Mooney Mooney

Under Mooney Mooney Creek Bridge or the Big Dipper on the M1.  Concrete makes everything possible. Believe concrete impressed me in the study of really early Rome...

Some homes line the valley where the background noise from traffic is constant. 

 Jumping off a little old bridge was very popular. Anarchy prevailed in a village tucked away up north!  

Flood water rose up to the top and over the bank on the eastern side.  The bridge had been smashed and a young archer shot an arrow about 40 metres to carry a rope across the river to set up a rope and pulley with an indispensible milk crate used to carry supplies back and forth. 

  The bridge served a small community.  Alternative access over private property has been made but is not as handy.

Timber from the bridge had

lasted a long time and shows signs of old age and a lot of repairs.

 

 Torryburn, out beyond Newcastle, where a bridge was washed away in the April weather event.
The span was high and a zig zag path climbs to the level of the former roadway after crossing a temporary foot bridge which lies closer to the water level in the Allyn River.

Just outside Hat Head where hibernation was setting in until next holiday that brings campers and caravaners.  The action of the tidal river is something to behold but I missed out seeing that. Mid north coast NSW.

New footbridge to span New England Highway, Thornton - that's my guess.
Deceptive how it is long enough to span four lanes of traffic with grassy strip inbetween and a strip on each side.

A third crossing, as they say, over the Hunter river is under construction and is shown in the distance if you look carefully it is just visible. From East Maitland and Pitnacree Road, it crosses the flood plains and the farms, which,  post 1950,  have a system of levees to contain the river when it floods.  This area was under water and is what is intended in any future floods. New buildings are banned.
Old maps show a river crossing round this same point but perhaps the river changed course and a structure was washed away.

On the other side of the river the new route by-passes Maitland forLorn. 

The traffic crawls out of Sydney, everyone is homeward bound, round the last right turn, onto the F3, the open road and a surge towards Newcastle.   
Down down down-hill to emerge into the vista from the Hawkesbury River bridge.
A painting by 'B' set beside a digital image.

My gross weight: 84kg ( +1kg)

Caution bump on deck   
Morpeth's classic old timber bridge has been undergoing extensive repairs for a long long time now.
An example of the decking is shown in lower photos. Concrete and long timber poles are combined - if I am correct.

Is there an art in preparing these light-up signs where space is limited? Like Twitter?
Also, does one write 'classic old timber bridge' in that word order? Word order is an unknown. This is a bad example.  'Classic timber bridge' is more like it.  But other better examples of problems with word order are met.

I knew of an old text book that covered those aspects with absolutely everything about quality and quantity words and while it was intriguing it made no concessions to the reader and was a very dense read and I tried but did not take up the challenge. Left it to the word-smiths. There's always tomorrow!

While stravaiging down Pitnacree Road towards the Hunter River the corn was a high as an elephant's eye.
Pitnacree road from East Maitland came to a dead end  before construction of a bridge over the Hunter was commenced.
Pitnacree must have origins in Scotland and is the name of a neolithic barrow unearthed in Perthshire.

This bridge has extensive repairs yet the approach is still like a roller coaster and believe it is over the Hunter at Morpeth.
(This and other bridges have appeared on here before this, yet are not on the index. It needs sorting out one day.)

Just outside Vacy is an early example of an Allan type timber truss road bridge over the Paterson.
The smh Traveller writes: Vacy came into existence around 1828 as a private township of the Cory family from England.

Thump thump thump...crossing the bridge or whatever it's called, north of Newcastle.

Passing the Avon River near Stratford, south of Gloucester and to the north of Newcastle on a rainy day.

On another point, while it is nothing new, certain problems on a computer, can be resolved with Systems Restore. At least, XP can be safely returned, by magic, to a date before a disaster occured.

If you are not pressured for time, or are not tied to the tried and true, or are not worried by a hour or two on a lonely, dirt road without take-aways or cafe latte then the Great North Road is for you.
There you can get in touch with the days of convict work-gangs and early settler-pioneers as you follow this alternative path to Sydney through pleasant contrasting scenery from the Hunter valley via Wollombi, Bucketty, St Albans, Wisemans Ferry, Dural and originally on to Ryde and Five Dock in inner Sydney.

Convicts build the road between 1826 and 1836 and their civil engineering can be seen at various points while a section of special interest is by-passed altogether with access given only to walkers and bicycles (according to the official brochures). It was the path that the early settlers took to reach the Hunter Valley.

Beginning at the village of Wollombi the route south takes in Laguna and Bucketty. (Several turn-offs go to other destinations including a sealed road to Central Mangrove which offers another route to Wisemans Ferry etc).


Above is Murrays Run culvert: The most elaborate of the culverts just beside the road between Wollombi and Bucketty and restored by the local community. Other sites of interest can be found along there.
Near the intersection at Bucketty is Mt McQuoid Bucketty precinct.
Above is a rock cutting with the road surface cut into the bedrock and below, a large culvert with winged walling are among the structures in the precinct which is beside the busy road.
The Great North Road continues, possibly as a dirt road to the South West as St Albans Road, while the other road, typically buzzing with motor bikes, goes to Central Mangrove.

Soon the St Albans Road Ramp is found and forms a section of the road, seen above. Two stone walls up to 4m high and 50m long support the roadway. Over 170 years of continuous use shows the lasting quality of the workmanship.

In this vicinity, somewhere near the Mt Manning intersection and sign, (still north of the Mogo Camp Ground) the Great North Road itself continues south and disappears into the bushland to emerge at Wisemans Ferry.

This special section of the road is extensive and has steep grades and many features of note that can be seen by hikers as it is closed to vehicles (although they have invaded the initial area).

Instead, any car tour will continue south-west on the dirt of the St Albans Road.
Below, the Mogo Camp Ground, off St Albans Road, south of the featured Road Ramp, has basic amenities, camping ground and shade trees.



Above, once-upon-a-time, an intrepid little Renault 4 had no trouble on the dirt. Only very heavy rain would make four wheel drive de rigueur.
Saint Albans Common has a unique feature. Other historical features can be sought out along the way.
From the hilly tree-country a descent is made by interesting narrow winding road to an unusal valley and a lakeside drive.
The small village of St Albans has an old working pub and a rustic beer garden under the trees. The Macdonald River is close by, the valley has narrowed and is crossed by a large wooden bridge which at that time was 'held together' by Bailey bridge sections. The river floods at times.

It seems that one can drive south either on the east or on the west side of the Macdonald River to roll on down to the Hawkesbury River, which is still some distance away, so, one can cross this bridge near the pub for the western side for a pleasant drive to the Hawkesbury which is a wide river and crossed by the additional, up-stream vehicular ferry (which is not far from the Wisemans ferry itself).

From the south, the 'closed' section of the Great North Road can be approached, on foot etc, near the area of the Wisemans Ferry crossing.











An informative, artistic booklet named Explore the Convict Trail Great North Road is from Tourism New South Wales and the RTA and has been used for data and it explains the whole story and refers to more historical features on the Sydney side.

North Head and the entrance to Sydney Harbour are some distance from the CBD.
In linear time darkness fell during the time it took the Manly Ferry to reach Circular Quay. Mirage city was transformed. The ferry passengers liked taking photographs.

Here is a bridge with an iron clad theme crossing Throsby Creek, Tighes Hill, just beyond the harbour (or port).
In the world of bridges it is no behemoth! Behemoth is my new word which coincidentally was also heard on the entertaining MythBusters on SBS TV.
Quite often that program seemed non-American and surprisingly the reason is that Discovery Channel, UK and an Australian company, Beyond International, are behind the production (discussed on the ABC Science Show).

Under the walk way, is this a tram or a truck? The city sights can be viewed en route in this novel form of transport. Has been seen on the school run as well. Saturday night work as a booze bus is another possibility.
Late late-Saturday nights and Sunday mornings have been the routine for years and years in the city but this behaviour is under the spotlight lately. Are a few representatives from the young crowds asked to join in the official discussions for a civil society?
They say how youth increasingly look to their groups and like hanging out together as a goal but perhaps they don't really see how little else there is to do on Saturday nights in the city. Is the entertainment so ordinary that they are apt to 'break out'.

More birds by the roadside cast into the concrete jungle. We like this new road, I think, although it doesn't happen to be busy at this time. It is known as Charlestown By-pass and is a direct route between Bennets Green and New Lambton Heights.

AT THE FORESHORE

The federal election is on the weekend after next, the 24th of November!
When some of us say next weekend we mean the weekend that is immediately coming up. I would think that's what Australians used to say and mean.

Others use this weekend instead and all of us know that option as well. But some of us never refer to a distant time as next weekend or next Thursday etc. I will have to watch this.