General News
3 January, 2023
Connecting branches
By KEN ARNOLDTHE Serpentine creek is an anabranch of the Loddon River. As early as 1881 the Shire of Swan Hill wanted to build a wall across the Loddon River just below the Serpentine Creek. After much agitating the Tragowel Plains Irrigation Trust...
By KEN ARNOLD
THE Serpentine creek is an anabranch of the Loddon River.
As early as 1881 the Shire of Swan Hill wanted to build a wall across the Loddon River just below the Serpentine Creek.
After much agitating the Tragowel Plains Irrigation Trust had a timber structure built in 1887, however, it was soon washed away thus had to be rebuilt. The current weir is a concrete structure.
The Serpentine weir can be found off Creek View Road but it is some distance downstream whilst the anabranch is a short distance upstream.
As the anabranch is quite deep when the Serpentine weir is full, water can be diverted along the creek which flows under the Old Boort Road and over a knife- edge weir.
When the creek is flowing the water will pass under Long’s Road on and under Dalziels road on past the Waranga Western channel before going under the Borung-Prairie Road.
This bridge should not be confused with the bridge which is close by the Loddon Valley Highway roadside reserve.
Water for this lagoon, excavated between August and November 1858, at a cost of £484/8/6, it being the first permanent stock and domestic water supply in Victoria, now comes from the Waranga Western channel through a control gate just off Fyfes Road. This lagoon turns to the west and flows through the No. 12 regulator into the Serpentine Creek.
The creek next passes under the Jarklin West Road bridge on under Number 2 Weir Road bridge. Just to the north of this road you will find another weir.
The creek next passes under the Boort-Pyramid Road at Durham Ox where the creek is very wide. Just to the north of the road bridge you will find decking where you can launch your canoe so as to paddle down stream to look at the scar trees.
Further downstream, just short of Hopefield Road, you will find the Nine Mile Creek regulator, originally a weir, and the Serpentine Creek anabranch outfall, known as Pennyroyal outfall, into what becomes the Pennyroyal Creek. The Serpentine creek is around 47km long.
Incidentally during 1883, it was proposed to cut a channel from the Serpentine Creek to Kinypanial weir at Fernihurst.
We now look at Kinypanial Creek. The Government of Victoria set aside 140 acres, two roods, four perches of land, this being allotment 11, county Gladstone, Parish of Kinypanial, in August 1876. This site is about 3km south east of the township of Fernihurst.
As the water level was rarely high enough in the Loddon River for the Kinypanial Creek to flow water had to be lifted from the river into the creek until the United Loddon Water Trust had contractor Pallett throw up (build) a 78-foot wide temporary weir across the Loddon River, so that the creek would flow to Boort, in April 1883, however this weir was soon wrecked in the May flood.
The foreman Mr. Foster reported that he was going to drive three piles into the river bed between the two large gum trees which stood about 44 apart. The piles were to be secured to the trees by wire ropes so as to prevent another disaster.
Pallett was busy building the 20-foot high timber drop bay Kinypanial reservoir wall in June, however the continual floods caused great problems. The contract to build was £340. James Irving was about to employ more men in readiness to cut “Blackfellows Creek” so as to connect the Loddon river to the Kinypanial Creek in July 1883 it being completed in October.
James Flee had installed the sluice gates on this weir, they being first opened on September 11, 1884. The weir was officially opened on January 8, 1885, when a picnic was held. There are still some relics of this regulating structure but they are difficult to access.
It would seem that the United Loddon Water Trust and the Tragowel Plains Irrigation and Water Supply Trust were to be joint managers of the weir. The former reported that £1794/7/11 was spent to build the weir in February 1886.
Some distance downstream another timber weir, later replaced by a concrete wall, now supported by earth and crushed granite rock, was erected, this being known as Boag’s, but often refered to as the Fernihurst weir, it now being used as a diversion to control the flow of water down the creek and into the Pyramid Boort channel, this being near to the intersection of Pattison Road with the Boort-Fernihurst road.
This weir was opened in 1889, it once being a favourite swimming pool.
The Kinypanial Creek next flowed under the Boort-Fernihurst road, on under the Mysia East Road and into the Fernihurst Estate, owned by Ernest Herbert Allfrey.
A contract to build a timber weir and bridge on the estate was let to James Flee, at a cost of £1214/4/7, around April 1886, however it was not until August 1887 that work commenced.
This weir was also used to direct water down the three foot wide Catumnal channel which flowed some distance west of the Kinypanial Creek, out towards Day’s road, onwards under the Boort-Wedderburn road on past Woolshed Lake and Boort to the Catumnal dam which can be found off the Boort-Wycheproof road.
Tenders were called for a small weir at the Johnston’s channel off take whilst there were off takes at Woolshed Lake and on the high side of Little Lake Boort, the line of the channel here now being marked by two rows of sugar gum trees.
W. McClure was awarded the contract to the build most of the bridges and sluice gates along this channel - £604/16/4, this being part of the total cost of around £4000. The first water flowed over Allfrey’s weir and also down the channel in early May 1888.
Around 2008 part of this channel was replaced by a pipeline thus there is now very little evidence of the old channel.
Meanwhile the Kinypanial Creek flowed on under the Boort-Kurting road meandering back towards the Loddon river before it eventually turns north west flowing under the Boort-Wedderburn Road, near Weavers Road.
It was near this bridge that the township of Boort was first established however when the railway line was surveyed to the west of Lake Boort the township was relocated to its current day location.
There were several stores, a church, hotels, and blacksmith shops along Boort-Wedderburn and Weavers roads.
The creek then runs into a weir that once had red gum decking before eventually emptying into Lake Boort. Nearby to this weir, on the roadside reserve, is another channel with what remains of a small weir. Into the concrete, in brass, is pressed J SINCLAIR JUNE 1926.
The Kinypanial creek is 21km long.