Bogong High Plains Tour - December 1928

BOGONG HIGH PLAINS RIDING TOUR

Hotham Heights

From December 21 1928 to January 1 1929, a horse-riding tour was organized by the Victorian Government Tourist Bureau, to Victoria’s High Country.

Feathertop

Feathertop

Hotham Heights

Harrietville

At Harrietville

At Shannonvale

The group consisted of a tour manager, 20 riders, a staff of eight, with 13 extra pack horses. The party travelled from Melbourne to Bairnsdale by train, where they stayed overnight, then motored up the Tambo Valley to Omeo, and on to Glen Wills and Shannonvale, meeting there with an advance party where they collected their horses and gear.

From there their itinerary included Fitzgerald’s Hut, Tawonga Hut, Mt Fainter. Cobrunga River, Mt Hotham, Mt Feathertop, Harrietville, with side trips to Mt Nelse, Spion Kopje, Paradise Falls, Whitehorse Falls, Mt Bogong, Timm’s Lookout, ending at Harrietville, then by car to Bright and back to Melbourne by train.

The cost for each member was 15 guineas, which included all accommodation, meals, sleeping bags, tents, blankets, and the services of a chef.

Click the link below to see a Slide Show of  the 35 photos the Tour!

(Images acknowledged to State Library of Victoria. Some have been colorized by this author)

80th Anniversary of the Trail Ride to Bogong High Plains and the Australian Alps

The second organized Trail Ride to the Bogong High Plains and the Australian Alps took place between December 21 1929 and January 1 1930.

About 50 horseback riders participated, in two groups, travelling the 120 km course starting at Shannon Vale, on the Mitte Mitta Rd, and ending at Harrietville.

They travelled by train from Melbourne to Bainrsdale, then by car to Omeo and Shannon Vale to collect their horses and supplies.

Their route was along part of what was to evolve into the Bogong High Plains Rd, around the site of the present Rocky Valley Dam, a sidetrip up to the Mt Nelse Summit, then on to the Fainter Firetrack, a side trip to the summit of Mt McKay, then a stopover at the Tawonga Huts. They passed the crossing of the present-day Australian Alps Walking Track (near Tawonga Huts), then past Mt Cope, passing what was to become the Falls Creek Village in later decades. Then on to Mt Hotham, and along the Razorback Track, to the Mt Feathertop summit.

After that, they encamped at the former Bungalow Hut, near Feathertop, then desended the Bungalow Spur Track to Harrietville, the end of their ride.

They then said goodbye to their horses, went by car back to Bright, and picked up the train at Bright for the trip back to Melbourne.

Some 30 amazing photographs and descriptions of their expedition, with a route map, may be viewed at the National Library of Australia website,

http://nla.gov.au/nla.pic-an23255611

Summit hike to Mt McKay - Bogong High Plains

Mt McKay is in the Bogong High Plains Region, NE Victoria, and at 1849 m is the highest mountain in Australia which can be reached by road.

It is snow-covered in winter, and is about 6 km from the Falls Creek Village via a turn-off from the High Plains Rd along the Pretty Valley Rd.

The actual summit is about 1 km up the maintenance road from a junction, where there is a small car park. This road is extremely steep and stony, and suitable mainly for 4WD vehicles in locked low range drive.

Foot access is up this road, taking about 15 minutes each way in good weather.

At the summit there are communications antennas, a fire spotting tower, amateur radio repeater transmitters, and a roofed observation lookout.

The views are spectacular, 360 degrees, across to the Alps, the Kiewa Valley, the Rocky Valley and Pretty Valley Dams, and to the Mt Buffalo Massif.

On the north flank of the mountain is the Mt McKay Power Station, most of which is underground.

This mountain is adjacent to the Falls Creek ski runs, and was integrated into the Alpine National Park in 2001, following a rejected commercial proposal to develop it for skiing.

We visited the summit on March 8, 2009, walking up the access road.

See the complete set of Photos of this trip!

Tawonga Huts Hike - Bogong High Plains

The Tawonga Huts are in the Bogong High Plains, about 4 km from the Pretty Valley Pondage carpark.

The carpark is is reached via a turn off from the Pretty Valley Rd, about 6 km from the Bogong High Plains Rd, which starts just past the Falls Creek Village.

The turn-off and descent to the Pondage is signposted, and this is an extremely rough, dusty, corrugated, 2 km track, with a surface consisting of large sharp loose rubble and stones.

The walk starts by crossing the Causeway (1637 m) near the carpark then a 4 km hike (each way) up the stony Fainter Fire Track. Over the top (1814 m), the track drops down into the valley of the Tawonga Huts Creek - the Huts are nearby (1675 m).

The Fainter Firetrack continues north, ultimately ending at Bogong Village.

A side footrack, starting at the huts, marked with orange triangles on trees, goes to the highest peak (1852 m) in the Jathmathangs, formerly known as the Niggerheads.

Maximum altitude reached is 1814 m - lowest is 1637 m.

The wide plain surrounding the huts is used as a major gathering point for cattle mustering each autumn.

The first hut in the area was built by John Ryder prior to 1888 but it was pulled down by a horse teathered to the post, and was then rebuilt in that year.

The third hut was built in 1923 of palings. Many cattlemen used the Tawonga huts, notably Ben Cooper, for whom a cairn sits nearby. This is passed at the top of the Fainter FT on the way in.

The current huts were built in the 1950s about 250m south of the original set. The "Refuge Hut" as named, was built by the SEC in 1928 and pulled here in the 1980s. The fourth hut, was originally a cookhouse and brought to the site on a truck by Billy Hicks, but was burnt down in 2000 and a replacement was then built, similar to that whch was destroyed.

All huts survived the 2003 fires.

The views are stupendous from the Fainter Firetrack, with a sweeping panorama extending from Mt Hotham in the south, then Mt Feathertop (1922 m), the twin peaks of Mt Fainter (1839 m and 1880 m), and the Bogong Massif (1986 m) to the north. The Jathmathangs (formerly known as the Niggerheads) are in front of Mt Feathertop. Mt McKay (1849 m) is nearby.

We visited the Huts on March 8, 2009.

See the complete set of Photos of our trip!

Rocky Valley Dam - Bogong High Plains

The Rocky Valley Dam is located on the Bogong High Plains, near Falls Creek, Victoria, a winter ski resort. The dam is man-made and has a capacity of 28,000 megalitres and is situated at 1600 metres above sea level.

The dam was created for the Kiewa Hydroelectric Scheme, owned and operated by AGL Energy.

The dam is also utilised in snow making in winter for the Falls Creek ski resort.

Our visit to the Dam was on March 7, 2009, which included a drive along a newly sealed section of the High Plains Rd, next to the Dam.

This is programmed for completion by May 2009, linking Falls Creek with the Omeo Highway 35 km distant.

This sealed touring loop for three of the four seasons is expected to increase visitation to the Alpine National Park and incorporates improvements for park users such as improved visitor areas and signage.

See the full set of Photos of our trip!