupation of dairying to the I,lTowing of crops for Hale outside the district, the following state ment supplied by the Railways Commissioneril at the request of the Committee i" interesting :~
STATEMENT showing the Inwards and Outwards 'ronnage and Hevcnue 01 all Produce cani('d llt 'i A.P." Rates from Stations between NVOIa- and vVonthaggi for yCIll' ended 30th .Tlme, 1924, Outwuds, luw:;ru... ::.t;ltion. J T(l!l~. lkt'()IlIJ<;. 'rOIli>. UrW'lIlI",
J: r WoodJeigh " " 86 .0 211 !II Kernot .. .. 10 S 280 13;'; J\lmurta .. .. 2'1l 113 273 H4 Glen Forbr>); .. !i 4 150 R9 \Voolamai .. .. 7 ., 107 61 Anderson .. .. HO 2:,), 26 13 Kilcunda .. .. .' .. It 7 Dalvston .. . . lOG 62 J .iJ2R Gl f; State Mine .. .. sa 17 483 351 Wonthaggi .. .. I 95 49 3,450 2,175 I 656 31B 6,022 3,688 --_... I It, will be seen that. the amount of produce !lent away at agricultural produce rates for the whole year comprised not much more than a single train load, while over 6,000 tons were brought into the district from other parts. A large amount oHms was fodder for the 175 horses and ponies employed at the Stats Mine, the General Jl.la.nager, Mr. G. H. Broome, stating that the hay produced in the district was not considered suitable bec,ause of its luxuriant and rank growth.
DEVELOPMENT OF COAL-FI.ELDS. 11. lIfr. Br(){.me also informed the C
TOURIST ASPECT. 13. Tnverloch is at present usually reached by rail to Wonthaggi and thence by motar ear. Combination rail and road tickets are issued by the Government Tourist Bur('lall, and the number of visitors to the district is steadily increasing. Golf links are being est<1hlished at InveTloch, and there is exc.ellent fishing and good shooting, rest, and recreation in the neighbourhood. At Wonthaggi it was urged that a rail connexion with Inverloeh would afford residents, parti.cularly miners and their f,tmilies, an opport.unity to reach this tourist resort, where the children would be '1,l1ite safe on the broad, sandy beaches, shelving gradua'ly into calm, shaDow wa-ter. At KNCl1nda, sItuated 7 miles on the ~lelbo1ITne side of Wonthaggi, there is a dangerous undertow, and on tm shore there are precipitous cliffs, which are being undermined by the sea to such an extent that within the last few weeks the Rai'way Department has found it necessary to remove tm Kilcunda station from the beach side to the land side of the existing line.
KOKGWAK SOLDIER SETTLEMENT. 14. At Kon~wak, which is sitnated on undulating and plain country extending from about 3 to 7 miles In 11. direct line south-west of Outtrim, there are 49 soldier Bettlers, who are almost wholly engaged in dairying. Each holding comprises on the average about 50 acres of good fertile land, for which it was stated they were paying from £,"iO to £70 per aere. The cream is (1011veyed to the Kongwak Butter Factory hy wagons sent out hy the company. The roads throughout this district are not in good order, but there is a section of excellent gravel road leading to the railway from the nearest point of the Kongwak settlement.
TARWIN :MEADOWS. 15. At Lower Tarwin a large area of rich river fiats is under strawberry clover and rye grass, and it was stated in evidence tha" so prolific is the clover growth that it has appeared again and again on Jand which has been regularly (Jultivated. This land is used for dairying, t.he cream beiug delivered to t.he butter factory at. l.ower Tarwin, whence the butter is conveyed by road 12 miles to 'farwin railway statlOll. Mr. A. ~1. Black, who holds 3,000 acres of land at. Lower Tarwin, informed the Commit.tee t.hat he ha~ made aIT' TAR WIN DRAINAGE SCHEME. 17. A proposal is being investigated by the State RiveTs and Water Supply Commission at the instance VIEWS 0];' COMlVIITTEJ( 18. 'fhe Committee IS of opinion that. tile area of approximately 14,000 acres or river flats Itt Lower Tarwin now carrying, as they lla ve donc for over 50 years past, an exceptionally fine growth otstrawberry dover, rye, and other introduced grasses, form a quite cxccptiona.J dairying proposition, and .that it is most unlikely tha,t this land wiII be ploughed up and used for the growing' of root crops, oats, or maize, affording railway freight en. 'foute to market. There is a butter factory at Lower Tarwin, and the return per cow from dairying on these flats will ill normal times always be such as to render improbable the adoption of any other form of farming which might prove more profitahle from the freight point of vicw to a railway. In the ilIelho\lrne press of 11 th October, 192,t, there appears an advertisement rcilltin'i to the HllbdiviHioll of 'farwin Park, the property of Mr. A< M. Black, at Lower Tal'WllL The land is Hold on the basi" of no deposit, but so much per cent. of the annual gross earnings i, j 0 be handed to the vendor. A eriterioll of the owner's opinion "K to the best use that can he made of the land< is afforded by the st"tillllcnt that l\k Black has decided to sell to bona fide dairymen only, and although the carting distance of 1:1 miles to Tarwin rai'way station is a factor with root and other crops, the ComlIlittile is of oplllion that even if a railway were provided near at hand these 'farwin flats would still be used for dairying purposes, and consequently yield very small revenue for a railway line. At l\liddle Tarwin, which is only 6 or 8 miles from Tarwin railway station, the land is Jnostly used for dairying, and the Committee is of opinion that even with a milway within easier aceess this wonld still bc the principal occupabJIl followed. 10. If a line were bnilt from Lower TfHwiu 10 Buffalo the through diHtance to Melbourne wOlnd be 106~ miles, and the eost per ton f()r the various d"sscs of goods would be as follow:; : ('J",,", S.A.P. ('1:1,,~ A. ---~I-~--- I-----:-~~- - $< rl< s. d. s. d< 8< rl< s, II, 8. d. 8. d. 8, d. fi 6 11 6 • 11 4 22 J. 2~) 0 42 " 54 n (\7 6 Against this the ketch Ripple conveyH goods between Lower Tarwin alid Melbourne for aos. per ton, and with a possible cntting of the rates in the event of railway competition it i, unlikely that the Railway Department would secure much freight except in the lower grade, and conseqnently less profitable commodities. The element of water competition applies in a similar manner at Inverloch, where the Ripple regularly trades, and, ItS a matter of fact., the merchants at Wenthagl,>1, where there is a railway to-day, obtain pOl'ticm of their Hupplies by boat to Inverloch at a cosf ()f 258. per tOll and thence by motor wagon or other vehide over an excellent road to Wonthaggi. 20< There is not mueh agricultural development to he expected at Tnvcrloch, which is within 8 miles of It railway station now; the pas;;cnger traffic would be seasonal and largely confined to tourists, who, however. are now fairly well (~atercd for by the rail way to Wonthaggi, and thence bv motor convevance to Inverloch. There would be some rail passenger traffic induced from \Vonthaogi, but·the road would be a severe competit.or, esp eeially as the road service wonld be more b~quent, Mr. Broome's evidence made it clear that an eA."tension of the Wonthaggi line 2 miles towards Inverloch, to tap the eastern coal arcas, would not be necessary for t.hree or fom: vears at the earliest. " 21. At Kongwak a number of. the soldier settlers are making fair progress, but most ot these men who are engaged in dairying are carting from 4 to 10 miles to the railway. The roarb through the settlement are not good, but from the nearer portion the main road to the railway i~ in excellent condition. 7 22. The suggested routes from Jeetho or Korumburra via Kongwak to InverIoch do not allow of sufficient gathering ground to support a railway. The Jeetho route would lie about midway between the Wonthaggi and Outtrim lines, which are ouly 10 or 12 miles apart, while the route from Korumburra down the I,'oster Valley parallels the Outtrim line at an average distance of only 2 or 3 miles. The Committee fully appreciates the difficulties of the settlers in reaching a railway station because of steep hills and the absence of made roads, and is most sympathetically inclined towards the men who are suffering these disabilities, but the absence of a large area of productive or possibly productive lan\l to feed the proposed railway constitutes a formidable and well-nigh insuperable objection to its construction, and in this case the Committee is of opinion that either of these two suggested :ines would be foredoomed to financial failure from the outset. 23. Finally, dealing with the proposed connexion of the Inverloch-Wonthaggi section and the I,ower 1'arwin-Buffulo section by a line approximately 12 miles in length along the north shore of Anderson's Inlet., a factor in its fa vour is that such a line could be used for the transport of timber in a more direct ronte from stations between Meeniyall and Foster, on the South-east line, to the State Coal Mine at Wonthaggi. The mileage to Meibourne from Lower Tarwin would be the same, viz., 106} miles, via either Inverloch or Buffalo. However, the total lack of any gathering ground on the south oj' seaward side of the proposed line, the presence of regular boat competition to Maher's Landing, situated on the inlet between Pound Creek and Screw Creek, and the poorer quality of the soil on the plains to the north are reasons which, ill the view of the COlIllllittee, would not justify such a cOllnexion, RECOMMENDATION. 24. For the foregoing reasons the Committee considers it is llot expedient at the present time to construct a railwa v to serve the districts of Anderson's Inlet and the Lower Tarwin ValIey. ~ 25. Section 14 of the Rrtilways Standing Committee Act 1915, No. 2717, prohibits a member who is personally interested in any proposed line or railway from taking part ill the proceedings of the Committ H. F. RICHARDSON, Railways Standing Committee Room, Vice-Chairman. State Parliament H01lse, Melbourne, 22nd Octo her, 1924. rMinutfs oJ E1)id.ence are not pri·nted.] By Authority! II. J. GREEN. Government Printer5 Melbourne,