Wimmera fiction

The recently released novel "Wimmera" by Mark Brandi is largely set in the Stawell area with references to the Black Range & the Grampians, Barnes Street, the Overland train, Halls Gap with a football team.

It is peppered with late 1980’s social culture - Ita and the 'Women’s Weekly'; 'Spycatcher' (remember MI5 senior intelligence officer/spy Peter Wright’s autobiography and the ruckus it caused?); TV shows like 'Monkey Magic', 'Hey Hey It’s Saturday', 'Wonder Years', and the 'A-Team'; films like 'Witness' with Harrison Ford, and when there was only one 'Terminator' movie. 
 

The story begins in the long, hot summer of 1989, Ben and Fab are best friends. Growing up in a small country town, they spend their days playing cricket, yabbying in local dams, wanting a pair of Nike Air Maxes and not talking about how Fab's dad hits him or how the sudden death of Ben's next-door neighbour unsettled him. Almost teenagers, they already know some things are better left unsaid. Then a newcomer arrived in the Wimmera. Fab reckoned he was a secret agent and he and Ben staked him out. Up close, he looked strong. Maybe even stronger than Fab's dad. Neither realised the shadow this man would cast over both their lives. Twenty years later, Fab is still stuck in town, going nowhere but hoping for somewhere better. Then a body is found in the river, and Fab can't ignore the past any more.

A foggy morning on the Wimmera River

Part one is told in 12 year old schoolboy Ben’s voice: long, hot days of camping, schoolyard bullying, sexual awakenings, a new neighbour and a sense of the ominous in the surrounding adult world.

Part two is told in Fab’s adult voice: at 28 years old and in the same town working in a shop, with dreams of better things, looking back while trying not to.

Part three is set in the present time, and unravels the full story after a body is found in the creek.

Originally from the Marche region in Italy, Mark Brandi grew up Italian in a rural Victorian town which influences much of his work. Mark graduated from a criminal justice degree and his career includes roles as a policy advisor and project officer in the Department of Justice, before changing direction and deciding to write.

"Wimmera" is his first novel, and won the British '2016 Crime Writers' Association Debut Dagger award'.

Tarrying at Tarranyurk

Prompted to share a couple of bridges in flood.
The previous photos of the old Tarranyurk Bridge on the "Bridges in floods" post were taken in March 2008 and April 2011.

The Wimmera River swirling into the Old Tarranyurk Bridge (Dimboola Courier)

These are from the Dimboola Courier and were taken on Tuesday 20th September 2016, as the flood peak moves towards Jeparit.
Hang in there Tarranyurk! 

The partially collapsed deck of the bridge, the current bridge is to the left (Dimboola Courier)

Began this post on 22nd September, but now updated, so it was possible to add a few more flooded old bridges taken on 24th.

Firstly - Antwerp, the flood peak had moved on from around Antwerp, but evidence of the higher level was apparent with debris still piled up against the old bridge deck, which as shown is only just above the water level. 

<< The new & old Antwerp bridges

Below the old bridge with its missing span, from the previous flood in 2011.

Both Tarranyurk bridges

Arriving at Tarranyurk, the flow of the river was evident, with little whirlpools and frothy spume whipped up around the piles.

  The bridge deck at Tarranyurk  >>


Moving on to Jeparit - the peak had again been and gone, onto Lake Hindmarsh. 
The waters had only reached part-way up the cross-members of the trestles.

Above & below - Jeparit

Tarrying at Tarranyurk

Prompted to share a couple of bridges in flood. 
The previous photos of the old Tarranyurk Bridge on the "Bridges in floods" post were taken in March 2008 and April 2011.

The Wimmera River swirling into the Old Tarranyurk Bridge (Dimboola Courier)

These photos are from the Dimboola Courier and were taken on Tuesday 20th September 2016, as the flood peak moves towards Jeparit.
Hang in there Tarranyurk! 

The partially collapsed deck of the bridge, the current bridge is to the left (Dimboola Courier)

The flow of time

As the rains come tumbling down, people's thoughts turn to the river.
This piece is from the Dimboola Courier: 

The first natural flow in the Wimmera River since 2012 flowed past Antwerp earlier this week and had progressed northwards to a point beyond the Tarranyurk bridge by Friday evening 12th August.

Wimmera Catchment Management Authority said the natural flow peaked at 468 megalitres a day at Lochiel.
Prior to this event the river had dried up to the point where it was just a series of stagnant waterholes linked by stretches of dry riverbed with only the weir pools at Dimboola and Jeparit holding any significant quantities of water in the lower reaches of the river.

The old Antwerp Weir in April 2016 (Dimboola Courier)

The weir, August 2016 (Dimboola Courier)

The only man made structure on the river between the Antwerp and Tarranyurk road bridges is the old Antwerp weir (pictured above) which was constructed of timber and stone in 1903 to create a more permanent body of water for the local community. The weir pool became the venue for the annual Antwerp rowing regattas in the following years.
It is unclear when it was no longer required and fell into disrepair, but a significant amount of the structure still remains.
Proposals were put forward in the early years of last century to construct a similar structure near Tarranyurk to provide a water supply for that area but this never built.
This series of photographs were taken in the vicinity of the Antwerp weir both this week and back in April and they highlight this structure in the dry and with the water flowing. 

The weir in 1903 (SLV)

The historical photograph, taken in 1903, compares with the one below, taken recently from a similar location to show the changes over the last century. The most obvious being the regrowth of trees around the weir itself.

The Antwerp weir in August 2016 (Dimboola Courier)

The water arrived at Jeparit a day later, and will now flow into Lake Hindmarsh. The last inflow into the lake was as a result of the 2011 floods.

The Jeparit Weir, August 2016 (Dimboola Courier)

The last time that the lake itself flooded was in August 1956. At Jeparit, the Wimmera River rose and forced Lake Hindmarsh to burst its bank near Four Mile, when the inflow overwhelmed the ability of Outlet Creek to cope with the huge volume, and was further  compounded by the wind and waves forcing the water towards the south. Hundreds of acres of wheat crops were affected, several roads were cut, two families were forced from their homes and 30 others were threatened.

The old Jeparit road bridge in 1956, from the north bank (L. Hounsel)

The historic photograph shows the water up to the corbels of the old road bridge over the Wimmera River.The photo below shows the struts and pilings visible below the corbels.

The old Jeparit road bridge in November 2007, from the south bank

Horsham Bridges

Two lanes of traffic negotiate the west bridge during the bridge works

Work on the extensions to the Wimmera River bridges in Horsham are continuing, and as traffic is diverted for the third time, it is now possible to see the evidence of the work done to increase the breath of the bridges.

The bridge from Sawyer Park, 2012

The Wimmera River rises in the Pyrenees region and generally winds westward, passing through Horsham, ending up at its termination at Lake Hindmarsh. 
In Horsham, bridges over the Wimmera River now divide the southern section of the city from the central and northern portions. The bridges provide a vital link connecting the northern and southern suburbs of Horsham and carry as many as 23,000 cars and trucks each day.

The swimming hole c1938 (Horsham & District Historical Society)

The first timbered weir site was near the Botanic Gardens and formed part of the swimming hole. During the 1960s drought, a new weir was built in 1968, further west at the end of Drummond Street, and the river cleared between the weir and the bridge. In the late 1800s and early 1900s Chinese market gardeners grew their vegetables on blocks near the river. The first rowing clubs began in the 1880s and continue today.

Rowers with the bridge in the background (Horsham & District Historical Society)

The river has flooded semi-regularly, in the big 1909 flood, the water reached Pynsent & McLachlan Streets, and May Park. Other major floods were recorded in 1915, 1950s, 1964 and 2010.

The original timber bridge was built in 1884 by James McClounan. In 1892 the Council were required to replace its brittle timber deck with sturdier red-gum planks, these were still limited to 4-5 tons.

The timber bridge from Green Park (Horsham & District Historical Society)

This bridge was replaced in 1939 by a single lane concrete bridge. In 1976 a second bridge (the westward) was constructed longside, and the first bridge remodelled to match it. The gap between the two was the site of the timber bridge, which was demolished during World War II.

The two bridges in 1978 (Horsham & District Historical Society)

Construction works (WMT)

The $4.26 million bridge upgrade is being jointly funded by the Australian and Victorian governments as part of the larger Western Highway upgrade.

Works will include widening the footpath to improve pedestrian and bicycle access, widening road shoulders, installing bridge safety barriers between pedestrians and motorists and constructing strengthening works - a thicker concrete decking, and widening  the existing traffic lanes on both bridges.

The new circular piers for the pedestrian footpath

 The bridge project works are planned to finish in April 2014.

Dimboola weir

Dimboola's orginal weir on the Wimmera River was a timber structure. In the late 60’s the Rural Water Commission recommended that the existing structure be replaced by a concrete weir. This reconstruction was undertaken in 1975. It saw a number of floods including the 1981 flood.
Then in January this year, a major one hit the Wimmera and Dimboola. Hundreds of volunteers and 20,000 odd sandbags limited the inundation, but some homes and the weir suffered at the flood peak. A large amount of debris and tree limbs smashed into the weir and a section of the south bank of the river gave way, taking a large portion of the carpark with it.


The river level has dropped since and damage sustained by the weir and river bank is clearly evident. (My photos taken 17.4.2011)

A temporary sandbag leeve has lifted the river level in Dimboola to allow investigative work by GWM Water consultants. GWM Water (as the owner) is in discussions with its insurers for funding for restoration works, and options to alleviate any possible future failings to the embankment.
The operators of the weir, the Hindmarsh Shire, are seeking money from the Natural Disaster Fund to repair the damage to the weir, but restoration would take several months.