Classic cars forum & vehicle restoration.

[roverdriver]

In January 1965, a friend and I did a trip around Victoria, following the border as much as possible. When we got to Jindabyne, we decided to follow a road to the South. It was marked on the map as a very thin line, that eventually became a dotted line, then petered put, however there was a similarly marked route coming North, and we reasoned that the roads would actually meet. Our vehicle was a 1939 Series E Morris, shown here just out of Jindabyne.



We had a most interesting drive through to Willis, on to Suggan Buggan, then Wulgulmerang and Gelantipy. There were some adventures on the way that I'll tell about another day.

Here is the road beyond Suggan Buggan.



We eventually got through to Buchan, and found tar-sealed road again, and made our way home to Melbourne. At Easter the same year, I returned alone, to the area to visit a couple of people that we had met on our first trip. On that occasion I drove from Buchan to Wulgulmerang, then down to McKillops Bridge across the Snowy River, where I camped for the night. Next morning I set off again on through Deddick Gorge, Ambyne Crossing, Tubbut and to Bonang, whereupon I turned South to eventually arrive in Orbost, and so continue home.

When Noreen and I decided to go on the Buchan Centenary rally,(Story posted as Aussie Tour- Buchan in 'General Motoring and other Collectables Section) we thought that doing something else while we were in that region, would be a good idea. I suggested that as we were close to the Gelantipy area, I could show it to her along with the magnificent high country scenery.

We decided that after leaving the activities at Buchan on the Saturday, we would drive to Orbost, then the short way to the coast to stay at Marlo overnight. I would like to point out that in 1965, I would drive until I was tired, then find a level place near the road, throw a couple of blankets on the ground and settle down to sleep. Not so in 2010, under wifely influence we stayed in a cabin at a caravan park. I would also point out that our vehicle is bigger and 20 years more modern than the one I used in '65, it is our 1959 Rover 90. However, The Morris was only 26 years old when I did that trip, whereas the rover was fifty-one. (The driver had aged a bit too!)

Up bright and early on Sunday Morning, we retraced our route to Orbost, then set off for Bonang. I had sort of mentioned to my wife, in passing, that there might be a bit of winding road ahead of us.



We were pleasantly surprised to find that in the intervening years, most of the road to Bonang has been tar-sealed, so we had a very nice smooth and enjoyable drive climbing up through the hills. A real contrast to the very narrow unsealed rough bush track logging road that back in '65 was named the 'Bonang Highway'. We stopped frequently to take photographs and to enjoy the quiet of the bush.

It is possible that the road had been sealed because of the volume of traffic using it. In 1965 I saw one car on that stretch of a bit over 50 miles, a sign of the times is that there was a four-fold increase to four cars!

About 20 kilometers from Bonang, the seal ended and we drove on newly-graded gravel road. Below, stopped for another photo opportunity, the car is dwarfed by the gum trees.



At Bonang we turned off towards Gelantipy.



Much slower going now, as the gravel road had not been graded for a long while. The road was also much narrower and much more winding.

We saw a sign to an historic bridge at Ambyne Crossing, so diverted a few hundred yards off the road to look at it. As soon as I saw it, I recognised it and told Noreen that I had a photo of it at home.

Here is the bridge in 2010



The bridge has been replaced by a concrete one, but the old bridge was restored a few years ago as of historic importance, even though cars can't use it any more.

Here is my 1965 photo. You might just be able to see the Morris on the bridge.



From here proceeded on along the unsealed road, past Victoria's most remote school at Tubbut and then proceeded through the Deddick Gorge and eventually to McKillops Bridge where we had lunch.

Traffic over this section would be described as 'light'. One car followed us for about a mile then turned off into a farm gateway. and that was all that we saw.



The bridge allowed driven cattle and sheep to cross the Snowy River and therefore to get to rich pastures of the Monaro district further East. Now no driven stock uses the route, but despite it being rather remote, a moderate number of tourists use the road. One car crossed the bridge while we were having about a one hour break there, then we set off again.



Having traversed some very winding road earlier in the day, I took the opportunity to point out to Noreen that this was where the really winding road really started.





About a mile from the bridge, the road was a little wider, and I pulled to the left to allow Noreen to take a photo from the car window. As we pulled up, a car approached from in front of us, followed by three more. We hoped that we would see no more for a while. Luckily we didn't.



Gradually we climbed up getting views of the Snowy River as it seemed to drop away below us.





And so on we climbed.



In the picture below, you might just make out the scar on the hillside, about a third from the bottom. That is, in fact, the road


Eventually we reached Wheeler's Saddle, elevation 690 meters.



You might have noticed that at McKillops Bridge we were 191 meters above sea level, so in 11 k's we had climbed 499 meters or in real language over 1600 feet.

With the road only wide enough for one vehicle, and in places barely wide enough, and an almost cliff-like drop over the side, a lot of the driving was done with 'don't look down' going through my mind.

There was another fourteen kilometers to Wulgulmerang and another 500 or so feet to climb, but the really narrow and steep road was now behind us.

We did stop for photos on the way (when there was sufficient room to park the car), but the 25 k's from the bridge took us two hours. If I had been given a dollar at every curve in the road, I would have reached the top as a very rich man!



We motored on- and again I was amazed at firstly the sealed road, and secondly, there were power lines, so the area now had electricity from the grid, rather than each household using their own lighting plant.

We passed through Gelantipy, and I was able to locate a house or two that I had visited 45 years before, but they were in disrepair, so no-one living there.

We arrived in Buchan, late in the afternoon, but motored on to the small town of Bruthen and stayed the night in a slightly run-down hotel dating from the 1920's and apparently little changed since then.

We were up and away early on Monday morning and returned home via Sale and Yarram. The round trip was just on 600 miles, and the car behaved perfectly all of the way.

This is an outing that I would recommend to anyone who has the opportunity. It covers some fascinating countryside with some amazing scenery.
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Dane- roverdriver but not a Viking.

[Roger-hatchy]

Nice one RD

The Ambyne crossing 2010 and 1965
I presume they are the same bridge but has lost it's 'hump'
Or is that due to the camera position.

Must be great to be able to retrace old 'OLD' routes without the usual modern congestion.

Thanks for the posting

Roger

[roverdriver]

Very interesting point, Roger. The restoration was completed in 2004, so fairly recently. The bridge was built in 1935.

You are correct, the restored bridge has no hump. This type of bridge was not common in Victoria, and I believe that this is one of only two still in existence. In New Zealand, I have driven over many different similar structures that all had humps.

I believed that the hump was an essential part of the design, as the whole deck flexed as the load pulled on the suspension cables.

Perhaps the restoration architect, did not understand the original design, or perhaps his computer could not handle such a sophisticated piece of engineering.

Certainly is food for thought.
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Dane- roverdriver but not a Viking.

[Keith D]

Wow! you've brought some memories flooding back, Rover Driver!

My wife, our baby son and I left Sydney to return home to Melbourne in January 1968. We arrived in Canberra an hour and a half after John Gorton had been sworn in as Prime Minister and therefore could not get accomodation in Canberra, so we drove on to Cooma along the Monaro Highway.

The next day we drove down through Bombala and into Delegate very close to the NSW/Victoria border. We dumped all our fresh food at Delegate, because the border was near. We did not realise that the fruit fly check was situated just before Orbost that we arrived at in the late afternoon. We were starving! Thank God the car didn't break down, because the Bonang Highway was exactly as your 1965 photos! There had been several days rain and we were lucky to get through without problems. We saw one car between Delegate and Orbost and that was a Land Rover! I think that road took us through some of the most beautiful scenery I've ever seen.

We were in a stock standard 1950 Austin A40 Sedan.

Thanks for the post!

Keith

[Nic Jarman]

Thanks for the posting, rover driver.I enjoyed the photos and reading about your trip.
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1936 Morris 8 Series 1
1973 MGB roadster
1977 MG Midget 1500
Dax Rush

[P3steve]

Thanks for that, I take my hat off to you for attempting a trip like that. I dither about taking my P3 just ten miles sometimes and this is in the UK on well made roads!

[Richard H]

Great pictures RD, looks like a fun trip

Did the Rover run well?
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Richard Hughes

[roverdriver]

Thanks everyone for your comments. Glad to have brought back memories for you, Keith D.

Our Rover is an unrestored 90 with a 100 engine. Engine is fairly well worn but still runs nicely. There is no chassis or body rust, which is one of the advantages of such a car that has lived all of its working life in Australia.

I do my best to keep maintenance up to scratch and we had just fitted a new set of tyres before the trip. The car ran faultlessly all the way, although I was worried on the narrow climbing section because I knew that the handbrake might not hold if it was needed should we meet another car and have to reverse to a passing area.

I have always believed that a motor vehicle should be used and that driven appropriately, that is what it was designed for. I admit that if I owned a veteran, I might not use it to go shopping in, or to tackle bush tracks, but if you think about it veterans were designed for unpaved rough roads.

I have posted this link before, here is a movie clip showing the car we owned at the time. It had been fully restored just three years earlier and we embarked on a 5,000 mile round trip.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_TfYlVUnrQ

Thanks again for the interest
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Dane- roverdriver but not a Viking.