Crossing The River

The refurbished boom gate mechanism and pulley wheel from the old Tinonee punt are reminders of the many punts and ferries on the Mid North Coast before the bridging of the area’s major rivers.  The Tinonee punt crossed the Manning River from Tinonee to Taree Estate carrying vehicles and passengers from 1860 until its closure in 1949.

The Tinonee punt boom gate was erected after a tragic accident in 1937 when four visitors to the region travelling by car at night drove straight into the Manning River. All four were drowned. The Coroner’s findings included that the driver had not noticed the warning signage on the steep approach and perhaps had thought the ferry lights were on the Tinonee side instead of the Taree side of the river. The Coroner recommended that a boom gate be installed and this boom gate mechanism and pulley wheel appear to date from that time.

The opening of the Martin Bridge at Taree in 1940 and associated re-routing of the Pacific Highway lead to decreased use of the Tinonee punt and to its ultimate demise. These items were abandoned and remained in-situ until their rescue and refurbishment by the Tinonee Historical Society in 2012. They can now be viewed as working exhibits in the garden of the Tinonee Historical Museum.

This large leather-bound book contains hand-drawn cross section technical drawings and construction and maintenance records of sixty six wooden bridges built between 1876 and 1931. The bridges were built over a wide area of the present day Port Macquarie Hastings Council district. The record reflects the spread of human activity in the district with the settlement of the hinterland and the movement of people within and through this area. The streams may have initially been forded but the building of bridges reflects the increasing use of the roads with the expansion of settlement and the need for better access. The book illustrates the extent of the task needed to provide such bridge access over the many rivers and streams which are a feature of this area.

While much has been recorded about the building of the main bridges over the Hastings River (Bain Bridge, the railway bridge, etc.), very little was written about the myriad of small wooden bridges, mostly built before the Hastings River was spanned by any bridge. While the cover of this book is in poor condition, the entries are well preserved and readable and may be the only record of many of these bridges. The pen and ink drawings of the bridges are appealing in their neat detail. The sketches show the profile of the river bed and therefore have possible research potential as a record of the river at the time of construction The book does not record which department created it but it was probably a local council record. Whoever made this record, it certainly took a great deal of time to painstakingly make the drawings and write out the information.

This sign, Please blow car horn for ferry service, is a reminder of the historic Rocks Ferry which crossed the Hastings River from the Wauchope side to Redbank. The sign was located on the Wauchope side of the river.   While people could travel by boat up and down the river it was difficult for those who needed to cross the river at any point along its length. After years of debate as to its location, the ferry began operations in 1910 and continued until construction of a bridge started in 1983.

The Rocks Ferry punt was operated using a cable attached at both banks which passed through a large rope-lined wheel on the punt and was initially cranked by hand. In later years a motor was installed on the punt. The ferry is well remembered by those who used it to get to school, to work, for shopping and for transporting goods or livestock. They also remember the inconvenience of finding the ferry on the other side of the river – an inconvenience reflected in the sign’s message.

Using the ferry was not always plain sailing and accidents did happen. At times vehicles ended up in the river while trying to get on or off the punt and taking livestock across could be difficult to say the least. In this high rainfall area, the flooding of the Hastings River made ferry operations dangerous and sometimes necessitated the inconvenience of closing the service. The punt was on occasions washed away down the river by floodwaters. The sign was rescued when the ferry closed and is our only tangible connection to that very important means of crossing the Hastings.

This framed painted tin sign was used at the Frederickton to East Frederickton ferry crossing over the Macleay River connecting Austral Eden and East Frederickton to Frederickton. Dairy produce was brought across the river to the Frederickton Dairy Factory while children used the ferry to travel to school each day.

The first hand operated ferry was greeted with much excitement in 1882 and was operated privately by a tender process. In 1906 the Shire of Macleay took over the responsibility of running local ferries and punts. This meant ferry men were employed by the Shire Council with formalised wages and conditions. The Frederickton ferry service operated until 1973 when bridges over the Macleay River made it redundant.

This sign is a reminder of the important role of ferries in transporting people and produce in the Macleay River Valley and in particular the vital role of  ferry men, the men who operated the ferry in all conditions and at all hours to service the transport needs of the their local community.