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--- 199001 [2020/04/08 22:37] – [While the billy boils] rogerbrowne
+++ 199001 [2020/04/09 05:41] – [Bird Track] rogerbrowne
@@ Line 117: / Line 117: @@
 The Editor
-===== ALL YOU NEED  TO KNOW ABOUT THE BIRD  TRACK =====
+===== All you need to know about the Bird track =====
 by Jim Brown
 Yes, that's right - the Bird Track, not the Birdsville track.
-How do I know there's a Bird Track? That's easy, it's mentioned in the Summer Walks Program, where the day walk for December 31 commences "Helensburg - Bird Track  etc."
-And, of course, the 5BW Walks Program would never telaki lie, would it?
+How do I know there's a Bird Track? That's easy, it's mentioned in the Summer Walks Program, where the day walk for December 31 commences "Helensburg - Bird Track etc." And, of course, the SBW Walks Program would never tell a lie, would it?
-On reading this particular item I behaved like that,naive girl "Little Audrey" who featured in a series of smutty jokes back in the 1930s, and I laughed and laughed and laughed   because I was sure the route had been volunteered over the telephone and been
-misheard. You see, Helensburgh has a final mh" in the spelling, and the track from there
+On reading this particular item I behaved like that naive girl "Little Audrey" who featured in a series of smutty jokes back in the 1930s, and I laughed and laughed and laughed ... because I was sure the route had been volunteered over the telephone and been misheard. You see, Helensburgh has a final "h" in the spelling, and the track from there out towards the coast is the "Burgh Track" borrowing the last syllable of the town name. But there's another complication, because the town is named after a mining town in Scotland, not so far from the Scottish capital Edinburgh ... and that's not usually pronounced as "Edin-burg".
-out towards the coast is the "Burgh Track" borrowing the last syllable of the town name.
-But there's another complication, because the town is named after a mining town in Scotland, not so far from the Scottish capital Edinburgh   and that's not usually pronounced as
+When I discovered that last fact a good many years ago I tried for a while to do what I thought was the right thing. I soon found that if I asked a Railway Booking Clerk for a "Weekend excursion ticket to Helens-burra" he would look at me in a peculiar way and ask "Where?" Presently I surrendered to ''force majeure'', especially after I joined SBW and heard Bob Younger's story about the American serviceman travelling on a south coast train during the War years peering at the blacked-out station and asking plaintively, "Say, what burg is this?" to which the walkers answered, "Oh, I guess it's Helen's".
-"Edin-burg".
-When I discovered that last fact a good many years ago I tried for a while to do what I thought was the right thing. I soon found that if I asked a Railway Booking Clerk for a
+But what I really want to waffle on about is the Burgh ... sorry, Bird Track, because
-"Weekend excursion ticket to Helens-burra" he would look at me in a peculiar way and ask "Where?" Presently I surrendered to force majeure, especially after I joined SBW and heard Bob Younger's story about the American serviceman travelling on a south coast train during the War years peering at the blacked-out station and asking plaintively, "Say, what burg is this?" to which the walkers answered, "Oh, I guess it's Helen's".
-But what I really want to waffle on about is the Burgh   sorry, Bird Track, because
 its name evokes some memories of trips over it back in the 1930s, when it was mostly used by miners from the town going out to the coast for the fishing. My first journey over it was in June, 1938, after finding Burning Palms and Era beaches and the tracks leading to them from Lilyvale and Otford.
-My walk actually started at Stanwell Park and began with a torch-light passage through the mile-long railway tunnel beneath Bald Hill. The tunnel had been abandoned for rail
-operations almost 20 years before, but it was still intact and hadn't even been invaded by
+My walk actually started at Stanwell Park and began with a torch-light passage through the mile-long railway tunnel beneath Bald Hill. The tunnel had been abandoned for rail operations almost 20 years before, but it was still intact and hadn't even been invaded by mushroom growers. This brought me to Otford by 10.30 am, and it was a simple matter to walk out to Burning Palms along a known track, arriving shortly after noon. By 1 pm I had lunched and was wondering how to fill in time until the afternoon train passing through Otford at 5.7 pm. Why of course! - find the Burgh Track, which I had been told started at the northern edge of Maynards Farm - now Garawarra Ranger Station.
-mushroom growers. This brought me to Otford by 10.30 am, and it was a simple matter to
-walk out to Burning Palms along a known track, arriving shortly after noon. By 1 pm I had
+I hustled up the northern ridge out of Burning Palms and quickly located a rather vague thread of trail skirting the northern fence of Maynards property. After a few hundred metres the track became clearer and remained quite fair down to the Old River Road, a bush trail along the eastern side of the Hacking River, which was replaced by the present motor roadway a few years later. West of the river crossing I found a tracery of pads and tracks but settled on a fair foot track climbing out of the valley and becoming a passable bush road on top of the ridge.
-lunched and was wondering how to fill in time until the afternoon train Passing through
-Otford at 5.7 pm. Why of course! - find the Burgh Track, which I had been told started
+By about 2.45 I was clearly approaching the town of Helensburgh, and came to a fairly large open space, very rich green in colour and much ploughed-up. The track abruptly divided into three, the middle one leading across the verdant meadow to some corrugated iron sheds on the far side. This seemed the obvious route, and it was only after going across the clearing that I realised it was a Sanitary Depot, where toilet pans from 10,000 unsewered Illawarra homes were delivered, and the contents buried. Hence the rich growth of grasses.
-at the northern edge of Maynards Farm - now Garawarra Ranger Station.
-I hustled up the northern ridge out of Burning Palms and quickly located a rather vague thread of trail skirting the northern fence of Maynards property. After a few hundred metres
+Actually, walkers and fishermen crossed the area regularly without trouble, except during the exceedingly wet winter and spring of 1950, when much of the ridge-top soil had the consistency of porridge. At that time I warned one party that I led across it that "it was a death-defying exploit", and one of the Club's ardent conservationists, sounding off at a meeting about the poor condition of the Depot, accused the cartage contractor of "failing to throw himself into his business".
-the track became clearer and remained quite fair down to the Old River Road, a bush trail along the eastern side of the Hacking River, which was replaced by the present motor roadway
-a few years later. West of the river crossing I found a tracery of pads and tracks but settled on a fair foot track climbing out of the valley and becoming a passable bush road on top of the ridge:
+I certainly had no difficulty on that first time over the Burgh Track, and came to the Railway Station about 3.25 pm. I killed time by walking down the line to the No.1 tunnel, half a mile south, to watch the Up South Coast Daylight Express storm out of the shaft in a cloud of smoke and steam. I wished I had a camera to record it.
-By about 2.45 I was clearly approaching the town of Helensburgh, and came to a fairly large open space, very rich green in colour and much ploughed-up. The track abruptly divided
-into three, the middle one leading across the verdant meadow to some corrugated iron sheds on
+The next memorable journey along the Track was on 15th January, 1939. I can place the exact date, because it was the day after "Black Saturday" when the temperature in Sydney reached 113.5 in the Fahrenheit scale (45.3C). That day big areas in Victoria and the Southern Tablelands of NSW were savaged by bush fires, some people perishing. However, a southerly change blew through late at night, and when Bill and I stepped from the train at Helensburgh about 9.50 am on the Sunday the mercury had dropped to 68F (20C) and it was drizzling rain. Bill and I planned to do our very first overnight walk on the Australia Day weekend, a fortnight away, and hoped to do a lively day walk to "get in condition".
-the far side. This seemed the obvious route, and it was only after going across the clearing
-that I realised it was a Sanitary Depot, where toilet pans from 10,000 unsewered Illawarra
+As far as the Hacking River crossing the vegetation was a bit withered and sun-scorched, but undamaged. On the hill up to Maynards (Garawarra) it was a desolation of blackened tree-trunks, grey and white ash and seared reddened leaves - where there were any left. Once we paused where a big tree was still smouldering, with plumes of smoke coming from broken branches, like steam from the spout of a kettle. Then we moved around to the up-hill side, and found the trunk was a hollow shell with the interior still glowing angrily in each puff of wind. We ran until we were beyond its reach if it should collapse. The clearing at Maynards was a tiny island in a sea of devastation.
-homes were delivered, and the contents buried. Hence the rich growth of grasses.
-Actually, walkers and fishermen crossed the area regularly without trouble, except during the exceedingly wet winter and spring of 1950, when much of the ridge-top soil had the consistency of porridge. At that time I warned one party that I led across it that "it was
+That's all the old memories. Post-war the Burgh Track received less and less foot traffic and became heavily overgrown in places so that it could easily be mislaid even when you knew the general direction of the route. At one stage some local enthusiasts marked the trail but over a few years most of the markers vanished. About 1978 the Parks and Wildlife people erected notices "Burgh Track heavily overgrown and closed. It will be re-opened after it has been cleared". The signs stood for about 10 years until 1988, when it was finally cleared and re-opened - but only from Garawarra Ranger Station to the Hacking River. From that point you're on your own, but there are several routes in to Helensburgh, each of which skirts the former Sanitary Depot, now a King Size Rubbish Tip.
-a death-defying exploit", and one of the Club's ardent conservationists, sounding off at a meeting about the poor condition of the Depot, accused the cartage contractor of "failing to throw himself into his business".
-Page 6 The Sydney Bushwalker January 1990
+There are two notices about the track near the Ranger Centre. They are only about fifty metres apart. One mentions the "Burgh Track" and the other has it "Burg Track". Clearly NPWS is not too sure of the spelling, but at least it's not for the Birds.
-I certainly had no difficulty on that first time over the Burgh Track, and came to the Railway Station about 3.25 pm. I killed time by walking down the line to the No.1 tunnel, half a mile south, to watch the Up South Coast Daylight Express storm out of the shaft in a
-cloud of smoke and steam. I wished I had a camera to record it.
-The next memorable journey along the Track was on 15th January, 1939. I can place the exact date, because it was the day after "Black Saturday" when the temperature in Sydney reached 113.5 in the Fahrenheit scale (45.3C). That day big areas in Victoria and the
-Southern Tablelands of NSW were savaged by bush fires, some people petithing. However, a southerly change blew through late at night, and when Bill and I stepped from the train at Helensburgh about 9.50 am on the Sunday the mercurey had dropped to 68F (20C) and it was drizzling rain. Bill and I planned to do our very first overnight walk on the Australia Day weekend, a fortnight away, and hoped to do a lively day walk to "get in condition".
-As far as the Hacking River crossing the vegetation was a bit withered and sun-scorched, but undamaged. On the hill up to Maynards (Garawarra) it was a desolation of blackened tree-trunks, grey and white ash and seared reddened leaves - where there were any left. Ohce we paused where a big tree was still smouldering, with plumes of smoke coming from broken branches, like steam from the spout of a kettle. Then we moved around to the up-hill
-side, and found the trunk was a hollow shell with the interior still glowing angrily in each
-puff of wind. We ran until we were beyond its reach if it should collapse. The clearing at
-Maynards was a tiny island in a sea of devastation.
-That's all the old memories. Post-war the Burgh Track received less and less foot
-traffic and became heavily overgrown in places so that it could easily be mislaid even when you knew the general direction of the route. At one stage some local enthusiasts marked the
-trail but over a few years most of the markers vanished. About 1978 the Parks and Wildlife
-people erected notices "Burgh Track heavily overgrown and closed. It will be re-opened after
-it has been cleared". The signs stood for about 10 years until 1988, when it was finally
-cleared and re-opened - but only from Garawarra Ranger Station to the Hacking River. From that point you're on your own, but there are several routes in to Helensburgh, each of which skirts the former Sanitary Depot, now a King Size Rubbish Tip.
-There are two notices about the track near the Ranger Centre. They are only about fifty
-metres apart. One mentions the "Burgh Track" and the other has it "Burg Track". Clearly
-NPWLS is not too sure of the spelling, but at least it's not for the Birds.
 ===== "ENVIRONMENT '90" =====