The Long and Winding Ride: Episode 5 – Porepunkah to Ovens: In the Garden of the Gods

The Long and Winding Ride

 

 

Episode 5 Porepunkah to Ovens via Mount Buffalo: In the garden of the gods

 

Stage 5 Porepunkah to Ovens via Mount Buffalo 

 

Stage 5 is one of the highlights of our long and winding ride, not only for cyclists but for anyone with an interest in the history and geography of Mount Buffalo. Geologist Edward Dunn described the Buffalo environment as ‘the garden of the gods’. In this episode we climb to the summit of the massif and take time to explore the lookouts, short walks and picnic spots in Mount Buffalo National Park. 

 

In the Prologue to the series I introduced my Great Uncles, Ernie and Fred Chalwell. Gold miners from Wandiligong, the Chalwell brothers played key roles in the early history of Mount Buffalo tourism. They come into the frame when we learn of the early days of the chalet, its owners, workers and visitors. We take inspiration for our lunch today from the catering once provided to visitors by the Mount Buffalo Chalet’s horse master.

 

It will be a feast from the saddlebag straight to the barbeque grill. Hopping onto mountain bikes we descend Mount Buffalo and cycle along the Nine Mile Track before returning to the Murray to Mountains Rail Trail for an easy glide to the village of Ovens just east of Myrtleford.

 

The challenge of pedalling up to the top of Mount Buffalo has drawn the interest and competitive spirit of cyclists for well over a century. It is one of the great rides of NE Victoria. Not as demanding on the strength and fitness of riders as other alpine climbs, the effort is rewarded with amazing views from the summit. The 21km climb results in an elevation gain of just over 1000 metres. The route tempts riders into taking their eyes off the road, to feast on the stunning views from one hairpin bend to the next along the ridge line all the way to the top. The chalet is not the destination. Ride on to The Horn, beyond Lake Catani and The Cathedral, for the full experience.

 

On the descent we will hop off our bikes and walk to the Chalwell Galleries. The loop track starts at Lake Catani and passes through the galleries which are a jumble of large granite rocks forming unique narrow passages. 

 

Mount Buffalo is a granite massif which formed well below the earth’s surface hundreds of millions of years ago. Molten rock from the Earth’s mantle formed a huge bubble underground and as it forced its way towards the surface the molten rock cooled slowly. Weathering of the granite rock, much like a peeling onion, formed a dome-shaped plateau that reminded explorers Hume and Hovell of a sleeping buffalo. The tallest peak on the plateau is The Horn (1723m). Mount Buffalo is a landform that dominates the middle to upper Ovens Valley landscape, admired by sightseers from vantage points up to 100km away. 

 

The first white men to climb to the top of Mount Buffalo were the Manfield brothers, James and John. James, a successful miner on the Buckland River in the 1850s,  selected land in the Harrietville and Eurobin Falls Valley before establishing the first guest house in the Mount Buffalo area.

 

Wandiligong cattleman Ted Carlile became the first guide for tourists wishing to ascend the mountain in the 1890s. In 1891 he also established a licensed hospice on Buffalo. Soon after, in 1910, the government-owned Mount Buffalo Chalet was built on the site of Manfield’s chalet.

 

Carlile’s nephews Ernie and Fred Chalwell, miners from Wandiligong, were attracted to the Buffalo area in 1912-13 by their uncle Ted. Fred later became the foreman at the chalet, while his brother Ernie was the horsemaster and track maker. In 1915 Ernie was employed as the driver of the horse team bringing supplies up the mountain from Porepunkah. 

 

Ernie was a renowned horseman who became a valuable asset to the chalet’s management employing his skill in blazing new tracks with mountain horses. He was put in charge of the horses hired out by the Victorian Railways to chalet guests, guiding them on the tracks he had pioneered. Ernie loaded his saddlebags with food which he served to the guests on their horse rides. 

 

Fred and Ernie became legendary figures at the chalet and on the mountain. Fred was the ski instructor and an accomplished skater. evidenced by his victory in the 1914 Lake Catani Cup. Meanwhile, Ernie was in charge of the ski-room where he maintained and issued ski equipment. Ernie and his famed horse ‘Punkah’ are honoured with bronze plaques set in the granite stone at the chalet stables. 

 

Fred Chalwell (left, kneeling) with tourist party at Mount Buffalo
(source: Up and Down the River by M. Ronan, 1998)

 

Often the Chalwell brothers were called out to search for tourists who had become lost on the mountain. In July 1924 Fred was involved in the rescue of the body of a Melbourne medico, Dr Varley, who had fallen 400 feet down a precipice to his death. Chalwell and rescue party member Mr S. Edmiston risked their lives to descend the gorge in the search and retrieval mission. Each of the rescue party members was awarded a medal by the Royal Humane Society of Australia.

 

Cycle races were a favoured sporting challenge for folk in the Ovens Valley. The picture below shows young cyclists preparing to set off on one of the bike races at the annual Porepunkah St. Patrick’s Day Sports days.

 

 

An early 20th C. bike race at Porepunkah
(source: Vintage Victoria (Australia) Heritage, History & Memories on Facebook)

 

Fred Chalwell won the Bright to Buffalo road race in 1907 and followed that up to win the 20 mile Bright to Eurobin race in 1908.

 

Lunch stop

 

Our chosen lunch stop is at The Oval Picnic Area where a fire pit awaits our reprise of Ernie Chalwell’s “gypsy lunch”.  Fire up the bush barbeque, empty the saddle bags and cook a lunch of grilled steak and lamb chops accompanied with vine-picked tomatoes. As Ernie loved to do, serve lunch with a cup of bush billy tea to wash it all down. 

 

The descent of Mount Buffalo is equally rewarding with splendid views over the Ovens Valley. We branch off the main road and pedal along the Nine Mile Track and the Murray to Mountains Rail Trail to our day’s end point at the hamlet of Ovens.

 

The small settlements of Ovens and Eurobin had a football club playing in the Ovens Valley FA in the 1920s. Other teams in the competition at the time were Bright, Myrtleford and Porepunkah. In 1925 minor premiers Porepunkah defeated Ovens-Eurobin in the grand final. In the early 1930s a team from the Rostrevor Hop Farm, at Eurobin, participated in the Bright and District FA. Between 1934 and 1939 a team named Valley Rovers from Happy Valley participated in the same league. With Myrtleford on the doorstep, footballers from the small settlements of Ovens, Happy Valley and Eurobin eventually gravitated to the bigger town just down river.

 

Next episode

In stage 6 we have a lengthy stop at Myrtleford to reminisce with the ‘Saints’.

 

 

More from Peter Clark can be read Here.

 

 

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