Whenever my attention is drawn to an old photo my immediate reaction is to try to work out exactly where the photographer stood. When interesting old photos are posted on a social media site, it's not long before I feel the need to race off to find out how much had changed since the photos were taken. In this case, with two of M. Law's photos of the Red Gum Bridge at Metcalfe, Central Victoria, taken in 1894, the changes have been profound. Quite apart from the fact that at this location there have been four bridges, all in slightly different locations and alignments, (the one shown in the above photo was the first, constructed in 1865), it's quite remarkable just how much a landscape can change in little more than a hundred years.
So, where does the mystery come in? The above photo (Photo 1) shows M. Law's favourite model, perhaps Mme. Law, standing on the banks of the Coliban River. Now if the image is the right way around (and for some time I was convinced that Museums Victoria had somehow flipped the image horizontally) then there's a trick in perspective which can't be seen when you're actually on the ground, so to speak.
My puzzlement can be illustrated by looking at this Google Earth image. It shows where the photographer might have stood to take both Photo 1 and Photo 2 (see below). Note that in Photo 1 the Coliban River appears to bend after the bridge (that is to the south) to circumnavigate the large hill in the distance. In reality the river is relatively straight after passing under the bridge. As you can see in the aerial view below, the river heads north east to abruptly turn north and then south-west to come back behind a line of hills. Where the photo was actually taken must remain a mystery because the prolific growth of trees along the river has made it impossible to replicate the scene.
There is a similar optical illusion in Photo 2. Here it seems that M. Law and company have crossed the road but have remained on the northern side of the river to look back the opposite way. In this photo, gold seeking puddlers are working in a minor channel of the river, perhaps especially excavated to bring just the right amount of water to their puddling works. Once again M. Law's companion has inveigled her way into the picture. The fellow with the bowler hat and rifle also appears in a number of M. Law's photos. In fact it may well be M. Law himself!
Studying the photo closely one might conclude that the river is heading either straight after the bridge or bending to the right (i.e. the north). In fact the river turns sharp left (or south) as can been in the aerial map above. All very confusing, but it demonstrates that looks can be deceiving.
But this is really a story about the crossing point at Metcalfe on the Coliban River. All the bridges built here have borne the appellation 'The Red Gum Bridge', so called because, apparently, the ford originally located at this location was known as The Red Gum Ford. Perhaps that name came from a Red Gum (Eucalyptus camaldulensis) of massive proportions that once grew here. In Photo 1 you may be able to see the old road leading down to the ford next to the bridge on the right hand (southern) side.
The photo below seems to be of the second bridge built in 1910. Apparently it was located slightly upstream (to the east) of both the 1865 and the later bridges built in 1952 and 1988. Here we're looking northwards and you can see that the Metcalfe-Elphinstone Road on the far side was once angled across the bridge entrance. This is because the road was constructed to lead to the old ford. Next to the current bridge a rough track leading down to the river survives today. If this is a remnant of that early road to the ford then it's survived a lot of bridge construction.
You can see more clearly in this aerial photo from 1945 (showing the 1910 bridge alignment). The dotted blue line follows the old path of the road leading to the ford. The kink in the road was removed when the new bridge was constructed in 1988. Also note that a mere 50 years after the M. Hall's photos were taken there had been a remarkable regrowth of trees along the river.
Hopefully, perhaps, it's through examining historic photos and seeking to interpret those views in light of our present day environment that we may well gain a heightened respect for the dynamic processes which shape the landscape we inhabit today.
Reference: 'Red Gum Bridge: Some Points of Interest', a memento given to Metcalfe Shire Staff who worked on the construction of the 1988 (and current) Red Gum Bridge (courtesy of David Williamson).
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