Traralgon Railway Reservoir Conservation Park
A Summary of the History
of the Traralgon Railway Reservoir Reserve Area
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| 4th September 1994: It has been decided to make a Nature Park of this land. I (Bert Deane) have been asked to collect the history of the area known to older residents as the "Old Railway Reservoir", and to some who have played there, as "Kickhorse Canyon". I am quoting from information kindly supplied by Bill Thomas. Jack Davidson, Keith Chenhall, Graham Morley. They are all long time residents of Traralgon. Originally, this area would have been part of Hobson's 28000 acre run, until about
1853. A railway line from Sale to Melbourne was built, but building of it was started from both ends, Sale and Dandenong. The first train arrived at Traralgon from Sale on the 1st July 1877 - where their water came from for the first three years I do not know.
In the contemporary sketch, left, the elevated tanks are clearly seen, as is the Grand Junction Hotel, right, behind the steam locomotive.
A trolley track ran past the dam to a gravel pit in Dunbar's - whether this track was used in any of the construction or maintenance isn't known. In 1884 after a large fire in the town, Traralgon Shire obtained the railway's permission to extend the pipeline into the town for fire fighting purposes only. By the next February 1885, it was extended to Franklin Street. In 1908 a water supply was laid from the Tyers river to Traralgon, apparently the reservoir then fell into disuse, and the wooden weir collapsed, this drained the reservoir and cut out the gully (canyon) from about 5 ft deep to what it is today, called "Kickhorse Canyon" - this water also caused a flood around the the rail station area. The reservoir remained empty for some time, until the present concrete weir was built. The Fish and Game Society (in those days a strong club) stocked the reservoir with trout to provide fishing, and held some competitions there. In the 1940 or 50's the area became part of the Hobson Park Hospital Grounds, and during the 1980's a pumphouse irrigated a vegetable area for them. Eventually it was found to be superfluous to their requirements, and ownership passed to the Traralgon City Council. Consideration was given by the council as to the best way to use the ground, one suggestion, making it a Botanic Park, - it was estimated to cost something around $200,000 and consequently it was considered too expensive. Then selling part for housing was considered. Eventually it was decided in the early 1990's trees would be planted and the park should be allowed to develop into a Natural Australian Bush Park. In 1992, gates, walking tracks and footbridges were formed, and the centre part fenced, with a grant allowed for work training of unemployed.
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In 1880 the Railway
Reservoir was finished, and about a 10 inch cast iron pipe, conveyed water by gravity to
large elevated tanks on the south side of the rail line. It was for railway use
only (parts of this pipe are still visible).Recollections of the Railway Reservoir Reserve - (Keith Chenhall)
My earliest connection with the Railway Reservoir Reserve would have been as a child when, in the late '20s, I accompanied my father on occasional visits to the rubbish tip which was located in the north-east corner of the Reserve, (at the corner of Hickox Street and Rose Avenue).
The remainder of the Reserve, along with some adjacent private properties, was used as the local golf course (although I think it provided 9 holes, when looking at the plan my memory can only locate 8). It was a very pleasant course, full of natural hazards, with various holes being known by the difficulties they presented, i.e. "The Chasm" (for some obscure reason, this seems to be called Kicking Horse Canyon today), "The Res" (into which many a wayward ball landed), "The Long Hole", etc. The tee for the first hole used to be located on the north side of the Rose Avenue road reserve, with players driving over the road, and there were some occasions when the adjoining rubbish tip represented a hazard for the hooked drive. Later, the first tee was transferred to a point in Hickox Street.
Another hazard was of historical significance and it was always
referred to as "The Tram Track". There was a time when Franklin Street was part
of a swamp and to build a crown on the carriageway gravel was transported down from
"The Homestead" property by means of a slightly graded tram-line. Whilst only a
little evidence of the track remains today, it was of some importance to golfers of the
day. (Photo left, of the "tram track" laid to carry stone from Dunbar's for the
construction of Franklin St., 1914. Photo TDHS).
In the days of steam, Traralgon was the Locomotive Engineering Depot for the Gippsland line and it was a much larger establishment than the present one. Indeed, it can be said that the Depot was Traralgon's first secondary industry. Large elevated water storage tanks stood on land on the south side of the line and to supply these the reservoir was constructed in the area bounded by Hickox St., Rose Ave, and Hyde Park Rd.
The Traralgon Fish and Game Society was one of the town's active community organisations and during its history loudly trumpeted the fact that it had over 1,000 members. At one stage they stocked the Reservoir with trout and conducted Club competitions there, but for various reasons there was never a large "catch" and the programme was allowed to lapse.
Perhaps it can be recalled that in an earlier period, when he lived as a boy with his family in Hickox Street, Sir Macfarlane Burnet, later to become a distinguished medical scientist, used to frequent the Reservoir area, and developed an interest in the various organisms present there.
