Lost Highways: The Gap, Sutton Grange

                                                                   

"OVERLOOKING McMAHON’S GAP, Castlemaine,”  June 1946.  Victorian Railways photographer

A tranquil scene but one which hides a tragic story. The above photo, taken from McMahon's Gap, a saddle on the east side of Mount Alexander, shows the view towards the east with Mt Ida, Heathcote in the distance. On the right, a fence marks the location of one of the earliest major roads in the district, the Harcourt-Sutton Grange Road or Gap Road. The growth of trees here has made replicating the photo impossible but here's how the general view looks today, this photo taken a little to the left (north) of the above location.

    By the 1850's various roads had opened up to link Harcourt to more northerly districts east of Bendigo (or Sandhurst as it was then known). One of  these was the road which led to The Gap and beyond. It became known as Gap Road. Here's a map from 1857 which shows that traffic heading northeast from Harcourt travelled up Coopers Rd, now a minor road, to a point called The Gap. At this point the road zigzags down the mountainside to continue east to link to the Bendigo-Sutton Grange Road. The red hatched line shows this road leading to "The Gap" in the top right hand corner.

 

    Even as late as WWI this was still the major route northeast from Harcourt as can be seen in an excerpt from this 1914 tourist map.

    You will note that the current North Harcourt Road, now the main road to Sedgwick and East Bendigo isn't marked on this map.  So what happened to cause Gap Road to fall out of favour?

    It was long recognized that the road which wound down through The Gap was dangerous. This was amply demonstrated in February 1914 when the eldest son of a well known resident of the district, Mr. P. McMahon, grazier and dairyman, of Sutton Grange, died as a result of injures received in an accident at this location. According to press reports of the time (Bendigo Advertiser, Feb 19, 1914, page 2) James McMahon had been thrown from his jinker (a two wheeled sulky) when his horse bolted while descending The Gap. He had lain by the roadside all night with a badly broken leg. He died has a result of his injuries in Castlemaine Hospital the following day.

    To add to the tragedy, only 11 weeks later, the brother of James, Thomas McMahon, licensee of The Commercial Hotel in Castlemaine, also much respected in the district, would die of pneumonia. Eleven children were now left fatherless by the deaths of the two brothers.

    At the Inquest of James McMahon, mounted-constable Fowles stated he knew the district well and considered the hill at “The Gap” the most dangerous in the district. The road was only about 18ft wide, and the curves were very dangerous. The coroner recorded a verdict of accidental death. He added that he hoped the Shire Council would have a notice posted warning drivers of vehicles that the place was dangerous.

    In the Chewton Cemetery the gravestones of the two brothers are near the main entrance and close to one another.

    Soon after this accident the North Harcourt Road was constructed to link to Sedgwick Road (see map below), the extension of the Bendigo-Sutton Grange Road. This provided a safer alternative to Gap Road and over the years became the main road. The old Gap Road or Harcourt-Sutton Grange Road is now a road less travelled, perhaps due to the tragic accident which occurred that night in 1914.

aerial photo 1945