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Free Copy In This Edition: Page Page Religion by Loud Speaker 2 South Africa—Fast Facts 22 Geelong’s Sewer Aqueduct 3 Spring Luxury? 23 Joe Byrne—Bushranger 6 Regional Television 23 Domestic Geese 8 Moles and Melanoma 24 What’s a Creamery? 10 Russell Crowe 26 The Grampians 13 Recipe—Fried Rice 28 David Syme & The Age 14 Word Search—The Dentist 29 Corio—The Early Days Part 7 16 Banknotes: Lawrence Hargrave 30 Napoleon Bonaparte 18 150 Years Ago 31 The Country Fire Authority 20 Then… & Now 32 From the early days of Geelong, zealous religious preachers would publicly expound their ideas to anyone who would stop and listen. Market Square and the Geelong waterfront were popular spots for the booming voices to be heard. However, in the 1930s something ‘new’ was tried by those desiring to spread the “good news,” as reported by the Recorder newspaper in 1935: “Does the use of a loud-speaking device attached to the top of a motor car for the use of broadcasting religious addresses make the user of the apparatus liable for punishment for behaving in an offensive manner? The problem confronted a bench of honorary magistrates in Geelong West Court. Gilbert George Martin and Oswald Bennett, both of Belmont, members of the International Bible Students’ Society (Jehovah’s Witnesses), were charged with having behaved in an offensive manner on October 27. First-Constable G. Bishop said that at 10:30 a.m. on October 27 he was in his house when his attention was drawn to a loud voice. The voice was apparently coming from a loud-speaking device attached to the top of a motor car. Religious matter was being broadcast. Martin, when questioned said that the car was his; that he was running the apparatus for the Society, and that it was a good set that could be heard a mile away. Witness told Martin that it was not necessary to use such a volume of noise, and that his home was not a sanctuary for him with such an arrangement in the vicinity. Martin then replied: “My friend, the truth must hurt somebody.” In dismissing the information Mr O.C. Hearne (chairman) said it was the unanimous opinion of the bench that insufficient evidence had been given, but the constable had done the right thing.” The ‘sound cars,’ as they were called did not last long, as Jehovah’s Witnesses began to prefer a more personal approach through door knocking. However, the group can still be seen publically on the streets of Geelong, now ‘quietly’ spreading their message in places like Market Square, the Geelong Waterfront, High Street in Belmont, and on Packington Street in Geelong West. A ‘sound car,’ used by Jehovah’s Witnesses in Queensland during the 1930s. 2 Geelong’s progress as a city can be clearly linked to the provision of services to households within the community. The telegraph service started in 1854. Piped gas was introduced in 1860. Articulated (piped) water became available from 1873. These were followed by the telephone (1880) and electricity (1901). However, by the turn of the century there was still no sign of piped sewage disposal. Early Geelong homesteads had a hole dug way down the backyard, with a thunderbox placed over it to sit on. Lime was sprinkled over the freshly deposit- ed faeces to mask the smell and deter flies. Once the growing pile neared ground level the hole was filled in, and the thunderbox was moved to cover a freshly dug hole nearby. A chamber pot was kept inside the home to avoid those dreaded night-time excursions down the backyard, where spiders and the bogeyman were waiting to bid you “good evening.” Typically, next morning the contents of the ‘potty’ were thrown into open drains in the street where the yellow liquid would stagnate until flushed by rainfall into Corio Bay. As time went by all homes built a draughty little outhouse over a perma- nent metal bin. A night-man would come by with his horse and cart and collect the contents before disposing of the waste at a tip site. Not uncommon was the voice of the collector doing his rounds bidding you “hello” while he changed the pan from underneath you. And since collections were only made once a week, the smell could be horrendous. Surely a better method of sewage disposal was needed! During the 1880s, Geelong’s big brother, Melbourne, had reached a population of about 500,000. Suffering the same indignities as Geelong, visitors to Melbourne wrinkled their noses as they walked the streets, while calling the stinking city by the nickname “Smellbourne.” To fix the problem city officials purchased land at Werribee South and built a sewerage farm. By 1897 houses in Melbourne were beginning to be connected to the sewerage system, and the smell gradually disappeared. But Geelong was not included in Melbourne’s plans, although it resided a similar distance to Werribee South. And so, the outcry for better local sanitary conditions continued. Finally, in 1908, the Victorian Government handed over its water supply role to the Geelong Municipal Waterworks Trust for £265,000. Two years later, the 3 Trust's role expanded to include the collection and disposal of sewage and the Geelong Waterworks and Sewerage Trust was formed. But what was the best way to dispose of the waste product? During 1910 Commissioners visited sewerage works in Melbourne, Sydney and Adelaide, researching sewerage farms along with ocean and river outfalls. Melbourne engineer, Mr C. E. Oliver demonstrated that a sewerage farm was feasible if built at Point Henry. However, at the time two hotels were located there, and Point Henry was being used for recreational purposes, including tourist tea rooms. Opposition to any sewerage farm proposal located there would be very stiff indeed! Finally, Mr R. T. Mackay, Chief Engineer to the Geelong Water Works and Sewerage Trust concluded that the best option for Geelong was to pipe the sewage to an ocean outfall at Black Rock, some 18km to the south of the city. Although slightly more expensive to build than a sewerage farm (total cost was £285,992), the ocean outfall would be more politically acceptable, and better value in the long-term, with lower annual operating costs. While the proposal was accepted by the Commissioners, one major technical hurdle had to be overcome. How do you get the 130cm high by 100cm wide ovoid-shaped pipe across the Barwon River? In July 1912 the Trust called for tenders to solve the problem. Tasmanian engineers Edward G. Stone and Ernest J. Siddeley came up with the answer. They proposed using the Considere concrete construction technique to build an aqueduct. Armand Considere was a French engineer who developed a method of combining concrete with steel reinforcing that proved to be very strong. It allowed for greater flexibility in construction of buildings as well as bridges and other civil projects. Soon, a purpose-built concrete factory was established at Marshall. The pipes were formed in 8ft (2.4m) lengths, each weighing 2 tons (tonnes). Concrete beams, bracing and trusses for the aqueduct soon followed. But how do you get all of those heavy concrete sections over to the sewer line? Stone decided that a light-gauge tramway (railway) should be built along the 13km length of the sewer trench to Black Rock. Not only would this make possible the transport of concrete pipes and beams, but would also allow for the removal of excess soil as the trench containing the pipework was dug to the coast. The tramway to Black Rock was completed by February 1913. It was eventually extended to follow the sewer The remains of the factory at Marshall, (beside the current car-park at the railway station) where all the concrete parts for the aqueduct were precast before being moved by rail to the site over the river. 4 line as it crossed the Barwon River, cut across through the showgrounds and racecourse, then under the Queenscliff railway line, before running along Carr Street to Bellerine Street. There the tramway stopped.* The sewer aqueduct itself was designed in 14 sections, using the cantilever principle to cross the Barwon River and river flats. When finished it was 738m (2,424ft) in length and cost £18,450. Concrete piles down to rock (2-13m below the surface) were used to support the pipe, which had a gradient of 1 in 2,500 all the way to Black Rock. Construction on the aqueduct started in 1913, and was completed two years later, including a walkway along the entire length of the structure. In 1916 the first home in Geelong was connected to the sewerage system, and the entire system commenced operation in 1917. One of the reasons why the Considere technique was chosen was that it claimed to stand up very well to extremes in temperature and wind. However, cracks began to appear as early as 1922, and continuous repairs had to be made to the structure throughout its lifetime. The aqueduct was replaced in 1992 by a siphon under the Barwon, and now stands as a disused relic of older times. It continues to deteriorate over time, and an estimated repair bill of $8 million makes its future uncertain. Due to concerns for its stability the walkway across the top of the pipe remains closed to walkers. The aqueduct has been described as “one of the most extraordinary engineering structures in Australia,” and since 1981 has been on the Victorian Historic Buildings register. But many Geelong residents do not even know it exists! Next time you flush your toilet at home you may wish to give it some thought.

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