Carlo and the Happy Valley Lake

On January 23, 1914 Carlo Catani and another Public Works Department engineer, Mr Dewar, arrived in Castlemaine (1). Their assignment was to inspect and survey the site for a lake, just outside of the town, at Happy Valley or Moonlight Flat, the newspaper reports use both terms as the location. The lake had a two-fold purpose - Forest Creek flood mitigation and recreation.

Happy Valley and Moonlight Flat, 1948.

Detail of Castlemaine, County of Talbot, 1948. Department of Crown Lands and Survey.

State Library of Victoria http://handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/92909

The flooding on Forest Creek was an on-going problem, in fact 25 years previously in 1889, Public Works Department engineer, William Thwaites (2), also visited Castlemaine for the purpose of inspecting the flood damages, and also to confer with the Borough Surveyor [Mr Cornish] as to what is requisite to be done in connection therewith.  Accompanied by Mr Cornish, Mr Thwaites inspected Forest and Barkers Creeks, and was astonished to observe their silted condition. He expressed an opinion that, in order to avoid a similar disaster to that which occurred on New Year's Day, both creeks must be cleared and kept free of debris. It is to be regretted that this had not been done some time ago, when the Borough Council, consequent upon a report furnished by their Surveyor, brought the matter under the cognisance of the Government, and also pointed out the immense damage that would be wrought by a flood; with the creeks (particularly Forest Creek) in such a silted-up condition. When the channels have been cleared, the only plan that can be adopted to keep them free of silt is by the Government compelling sluicers to stack their tailings instead of allowing them to be deposited in the creeks. This evil should also have been remedied years ago. Mr Thwaites visited Moloney's Bridge, and the site of Butterworth's and the Telegraph bridges, and likewise inspected the course of the creek towards Moonlight Flat. At Happy Valley, the Mayor and Borough Surveyor pointed out to the Government engineer a spot where it has been suggested to construct a weir.  (3)

If, as reported, William Thwaites did produce a report on the flooding, siltation, the sluicers and a possible weir it was not acted upon as Carlo had to deal with the same issues on his visit. 

The Happy Valley Lake was the subject of newspaper reports and letters to the editors on occasions, and there seemed to be much community interest in the lake. The Mount Alexander Times reported -
Castlemaine will never be a pleasure resort, no matter how we try to boom it, without a large sheet of water, and that fact is being already realised. The construction of a lake at Happy Valley would cause that locality to be thickly settled in a few years besides being a leading attraction of the town. (4)

Seemingly the construction of the lake would be a simple job due to the natural formation of the country, a small embankment at the rocky formations on each side of Forest Creek, near Patterson's bridge, would form a lake of great dimensions. (5) To further this objective of Castlemaine becoming a pleasure resort, the Borough of Castlemaine invited Carlo to visit in January 1914, because Mr Catani was greatly interested in schemes such as that for Happy Valley, and his assistance would be of the greatest possible benefit. (6)

Carlo was in Castlemaine for a few days, with Mr Dewar staying longer to do a  complete contour survey of the site. The plans for the lake were finished in May, and at the start of June, the Mount Alexander Mail reported that three costings were out-lined in the report, each with different levels of flood protection -  £7675 (providing for a lake of 29 acres), £5010 (a lake of 41 acres), and £13, 238 (a lake of 16 acres), with full provision of flood diversion.... But the cost of the schemes appeared to the council to be almost prohibitive and, although the matter was referred to committee, the impression left on the public mind was that the council was not very optimistic. (7) It seems that the project was put in abeyance for the rest of the year and no doubt the start of the War meant that the townsfolk had other priorities.

However in January 1915, the lake was back in the news and it was suggested that the construction of the lake would provide work for the rising number of the unemployed. The original plans were revisited and a new scheme was presented with a costing of a more manageable £3,500. In June 1915, Carlo was back in the town to survey the site and present the revised scheme to the Castlemaine Borough Council. We turn again to the Mount Alexander Mail -
A smiling Happy Valley, with its desolated heaps and hollows sheeted over by a charming lake; its edges bordered by attractive shrubbery and rustic bowers, reached by pleasant tree-lined paths; white-winged yachts that glided peacefully over a wide expanse of rippling water dotted by innumerable pleasure boats, with here and there oarmen in racing skiffs, and occasionally ardent anglers indulging in patient sport.  It was an altogether delightful vision that Mr Catani, Chief Public Works Engineer, inspired when relating to the Borough Councillors on Thursday night, his scheme for the prospective lake at Happy Valley. By means of this sheet of water, flooding will be prevented, and incidentally a magnificent asset to the town will be created. The comparison was very apt when the Mayor (Cr. Sheridan) in opening the subject, referred to Lake Wendouree, at Ballarat. What was previously a dismal swamp had been transformed into a beauty spot, which would always associate Ballarat with the aesthetic. (8)

The scheme involved the construction of a weir, the depth of which would be 20 feet high, and a lake which would have three to four feet of water. On the issue of siltation, a plan which had been prepared by Carlo's associate, Mr A. T. Clark, was presented by Carlo who -
explained that the flood waters being retarded at the junction with the lake waters would there deposit the silt. Then in the summer-time the water of the lake could be lowered through the valve at the weir until the deposit of silt would be left "high and dry." At a moderate cost, it could be banked up, planted with trees, etc., and ornamental plots arranged. When subsequent floods deposited silt further down, similar methods would be adopted, until, in the course of time - and floods - a diaphragm or bank would be "naturally" constructed. This would take the place of the cosily artificial bank at first proposed, and at the same time would allow for a separate flood channel between it and the hills around which the creek should ordinarily flow. The cost of the maintenance indicated would amount, he said, to only about £50 or £60 per year, for a few years. These sums were not of course, reckoned in the estimate. The reduction of the scheme was merely to bring it within the bounds of possibility (9)

This amended scheme was based on the premise that all sluicing and dredging in Forest Creek and Moonlight Flat would have to stop, as this caused a silt and sediment build-up. The following exchange was reported - 
Cr. Cornish : That scheme is based on the proposal that dredging must stop?
Mr Catani : That is so. If you keep on beating up the stuff, you will always have a certain amount of it coming down.
Cr. Cornish : We have no control at all over the land. It (the creek) runs through country that has been dredged back five miles.
Mr Catani pointed out that the Council could get the Mines Department to excise the bed of the creek -to say above Chewton - from occupation by mining leases. The gold was the property of the Crown, and the Crown had control over the land, and could forbid the seeking for gold. Mr Brown (the Minister) was very strong now about stopping these dredges. (10)

The report also noted that Carlo gave information about the material that should be used in constructing the weir - whether granite, slate, or massed concrete - which is to be thrown across the narrow neck at the western end of Happy Valley, through which the Forest Creek flood waters pour. In conclusion, Mr Catani told of what had been done with lakes at Albert Park and other places, and advised as to the best trees to plant in the silt deposits, when they are banked up as suggested. (11)

The Mount Alexander Mail concluded that During the conversational discussion Councillors appeared to be favorably impressed, but gave no assurance that they would accept the proposition. (12)

Miner sluicing in a creek, Castlemaine district, c.1894. 

Photographer: M. Law.

Museums Victoria https://collections.museumsvictoria.com.au/items/767919

The proposal to end sluicing was not popular and locals said the scheme was unworkable - the following letter to the editor of the Mount Alexander Mail from Mr J.P. Livingstone, summarises the opposition to the scheme -
I take it that this scheme is intended as a lake site, and for the prevention of floods. As a lake site, where is the person who will admire a lake of discoloured water? Mr Catani told us some time back that no lake would be worth looking at unless it were of clear water. He said he would have to turn the storm waters to one side, and keep the lake filled with clear water. How does he make storm water clear now? 

It seems to me that the originators of this scheme have not taken into consideration that great fall that there is in both Moonlight and Forest creeks, the number of barren hills without grass on them to stop the denudation of the loams and clays and the thousands of tons of gravel heaps in the creeks of this watershed. Stop sluicing when you like, and storm waters will still bring gravel, silt and slum; even light showers will bring some sediment into the basin. The retaining bank as it nears the centre of the basin, will shoot silt chains past, where it enters the water, and I contend that within ten year you will have instead of a lake only a dredge tailing heap on a large scale. What Forest Creek does not fill up, Moonlight will from the other side.

As regards the retaining bank, I will say that after 14 years' experience, that I have not seen it proved that anything but a concrete or stone wall is reliable for a storm channel bank. If grasses or trees could be grown in a few weeks, they would help the bank; but to grow them strong enough to be of use in that time is impossible. During ordinary years this creek carries off big volumes of water, about 4 or 5 times, so that not much time could be allowed for grass or trees to grow. Further, retaining banks often suffer worse from small streams than big ones. Logs, stones, or rubbish may heap up in the waterway, and turn the water diagonally into the bank, with the result that the bank is cut away in a few minutes.

As a remedy for unemployment the idea is ridiculous. For more money will be earned in the creeks and gullies than will be spent in men's wages on this scheme. During ordinary times some 70 or 80 men make a living in this area. (13)

Other letters were also published in a similar vein, with one dismissing the comparison to Lake Wendouree and Albert Park Lake - there is a vast amount of difference between the lakes at Albert Park and Ballarat, compared to this scheme, as they are natural depression lakes, and not a creek with close on 300 feet fall in five miles weired up (14).  A petition of 47 signatures of dredge sluicers and fossickers engaged on Forest Creek and Moonlight Flat (15) was also presented to the  Council pointing out the economic value of that industry to the area. 

Pennyweight and Moonlight Flats, Forest Creek in 1902. 

Detail of Plan of the Chewton-Castlemaine gold field: shewing anticlinal axial lines &c. 

Mines Department, Victoria, September 1902 

State Library of Victoria image http://handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/118077

Whether it was these local objections or the cost of the project or the necessary diversion of manpower and resources into the War effort, the Happy Valley Lake did not eventuate and Moonlight Flat never did become thickly settled. Even in 1972 when Raymond Bradfield wrote his history of Castlemaine he described Moonlight Flat thusly -
It is interesting to reflect on old Moonlight. All the way down the valley one sees signs of the vanished population. Halfway down is the site of the Robert Burns Hotel, well known as a lively pub. Nearby, the burn out remains of the last of the succession of houses used as the venue for the post office, as the population dwindled with a stone- built garage outbuilding near the charred ruins, looking rather incongruous, all on its own. And down at the foot of the valley, on the rise overlooking Pennyweight Flat, the children's cemetery, already mentioned, which somehow seems appropriate to the end the story of Moonlight. (16)  Who knows what might have been if Carlo's delightful vision of Happy Valley Lake had come to fruition.

Acknowledgement - I am indebted to my research colleague and fellow Carlo enthusiast, Isaac Hermann,  for alerting me to Carlo's involvement with the Happy Valley Lake project.

Trove list - I have created a short list of articles relating to Carlo Catani and his involvement with the Happy Valley Lake project, access it here.

Footnotes
(1) Mount Alexander Mail, January 22, 1914, see here; Bendigo Independent, April 2, 1914, see here.

(2) William Thwaites (1853 - 1907). Read his Australian Dictionary of Biography entry here - https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/thwaites-william-8811
(3) Mount Alexander Mail, March 1, 1889, see here.

(4) Mount Alexander Mail, May 11, 1914, see here.

(5) Bendigo Advertiser, January 19, 1914, see here.
(6) Mount Alexander Mail, January 19, 1914, see here.

(7) Mount Alexander Mail, June 1, 1914, see here.

(8) Mount Alexander Mail, June 5, 1915, see here.

(9) Ibid
(10) Ibid
(11) Ibid
(12) Ibid
(13) Mount Alexander Mail, June 10, 1915, see here.

(14) Ibid - letter from Creekite.
(15) Mount Alexander Mail June 11, 1915, see here.

(16) Bradfield, Raymond Castlemaine:  a Golden Harvest (Lowden Publishing, 1972) p. 64. As  a matter of interest, Happy Valley, des not appear in the index.

Edwardes Park and Lake in Reservoir and Thomas Dyer Edwardes

In December 1843, Thomas Dyer Edwardes (1807 - 1885) purchased Sections 11 & 12, Parish  of Keelbundora which consisted of  1,875 acres.  The land was situated between the Merri Creek and Darebin Creek. According to  Harley W. Forster, in his book Preston: Lands and People, 1838-1967 -  Edwardes did not get a good return for his investment; apart from selling some land to the Commissioners of Sewers and Water  Supply for  £897/13/9. to make the Yan Yean pipeline and tramway, he had to be content with leasing his land, rents in 1858-63 totalling  £250 per annum. An early sub-divisional plan for Keelbundora 12 was not proceeded with as the land, in the Reservoir area, was still remote from the main centres.

Edwardes (who, like his son, is referred to as Dyer Edwardes in some sources) had arrived in New South Wales in 1828 after spending some time in China. In 1832, he went into a partnership with Matthew Dysart Hunter, and they imported goods from France and Batavia and also had most of the China tea trade.  Edwardes returned to England and in June 1835 he married Martha Sharp in Warwickshire. Their son, also called Thomas Dyer Edwardes, was born July 21, 1847 in London. (Hunters Hill Trust Journal, April 1992)  According to his obituary in the Sydney Morning Herald of March 3, 1885, Edwardes returned to Australian in 1844 and 1873. I presume the visit listed as 1844 (was it actually 1843?) was when he purchased the land at Preston.

When Thomas (the son) was about 20 he came to Victoria and apparently spent about ten years here. He sub-divided some of his father's land  and Forster writes that one estate was known as the Leamington Estate, after the Edwards family home place in England. The settlers were described as stout-hearted for as late as April 1915 they were carrying water to their houses and taking washing up to 1½ miles to be done. 

In 1878, Thomas (the son)  was back in England where he married the grandly named Clementina Georgina Lucy Drummond Villiers and they lived at Prinknash Park, Gloucester. They had a daughter,  Lucy Noel Martha, who was born on Christmas Day (hence the name Noel)  in 1878. Noel, as she seems to have been known,  married the Earl of Rothes in 1900. As an exciting twist to the Edwardes story - Thomas and Clementina and their daughter, Noel the Countess, all sailed on the Titanic! Thomas and Clementina disembarked at Cherbourg in France, however Noel continued on to New York. She survived the sinking as did her travelling companion,  her cousin, Gladys Cherry, and her maid Roberta Maioni. You can read about the Countess and her parents on the Encyclopedia Titanica. This a great website that has biographical information on all the Titanic passengers and an interesting account of the spirited Countess in the lifeboat. You can access the post on the Countess, here, and that links to the others who travelled with her.

Edwardes died on February 10, 1926 in Naples and he left an Estate of £206,463 - with property in England and Victoria. The beneficiaries were his daughter and her children. There were various codicils to the will including one dated July 31, 1924, that said that he and his wife had agreed to live apart - she was left some money in the will and an annuity. Another interesting codicil that was reported was that he had recently joined the Holy Catholic Apostolic Roman Church, and desired his body to be cremated and the ashes placed in a mausoleum to be built on a piece of land which he wished consecrated as a Roman Catholic burial ground.  (The Herald, August 10, 1926) The Encyclopedia Titanica website entry on Edwardes (see here) says that it was his wish that Prinknash be given to the order of Benedictine monks who still occupy the estate.  Even monks have  website these days, you can view it here  You can also read about them and Mr Edwardes here   https://btsarnia.org/2017/10/04/prinknash-and-fr-dolling/

Before we leave both of the Thomas Dyer Edwardes and move onto Carlo Catani, Thomas (the son) donated a peal of thirteen bells to St Paul's Cathedral in Melbourne, in 1889. You can read about the Dedication service and a description of the bells, here. The St Paul's Cathedral website (see here) it is one of the few peals of thirteen bells outside the British Isles. Thomas also donated £3,000 toward  the cost of the £6,000 organ which was installed at St Paul's Cathedral.

The bells of St. Paul's Cathedral.

Donated by Thomas Dyer Edwardes.

Australasian Sketcher December 26, 1889

In September 1914, Thomas Dyer Edwardes donated thirty four acres of land for a park and lake to the Shire of Preston,  so this was part of the land that his father had purchased in 1843. The Argus of September 16, 1914 had this report-
At the Preston Shire Council meeting on Monday evening a letter was received from the solicitor for Mr Thomas Dyer Edwardes's Leamington Estate, North Preston intimating that Mr Edwardes (who is at present in Great Britain) had acceded to the councils request that he would present to Preston citizens land for a recreation reserve and lake site. Instructions had come to hand that 34 acres should be handed over for this purpose. This announcement was received with warm applause. 
The land in question forms portion of what was once an artificial lake, but the embankment was carried away by floods some years ago. It is understood that the council intends to rebuild the weir, and to name the area "Lake Edwardes."

A letter to the Editor of the Preston Leader, December 4, 1915  from Mr J.S. McFadzean of the Reservoir Progress Association can add more information about the history of the site - on the site of the lake that was formerly constructed by private enterprise in 1888. With a dam some 60 yards wide and 22 feet high-of which more than half is still standing solidly-a fine sheet of water of over 25 acres in extent was at that time impounded on the Edgar Creek. There were boat sheds and refreshment rooms there, sports were held on the lake, and a start was made to connect Heidelberg and Coburg by tram running past the lake. Then the collapse of the land boom put an end to this great improvement work which would have made Preston one of Melbourne's show places if it had been carried through.

At the Council meeting of April 12, 1915 the following motion was put - Cr. Howe moved that a letter be sent, through Mr. Membrey, M.L.A, to Mr. Catani, of the Public Works Department, asking that he prepare a plan for the laying out of Edwardes Park. (Preston Leader April 17, 1915)  In June the Northcote Leader reported that  Mr. Catani, chief engineer of the Public Works Department, has already visited Preston to advise as to the best means of laying out Edwardes park.... Cr. Howe reported that Mr. Catani was most enthusiastic in regard to the site, and his visit, so far as the council is concerned, was very satisfactory. Another report said that when Mr. Catani, chief engineer of the Public Works Department, first visited it he was charmed with its natural features and greatly enamoured with its possibilities of beautification. (Northcote Leader August 5, 1916)

Before the park was officially opened on Saturday July 29 1916 the Shire had purchased another 12 acres of land to add to the park; the Reservoir Progress Association had fenced the whole property and by the September over 700 trees had been planted. The opening ceremony was attended by many residents and Mr J. G. Membrey, M.L.A, Shire President, Cr C. Stanlake, Mr Henty who was representing Mr Edwardes and Mr J.S. McFadzean of the Reservoir Progress Association. Trees were planted on the day by Mrs Membrey, Mrs Stanlake, Mrs McFadzean and  Mrs Rae.

 

Aerial view of Edwardes Park and Lake, December 21, 1928. Ten years after it opened, there has been very little landscaping carried out.
Photographer: Charles Daniel Pratt. 

State Library of Victoria Image H91.160/1754.

Click here if you want a higher resolution version http://handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/20210

In September 1916,  the Governor of Victoria, Sir Arthur Lyulph Stanley visited the park - His Excellency inspected the park and the plans of the proposed improvements by Mr. Catani. Edwardes Park is formed of 36 acres of undulating land, presented by Mr. Edwardes, of Hyde Park, London. A creek runs through the land, and the Shire has purchased 10 acres to form a bank for the other side of the lake into which it is proposed to convert the present creek. (Punch, September 21, 1916) The Governor also planted some trees, including a Moreton Bay fig.

The locals were very optimistic about the park, even hoping that  a large ornamental lake be formed in the park, which it is hoped will eventually become one of the attractions of the metropolitan area. (Brunswick & Coburg Star, February 25, 1916). The land, as we said before, already contained a lake, where the embankment had washed away and Harley W. Foster wrote that  J. S. McFadzean and others organized the construction of  a concrete weir and spillway in 1919 and this allowed the Preston Rowing Club to be reformed. The Preston Leader of September 23, 1916 said that a plot has been made to be planted with trees by relatives of those who have fallen on the battle field. I don't believe this ever happened, however, the new weir which was erected, using a Repatriation grant (perhaps organised by the community minded Mr McFadzean) was inset with an Armistice Memorial stone. The weir was officially opened April 3, 1920 by Brigadier-General Brand. (The Age, April 5, 1920, read about the opening, here.) During the Depression, men were employed on weeding and bluestone edging the Edwardes Lake.

Edwardes Lake, Reservoir, c. 1945-1954.  Victorian Railways Photographer.

State Library of Victoria H91.50/267

On February 5, 1935 The Age published a letter from 'A Resident' of Reservoir about Edwardes Lake, which points out years of Council neglect - Residents are pleased to note that the council is about to do something. Mr. Ben. Johnson's statement that the Preston council cannot be accused of neglect is humorous. Why was the grass allowed to grow so rank that the newly purchased cutting machine could not cut it ? What will happen to the young trees recently planted if a fire starts in this rank grass ? The council is patting itself on the back because it planted these trees; so it must, accept full responsibility if they are destroyed by fire. The town clerk talks about schemes for improvement. Residents have been listening to this talk for years...... Twenty years ago a mere handful of residents decided to form working bees and improve the park. They first of all fenced it, then planted hundreds of trees, and cared for them. They did their job well, as can be seen by the growth made by these trees. Then the rowing club members constructed the fence around the arena, and even the Preston council became enthusiastic. The members decided to help the sporting bodies, and commenced filling In the holes in the arena. That was two years ago. To day the job is still unfinished. The council's efforts fizzled out, and last year the Eastern carnival, usually held, was abandoned because the controlling bodies will not allow their members to compete for games because of the danger of sprained ankles, &c....

The next year it was reported that Preston council needed finance to carry out a scheme of beautification of Edwarde's Park and Lake. With that object in view, application was made to the Employment Council asking for a grant of £3000 to carry out the work. At its meeting this week the council was disappointed to learn that the grant cannot he made just yet. (The Age June 25, 1936)

Before we get onto Carlo's plans for the park, I came across this interesting proposal for the park. The Preston Leader of February 20, 1915 reported on this visionary plan -  F. W. Donovan wrote to the council on Monday evening suggesting that it would be a mistake to apply the "pretty little flower-garden method" in dealing with 36 acres. A plan should be laid down on bold lines that could be gradually and permanently developed....the retention of some of the virgin forest, which had been such a glaring omission in the past. The site, in his opinion, was unique in its possibilities to produce a good representation of the native flora and fauna. It could be made a sanctuary for the protection of Australian bird life, where the cry of the plover and the cacchination of the laughing jackass could be heard. The artificial lake could be stocked with wild duck, and other aquatic game could "claim kindred and have their claims allowed"

Edwardes Park and Lake, Reservoir, attributed to Carlo Catani.

What were Carlo's plans? He must have drawn some plans as they were inspected in September 1916, by the Governor of Victoria, when he visited the park -  His Excellency inspected the park and the plans of the proposed improvements by Mr. Catani. (Punch, September 21, 1916).  The Preston Leader of September 23, 1916 said that the plan for the future improvement of the area embraces the construction of a large lake, recreation ground, lawns, lengthy drives, rest houses, boat sheds, a bathing reserve and rowing course. The estimated cost of constructing the lake is £2540. This plan is not attributed to anyone in particular - was it Carlo's plan? 

We have this plan, above, which is attributed to Carlo Catani, however my research colleague and Catani authority, Isaac Hermann, feels that it is unlikely that he would have named the drive after himself and I have to agree as, from all accounts, Carlo was modest and did not seek out the limelight. This plan was presumably a Council plan and the original (which currently appears to be lost) was from the City of Preston and thus possibly inherited by the Darebin Council.

When Harley Foster published his history of Preston in 1968 he wrote while the lake was used for pleasure boating, and for the Rowing Club, which was strong and successful in the twenties, the rest of the park was little developed, and has not reached its potential to this day.  It does appear that even though Carlo was charmed with its natural features and greatly enamoured with its possibilities of beautification - this beautification may never had taken place.

Sources:
Preston: Lands and People, 1838-1967 by Harley W. Forster (F. W. Cheshire, 1968)  Thomas Dyer Edwardes and Woolwich by Diana M. Drake  published in the  Hunter's Hill Trust Journal, April 1992. https://huntershilltrust.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Vol-21-No-1-April-1992_Part1.pdf

There are some interesting photos of Edwardes Lake and Edgars Creek, which was dammed to form the lake, in this report Knowing our creek: a history of Edgar's Creek by Stephen Northey published by the Friends of Edgars Creek in 2007) Read it here.

I have created a select list of articles, from Trove, on Thomas Dyer Edwardes  - the father and the son - and Edwardes Park and Edwardes Lake which mention Carlo Catani. The List can be accessed here and includes any articles which I have referred to in this post