Carlo gives evidence at the Railways Standing Committee regarding the San Remo Pier

The Age of September 25 1901 published this report under the headline - Westernport Coalfields - proposed railway and shipping facilities -
The Railways Standing Committee yesterday examined Mr. C. Catani, engineer for ports and harbors in the Public Works department, with reference to the development of the Cape Paterson and Kilcunda coal fields by the proposed Bass Valley railway and shipping facilities at Westernport. Mr. Catani said that wharfage at San Remo to accommodate vessels drawing eighteen feet could be provided at a cost of £3000, which would dispense with the necessity of spending £500, as proposed, to suit the existing traffic. Vessels could come in by the eastern entrance between Phillip Island and the mainland, or by the western passage. If it was necessary to have a port for vessels drawing up to 30 feet of water that depth could be found in the channel on the west side of Phillip Island, between French Island and Phillip Island, within a mile of Settlement Point and Corinella on the mainland. To construct from Settlement Point a pier a mile long, so as to reach deep water, would cost £25,000 (1).  The cheapest method of providing for immediate requirements would be to carry out the works at San Remo. To provide accommodation for ships by dredging instead of making a pier would be very costly owing to the basaltic formation of the country. To make a channel through the rock would entail an expenditure of about £800,000 per mile. There was a deep channel from Cowes to within a certain distance of Settlement Point (2).

San Remo Harbour, c. 1910

Phillip Island from San Remo Harbour. State Library of Victoria Image H93.272/3

Carlo Catani's views were confirmed by a local expert  Captain Livingstone, of the steamer Lady Loch, stated that vessels drawing 16 feet of water could at the present time proceed up the channel on the east side of Phillip Island, between Cape Wollomai and San Remo, to the latter place, and after loading with coal, turn round return to the ocean by that channel. He said that a steamer of the ordinary type could at present proceed to San Remo, and take on board about 1500 tons of coal, but that specially built vessels, having a shallow draught could carry a much larger quantity than that. It would, however, be necessary to build vessels of a special type for that trade if large carrying capacity was desired. He also stated that there was a deep water channel on the west and north side of Phillip Island, up to within three quarters of a mile of Settlement Point on the mainland. The largest vessel in the world could navigate that channel with safety, but the drawback against using that channel was the long length of pier which would have to be constructed at Settlement Point to reach the deep water (3).

Coal was found at Kilcunda in 1865, but it wasn't until 1870 that the Western Port Coal Mining Company began mining operations. The coal was initially carted by bullock teams to San Remo (originally called Griffiths Point (4)). The roads soon became impassable due to this heavy traffic and a horse tramway was constructed in 1874,  at a cost of £12,700. The Company also spent £720 constructing  a jetty at San Remo. By early 1875, over 5000 tons of coal had been shipped from Griffiths Point to Melbourne. However,  this tramway soon proved to be inadequate as the rails were made of wood and not iron, and so after an influx of capital,  in 1879 the Company replaced the rails  in iron, purchased a steam loco from Tasmania, enlarged the jetty and improved the loading facilities.  The Company continued operations until 1888. By 1899, all steel rails on the haulage route had been removed (5).

The Western Port Coal Company Tramway from the Kilcunda Coal Mines to San Remo

is shown on this map.

Sketch plan of proposed Bass Valley, Powlett River, and San Remo railway by John Collins. SLV have this dated as 1907(?). State Library of Victoria. See the entire map here http://handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/115280

Joseph White in his One Hundred Years of History (6) books lists over ten other coal mining leases in the Bass Kilcunda region from the mid 1890s to 1910 most of which were relinquished when it was found that the coal fields could be very irregular. It seems for this reason that the Bass Valley Railway and the expanded shipping facilities at San Remo or Settlement Point, as outlined by Carlo Catani in his evidence to the Railways Standing Committee, did not go ahead.

Footnotes

(1) I have found six reports of Carlo's evidence and four say it would cost £25,000 and the other two, £35,000. See the reports in my Trove list, here.

(2) The Age, September 25, 1901, see here.

(3) Western Port Times September 27, 1901, see here.

(4) White, Joseph One hundred years of History: Shire of Phillip Island & Woolamai 1875- 1928, Shire of Bass 1928-1975 (Shires of Bass and Phillip Island, 1974), p. 46. Griffiths Point changed to San Remo in 1888.

(5) This information comes from Joseph White, op. cit. pp 58-61.  It also comes from Jack Vines Coal Mining Heritage Study in Victoria (Heritage Council of Victoria 2008). They differ slightly in some of the dates. You can read Jack Vines' study here   https://www.heritage.vic.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0022/513085/Coal-mining-heritage-study-in-Victoria-Vines-2008.pdf

(6) White, op. cit p. 60