The Kyneton Weir and the Careless Council

 

THE WEIR & SWIMMING POOL, KYNETON, Rose Stereograph Co.  Rose series ; P. 4704 ca. 1930- ca. 1950

This investigation started with the photo above, sourced from the State Library. On the face of it the scene appears bucolic, a lovely stretch of the Campaspe River below the old Kyneton Hospital (top left of photo) with a weir in the foreground and a footbridge straddling the river. A more pleasant place to spend a warm summer's day could hardly be imagined. 

    Before purpose built swimming baths were constructed, the first and most obvious places for recreational swimming were the sea, lakes and rivers. In Kyneton in the early 20th century a number of weirs were constructed along the Campaspe River to create deeper and more permanent pools for bathing. Undoubtedly the grandest and most popular was the weir just upstream of a ford accessed from St Agnes Place, which, until this century, had long served as a crossing place for farmers from South Kyneton.

    The footbridge in the photo was the last of a number of bridges erected here, all having been swept away by floodwaters. It was dismantled in the mid to late 1950's but the pool, while probably not used for swimming as much these days, is still a restful recreational spot much loved by those fishing. 

The Weir today   

    The story of  the Kyneton Weir is told in great detail in 'Kyneton: From Past to Present' by Ken McKimmie and Larina Strauch (p.167). So instead of going over the same ground I'll draw your attention to the strange feature on the distant hill in the early photo. Below is a closeup.

    

    So what is it? After studying the shape for a while I decided it could only be a quarry. The odd shape behind it is a two storey house, the front verandah in shade. That a quarry existed not far to the east of the old Kyneton Hospital might not seem overly interesting. Nevertheless as I researched it, a story unfolded of gross council negligence which culminated in a young woman, Louisa Lawrence, suing the Kyneton Council for injuries she'd received when she stumbled into the quarry hole one dark autumn night.

    Quite when the quarry was excavated isn't known but it was certainly there by July 1886 when a concerned reader sent the following letter to the Kyneton Observer.

    So as early as 1886 the council had been informed that the quarry was dangerous, improperly fenced, placed as it was next to a well used path. Thus the scene was set for a serious accident to occur.

    In March 1895, 23 year old Louisa Lawrence and her beau, John Sergeant were on their way to the Kyneton Railway Station where John intended to catch the last train to Taradale where he lived. They had some time before John's train departed so they decided to go the long way around, heading west up Donnithorne Street and then back east along the Campaspe River. The area was unfamiliar to them, the sun had set and so visibility was low. It was speculated that they had been walking arm in arm, but at any rate Louisa lost her footing on the narrow path next to the quarry and she fell 6 metres onto rocks at the base of the cliff. John lost his footing as well. He was shaken but not seriously injured by the fall. Louisa wasn't so lucky. She suffered a badly broken leg and a damaged spine. A nearby resident, a Miss Anderson, perhaps living at the house in the photo above, heard moaning and went to investigate. Finding John Sergeant dazed and Louisa badly injured she raced to the Hospital, 200 metres away, to get help. 

    As her injuries were so severe and her recovery so protracted Louisa sued the council for failing to fence off the quarry. The case was heard in September 1895 and Louisa asked for £1000 damages, a huge sum in those days. She argued that she'd been in hospital for 6 months unable to work and would take another 6 months to recover fully. She ended up winning the case but she received quite a bit less than she'd asked for. She received £100 out of which she had to pay £12 costs.

    It may be thought that the council would have learned its lesson and immediately fence off the quarry securely but 3 years later in 1898 a nearby farmer sued the council for the death of his cow which had fallen into the quarry.

    It's not known when the quarry was filled in but it's likely that the owners of the houses that line that portion of Donnithorne Street, are probably unaware that their houses are built upon a perilous old quarry which saw a little drama play out on a dark night in 1895.

Portion of an aerial photograph from 1945 

(https://mapshare.vic.gov.au/webmap/historical-photomaps/)

    

By the way, for those struggling to make out the shape behind the quarry in the close up above here's the house outlined to make it easier to see.