Page 12 The Moorabool News – 23 November, 2021
News
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Looking back - the Moorabool Reservoir A local history buff has gone back in time, more than a century, to the herculean project that was the construction of the Moorabool Reservoir. Steve Clark from Bolwarrah posted a historical photo on social media from the time of the project (1914 – 1915), comparing it to contemporary photos of the Reservoir and surrounding area today. According to a piece from The Argus on October 30, 1914, construction of the Moorabool Reservoir required, at the time,
“… 150 men and 100 horses employed, and these numbers will not be decreased for the next six months”. The project involved the removal of homes and deviation of roads along 380 acres of land, and increased the district’s water storage capacity by 150 per cent with a total of 1.365 billion gallons (around 5.2 billion litres). “Forty tons of steel were obtained from Belgium just prior to the war, to be used in the concrete embankment”, and “the
contract price for constructing the reservoir was £33,000”, the article concludes. Bolwarrah is a rural locality 85 km northwest of Melbourne and 15 km from Ballan. The name is thought to be derived from an Aboriginal word which described a shrub, Eupomatia laurina, with glossy laurel-like leaves. The shrub is known as rosebush or bolwarra. A post office and a school were opened in Bolwarrah in 1875 and 1886 respectively. There was a substantial village at the turn
of the century, and it was described in the Australian handbook, 1903: In 1915 the Moorabool Reservoir was constructed, inundating the village and much adjacent farmland. The school was moved, and a church and the post office survived. During the 1960s the school was closed. The Moorabool reservoir is a domestic water storage surrounded by forest and managed by Central Highlands Water.
Plea to stay on top of tussock By Lachlan Ellis A local Landcare member has warned the community to stay vigilant against the highly invasive serrated tussock over the next few months. Alan Morton is a member of Pentland Hills Landcare Group and the Victorian Serrated Tussock Working Party (VSTWP) and said current climate conditions meant the weed is at its worst. “The ease with which the seed spreads, and how well it re-establishes itself in new country, is a huge problem. It becomes endemic, and it eliminates all good quality grasses,” Mr Morton told the Moorabool News. “It’s also dangerous for sheep and cattle, it builds up as a ball of indigestible matter. My one-liner is that any time is a good time to control serrated tussock, but right now in lots of areas it’s in full flower…if we have a few hot days in December, the flower will dry out and blow seeds for kilometres on strong winds.” There are many resources available for those wanting to learn how to identify and get rid of serrated tussock – Mr Morton said the most important thing was for people to have an interest in helping the environment. “They just need to be aware that when they come to live on even the smallest piece of land, the land is like anything else – it needs care, it needs maintenance. It’s just like a person, if you don’t look after yourself, you get crook,” he said. “The simplest thing is, just try and control serrated tussock when you’ve got time, any time of the year.” For more information on serrated tussock and how to combat its spread, visit www.serratedtussock.com
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