Steve and I finally got our act together to go and do something for a day. It was going to be a bush walk in the blue mountains, but some years ago I went to what is known as the 'Great North Road' (or the Convict Road), which most people think starts at Wisemans Ferry, but actually starts in Sydney City.
The City to Wisemans ferry part is now obviously tarred and has been for a while so its regarded as a normal Road (Old beer bottles at the edge, dead wildlife flat as a pancake in the middle, stolen burnt out cars etc). The route it takes is the historic importance bit on this.
After Wisemans it�s still dirt, and here it�s the dirt, and the building of the road that�s of historic importance.
Wisemans ferry (once a major river port) is named after Solomon Wiseman, who was transported in the early 19th century for stealing timber. Wiseman died in 1848 and is buried in the local cemetary. Soloman was contracted to feed the convicts who were working on the road egg andf bacon rolls. Of course he did this when he was alive not dead!!!! Derrrrrrrrrrr........
Oh.... O.K. ....I made up the bit about the egg and bacon rolls...... it was really Crunchie nut corn flakes!!!
We started out at 6:30am on our motor sickles, to kill two lobsters, that gather no moss, in one basket (or something like that). This meant that we got in a motor bike ride, as well as a bush walk, all on the same day.
It was a great ride out to Wisemans (a bit chilly) and the first stop was at the hawkbury lookout. This is a kilometre or so before the road drops down to the river. Its only a small parking spot and as I stopped I heard the sound of skidding gravel behind me. Looking round I was surprised to see Steve laying on the floor. I thought he was playing dead ants, but realised he had fallen off his sickle.
Stupid me (Im kicking myself now), I quickly went over to help, rather than grabbing the camera and taking a photograph. A photo opportunity missed, Bugger!!!
He wasn�t injured, his front tyre just slipped on some gravel whilst he was turning around. Made for good entertainment though.
I thought I'd better help him as petrol was pissing out of his tank and I could see the ignition light still on. I had visions of him going up in a puff of smoke, and there was nowhere within miles that sold marshmallows.
I took some happy snaps, and we went down into Wisemans. There was a caf� just starting to open, so we thought we would stop, sit in the sun and have a cup of coffee. The woman (about mid 40's), was the most miserable bitch you could imagine. I politely asked if we could get coffee and she said
"The watar's not even 'ot yet".
"That�s Ok" steve said, "we�ll wait".
It�ll take abaht 15 min'its" she said.
"Not a problem" says us.
Then she walks out with a sign and says to steve "ere, yoo�ll 'ave to move ya bike, ma sign goes there".
"Let me do that for you right now" says steve with his best Colgate grin.
We sat and waited and had a chat, then she screams out from inside �Ya coffee�s ere�
No table service in this neighbourhood that�s for sure.
I�ve included a picture of the caf� in order that you make sure you avoid it like the black death, if ever you get to Wisemans.
We jumped on the bikes again for a 200 metre ride to the cable ferry. As we arrived they were just loading, and we drove straight on. The ferry runs 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and is free!!! You can hop on and off as many times as you like. Neat huh?
Theres actually a motor bike ride that takes in five of these free ferry's, that we have promised ourselves we'll do one day.
A quick turn left off the ferry, and about 750 metres up the road is the entrance to the great North Road Proper.
We parked the bikes right by the gate, and started our climb. The pictures speak for themselves after this.
At various places on the walk, there are information signs on how the road was built. Its quite an amazing feat considering that it was all cut out by hand using convict labour. There are varied story�s of how many people, and how long it took to build, depending on which web site you visit, or which sign you read. This is fairly accurate though:-
Built between 1825 and 1836, it took up to 700 crims 11 years to build, and it went for a distance of 264 kilometres. Thats a lot of crunchie nut cornflakes I can tell you!!!
By 1836 the last of the gangs were just finishing the road, but by this time the government of the day decided it was useless, and they would use ocean steamers instead. . Now that�s justice suckers!! Hahahaha.......
That�ll teach the buggers for stealing a loaf of bread back in Ye Olde Londinium.
Now there is only 42 kilometres of the original old road left (shame).
They had to clear the bush of trees and cut the rock all by hand. Driving bars into the rock with hammers and eventually breaking squares off, and sometimes using explosives. They then 'faced' the rocks down to size to shape them, using picks and hardened cornflakes. After this they built up the side of the road, using the chippings as fill as they went. Some of the walls are 12 feet high. They also had to build drains under the road, and gutters on the cliff side. These were also chipped out of the rock using picks.
The engineering in making the walls is amazing, and the quality is evident that its still standing today, albeit with a bit of restoration.
As they went, they also had to build bridges as well, and had special bridge building gangs for this purpose (double helpings of crunchie nut for the bridge builders).
There are three bridges still standing north of the hawksbury river on this road, and these are the oldest surviving stone bridges on mainland Australia.
Buggered if I know where they are though.
Where would we be if I didnt give all you history buffs, with nothing better to do, a link to further information???
Click on the cornflake box for more info on the Great North Road. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>
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