The Tingle Factor Box

Roaming Roy Crosses A Bridge To A Secret History - Cockle Creek Bridge

This week, Roy decided he really wanted to check out a bridge. Roy loves bridges. There is just something about them which grabs his attention. Whether it is a stone bridge, metal, wooden, big, small, they just fascinate him. So, he was looking for an interesting bridge to visit, which was close to home. When he found one at Bobbin Head in Kuringai Chase National Park he was stunned. He must have driven over the Cockle Creek Bridge hundreds of times, but he never knew it was particularly significant!

If you would like to visit the bridge over Cockle Creek, it is located in Bobbin Head, not far from Hornsby. To get there you can enter from Bobbin Head Road in North Turrumurra or from Kuringai Chase Road in Mount Colah (enter from the Old Pacific Highway into Yirra Road, then turn into Belmont Parade and from there into Kuringai Chase Road). While you are at the park, why not go for a bushwalk, enjoy a meal or take in the mangroves!

The bridge over Cockle Creek at Bobbin Head is very significant, though the reason why seems to be little known. Certainly, Roy and I had no idea the bridge was the first of its kind in Sydney, or that it was heritage listed by the RTA. This bridge, which while it’s a nice bridge doesn’t appear particularly exciting, was the first pre-stressed concrete bridge to be built in Sydney. So what is a pre-stressed concrete bridge and why is it important? Pre-stressed concrete is a way of making concrete which overcomes its natural weakness. Concrete which is normally reinforced, with metal bars, cannot be used to make a long spans because it’s weak over such a long distance. Pre-stressed concrete has pre-tensioned ‘tendons’ put in it, which are usually cables. The cables are pre-tensioned and then the concrete is poured over them and this gives much greater strength. Following the success of the Cockle Creek bridge this method of bridge construction became popular in Sydney.

Why go to such effort for a small bridge in an out of the way place like Bobbin Head? At the time the bridge was built, 1956, Bobbin Head was a popular pleasure ground. There was a swimming pool, play equipment, a miniature train, restaurant, boat sheds amongst other attractions and people loved to visit. Bobbin Head was named a National Park in 1894 and from this time onwards the area was popular with visitors. The problem though was that Cockle Creek ran through the pleasure ground area, so a bridge had to be built to enable people to come from both directions, and to utilise both sides of the pleasure ground. The first attempt was made in 1902 and 1903 when a causeway was built, but this was washed away in 1915. A new bridge was the built of timber but by 1925 the bridge and a wharf had been washed away. A temporary bridge was built, and then a proper one was constructed in 1930.  Yet again, it was washed away in 1942. Storms were a real problem when it came to building a lasting bridge. It was important that people could pass under the bridge in boats, as this was one of the main pastimes, but the bridges just didn’t seem to be strong enough to survive the storms which hit the area. Then, in 1956, a new type of bridge was trialled, the pre-stressed concrete one. It’s still there today.

Roaming Roy Finds A Steaming Hot Museum - Campbelltown Steam And Machinery Museum

This week, Roy decided he wanted to share one of his favourite museums with his online friends. As you may have guessed, Roy loves industrial history, and he loves nothing more than visiting a museum and investigating their steam engines, tractors and machinery collections. Of course, at most museums you will rarely see any of the collection working, and so Roy particularly enjoys the Field Days at The Campbelltown Steam and Machinery Museum.

The next field days at the Campbelltown Steam and Machinery Museum is coming up soon, on the 18^th and 19^th of May, 2013. If you would like to visit the museum for its field days, and see their amazing machinery up and running, the museum is at 86 Menangle Road, Menangle, not far from Campbelltown. The area is huge, and if it has been wet there might be a bit of mud, but it is great fun. Also, be warned there is lots of smoke and noise!

Australia has a long history of industry and farming. We are a country which was known for the production of wheat and wool, for mining and making materials like steel and iron. Historically, in farming and in industry, machines have always been needed and used to help make the job easier. We are also a huge country with vast distances to traverse and we needed a good road system, and railways. Machines were needed to help in building and maintaining these systems and of course steam engines were needed to carry people and goods on the railways!

At the Campbelltown Steam and Machinery Museum, the machines which performed these tasks are on display and many of them are in working condition, still performing the jobs they were created for. You will see tractors, traction engines, stationary engines, steam rollers, steam engines, and a huge variety of other machines amongst the displays. It is a fascinating place, full of history and enthusiastic characters who will share the stories of the machines with visitors.If you would like to learn more about the steam museum, and about other field days, click here.

Roaming Roy Finds A Memorial To A Memorable Event - Battle Of Vinegar Hill Memorial

This week, with Saint Patricks Day upon us, and an important anniversary for Irish Australian’s just past, Roy decided it was time to visit the Vinegar Hill Monument. Roy has visited places connected with the Vinegar Hill Rebellion before, but he only recently visited the memorial which has been built to commemorate the event. With the anniversary of Vinegar Hill occurring less than a week ago, on March 4, and Saint Patricks Day, it was the perfect time to make the visit.

If you would like to visit the Vinegar Hill Monument, it is located in Castlebrook Cemetery in Rouse Hill, just off Windsor Road. The memorial itself is very large, but it took a little driving around before we found it as there are several roads within the cemetery to take you to different sections. You want to head to the highest point in the cemetery, and this is where you will find the memorial.

The Castle Hill Rebellion and the Battle Of Vinegar Hill which followed are important events in Australian history. In 1804, when the battle took place, a third of the non-Aboriginal population of Australia was made up of Irish convicts, many of whom were political prisoners. The Irish convicts were unhappy with their situation, being prisoners under British rule, and some of the convicts hatched a plan to raise an army of Irishmen and escape. They planned to hijack ships in Sydney harbour and sail to freedom.

On the night of March 4 200 or more convicts, many of whom were Irish, broke out of the Government Farm and Barracks at Castle Hill (Roy has visited the site, and you can read about it here). They robbed local farms and collected weapons, and soon the Governor, Governor King, declared Martial Law in the areas affected. Originally, the convicts had planned to march on Parramatta, but when they realised their plan would not work, a group led by Phillip Cunningham made a run for the Hawkesbury River at Windsor, hoping to escape that way. On March 5, reputedly in the area where now Schofields Road meets Windsor Road, the Government troops met up with the rebels. Roy has been told this site was incorrectly identified and was actually closer to Rouse Hill House. Regardless, the rebels refused to surrender and their leaders attempted to negotiate a truce, but the Government forces took them prisoner. In the chaos which followed, a battle broke out between the rebels and the troops and a number of the rebels died or were injured. Phillip Cunningham and several others were hung while others involved were flogged or sent to the re-established penal settlement at Newcastle. The area continued to be known as Vinegar Hill for many years, until it was officially changed to Rouse Hill in the late 1850s.

Roaming Roy Goes Shopping For History - Birkenhead Point

This week, Roy decided that he wanted to tell you about some of Sydney’s industrial history. Roy loves places which are part of Sydney’s industrial past, because they are such fascinating insights into Sydney’s history. The question was, where to go. Sydney has many industrial sites, some of them largely intact and some with only a few stones or a ruined building to tell the story. One place which has always fascinated Roy though is the Birkenhead Point Outlet Centre. This spectacular building clearly has a history, and Roy wanted to tell you more.

If you would like to visit the Birkenhead Point Outlet Centre, it is located in Drummoyne and is only about 10 minutes away from the Sydney CBD (if the traffic is good!) The Outlet Centre is located in Roseby Street and you can easily get there by car (there is parking available), or by public transport. You can even take a Water Taxi! There is plenty to see at the centre, with beautiful industrial heritage, and of course shops and cafes to explore. You could even enjoy a Gozleme or two as Roy has been known to do (to read the post click here)

Birkenhead Point has had many owners, and been home to many different businesses, beginning as early as the 1800s. The land around Birkenhead Point was originally granted to Mr Harris in 1800, and he sold the land in 1836 to Mr Lyons who subdivided the original grant and sold off the individual plots. Two years later, in 1838, the 50 acre lot which included what we now know as Birkenhead Point was purchased by Mr Dutton and a brick making business was established. By 1841 though Dutton was being sued because he was bankrupt and his business and land were sold to pay his debts.

The next business to operate on the site was Abercrombie’s Racecourse, but soon Abercrombie redeveloped the site into a boiling down and salting works. By 1855 though the boiling down and salting works was not making enough money and Abercrombie sold the land in 1866 to Mr Caird, who then resold the land to the Excelsior Land Investment Company and Bank. In 1885 the land was again sold to the Perdriau brothers, who set up a business making rubber engine packing to use on their ferry service. The rubber business was lucrative though and in 1899 Henry Perdriau established the Perdriau Rubber Company. The business was so successful that it eventually expanded over the whole of the 7.7 hectare site. In 1928 the Perdriau Rubber Company merged with the Dunlop Rubber Company, and the site became known as the Dunlop Rubber Factory. This was the last factory to operate on the site and in 1976 the site was sold again to David Jones who converted the factory into a shopping centre. Since then the site has changed owners many times, but has remained a shopping centre.

Roaming Roy Finds A Salty, Adaptable Plant - Mangroves

This week, Roy decided he felt like a nice walk. We have some beautiful walks not far away from us, some of which are difficult, but some of which are very easy. Roy wasn’t feeling particularly energetic, so we decided to walk somewhere which was not too strenuous. When I reminded him that he had not told his online friends about mangroves yet, he decided one of the local mangrove boardwalks would be perfect. He often visits the fascinating mangroves and they are one of his favourite places to walk. Unfortunately, he forgot to take his camera, but luckily he took some photos last year in the cooler months which he could share!

Roy is lucky to live close to several mangrove boardwalks, with one at Brooklyn, another at Bobbin Head and one at Crosslands Reserve. The boardwalk in these pictures is at Bobbin Head and is one of Roy’s favourites, as it is in one of his favourite National Parks, Ku-ring-gai National Park. To get to Bobbin Head you can come from either Bobbin Head Road in North Turrumurra or from Kuringai Chase Road in Mount Colah (enter from the Old Pacific Highway into Yirra Road, then turn into Belmont Parade and from there into Kuringai Chase Road). There is plenty to see and do in the park, with a popular playground, cafes, the boardwalk, other walking tracks, fishing, boating and so on. You can even hire paddle boats on weekends and holidays!

Mangroves may not smell fantastic, but they are amazing plants and important ecosystems – Roy thinks they are possibly one of the most amazing plants around. They don’t only occur in Australia, but Australia does have the third largest area of mangroves in the world, providing a home for various species from fish and crabs to birds and rodents. As much as 75% of the commercial fish species in Australia spend part of their lives in the mangroves, especially when first born.They are known as the fish nursery!

So what are mangroves and why are they so amazing? Mangroves are a type of tree which grow in the salty waters along Australia’s coastline and river systems and are specially adapted to survive these difficult conditions. Some store salt in their leaves until the levels get too high and then the leaf falls off, while others secrete it through their leaves, leaving a glinting layer of salt crystals behind. They also have to conserve their fresh water so they can turn their leaves to reduce the area exposed to the sun and evaporation.  The leaves aren’t the only adaptations the mangroves have made to enable them to live in the salty conditions though. They live in salty, soft, oxygen poor soils and have adapted their roots to suit. They have far reaching, often expose roots which support them in soft soils and special roots which grow above ground which take in oxygen and transfer it to the roots below ground. The roots are even adapted to stop the mangroves from taking in a lot of salt from the water!  

Roaming Roy Kisses Under The Mistletoe

This week, with the end of the Festive season approaching, Roy decided he wanted to tell his online friends a little about one of the famous Christmas and New Year plants, mistletoe. Many of his Australian friends think Mistletoe is just a tradition for people who live in the Northern Hemisphere, as they assume it doesn’t grow in Australia. Although we do not have the same types of Mistletoe as our Northern Hemisphere friends, we do have plenty of Mistletoe plants! So this week, Roy thought he would like to tell you a little about them.

Roy sees Mistletoe Plants all over the place. Some are growing near where Roy lives, but the ones shown in this post were found on Burning Mountain and at Cattai National Park. Roy has seen Mistletoe in almost all of the places we have visited, yet so many of his friends don’t even realise it is there. Mistletoe grows in other trees and we usually see it in Australia in Gum Trees. Where you see a dense ‘ball’ of foliage hanging from a branch you may well find it is a mistletoe plant growing in the tree. They are particularly easy to see if the branch and surrounding area (or the tree) is dead or unhealthy!

Strictly speaking, Mistletoe refers to a single plant, Viscum album L, which is the plant so famous in Christmas celebrations (of course kissing under the Mistletoe is also a popular New Year activity!) This plant played an important role in many early religions, including that of the Druids, and was thought to have mystical, magical properties. It grows across Europe, in America and into Asia where it is found in Japan. More generally though, Mistletoe refers to a group of plants which grow as parasites on other trees and shrubs. In Australia, we think of Mistletoe as a European plant which is important to  Christmas celebrations, yet Europe only has one native species of Mistletoe, far fewer than the 85-90 species we have in Australia!

You might wonder, if Mistletoe is so common in Australia, why you don’t see it growing alongside the road, but it is often there, only far above your head, growing in the trees. So how does it get into the trees in the first place? Mistletoe produces striking berries (most famously white, but often actually red) which are popular with birds, including honeyeaters, and a bird actually called ‘the Mistletoe Bird’. The seeds have evolved so that they are not destroyed when the bird eats them, but come out the other end intact, ready to grow. They are left on trees (especially by the Mistletoe Bird who actually wipes the seed on the tree when going to the toilet) where they grow into the famous plant. If you would like to learn more about Mistletoe, and about the stories and myths surrounding it, click here.

Roaming Roy Rings In The Holidays - Christmas Bells

This week, Roy decided that with many of his friends finishing off preparations for Christmas, it was time to introduce his online friends to one of his favourite Christmas flowers. Many people at this time of the year are collecting armfuls of Christmas Bush from gardens to bring inside and decorate the house and table, but there is another Australian flower which people love to use in floral displays and sometimes collect, illegally from the wild, Christmas Bells.

These Christmas Bells grow in the bushland and along the tracks and trails near where Roy lives. He loves the native flowers, and just before Christmas enjoys going to see if the Christmas Bells are in flower. A small area near where he lives is often covered with these beautiful blooms, but unfortunately, people also come and pick them to decorate their houses or even to sell. Although they do make beautiful cut flowers and some people grow them specially to sell, if you see them in the bush they should be left to be enjoyed in the wild. Roy is always devastated when he goes back to see the Christmas Bells to find they have been stolen, so please leave them as you found them!

Christmas Bells are only small flowers, but they are very beautiful. With their bright red bells and yellow petal tips (though they can also be completely red or completely yellow), combined with their flowering time, Christmas, they embody Christmas in Sydney, Australia. In fact, there is even a Christmas poem which appears to mention them, and you can read it here. Christmas Bells are a member of the lily family and are one of only 4 plants which grow on Australia's Eastern Coast which fit into this group. Whilst they are abundant where Roy and I live, but they actually only grow in certain areas on the Eastern Coast, where there is heathland, mountains or coastal plains combined with an environment which isn’t too cold or dry. They are most common apparently in the Sydney Basin.

The beautiful flower has been popular since not long after Europeans settled Australia, with cultivation of the plant dating back right to 1803 when it was grown in glasshouses. As early as the 1830s people were using the Native plants in flower at Christmas, including the Christmas Bells as a subsitute for the more traditional red and green holly of 'back home'. These native flowers were very popular as decorations both around the house and on the Christmas table itself. They were arranged in vases as the table centrepiece, but also pinned to the cloth at the edges of the table to add a festive touch. Often the arrangements in vases were so big you couldn't see the other side of the table!

More recently, people have been growing the flowers to sell in florists and even to export overseas. Roy is really pleased to hear people are specially growing the plants, because the picking of Christmas Bells in the wild has had a devastating effect on the plant. In some places, Christmas Bells are now ‘locally extinct’, meaning there are none left at all in the wild. In other places, people picking Christmas Bells have been careless and trampled the plants around the bells, and even often killed the Christmas Bell plant itself. There was apparently even a time when people regularly ‘slashed and burned’ areas of bush to encourage Christmas Bells to grow, and this altered or destroyed the natural environment in many areas. Nowadays, Christmas Bells are protected, and even growing them for commercial purposes is regulated, with all growers needing to apply for a license. Harvesting the flowers from the wild is illegal (unless they are on your property) and you can face fines if you are caught. Even collecting seed from the flowers in the wild can lead to hefty fines so it is best to just enjoy the flowers and let them multiply in the wild so that future visitors can enjoy them too.

Roaming Roy Finds Fabulous Mailboxes

This week, with Christmas approaching, Roy got to thinking about how we send presents, letters and cards to each other. Of course, Santa has his own delivery system, and many presents are exchanged in person by loved ones, but many more are sent through the postal system to end up in mail boxes all over the world. Letterbox watching is one of Roys favourite pastimes when we are travelling, with so many weird and wonderful ones to see.

Roaming Roy Finds A Mysterious House - Aberdoon House

This week, Roy was out visiting friends in Rouse Hill, but he had some extra time on his hands and asked if they knew of anywhere he might like to visit. They suggested he try Aberdoon House, a colonial homestead hidden away behind modern buildings. Although when he visited he was not able to see the interior of the building, the outside was beautiful and evocative of a period long gone – well worth a look.

Roaming Roy Goes Gardening With Mrs Macquarie - Elizabeth Macquarie Statue

Earlier this week, Roy was sitting in the garden, enjoying the warm, Spring sunshine when he noticed that our Iris is flowering. Roy loves Iris flowers, and looking at the beautiful bloom reminded him of a story he had heard about Elizabeth Macquarie, the wife of Governor Lachlan Macquarie, and of a statue of her that he had seen and photographed sometime in the past. He went through his archives of photographs and discovered pictures which he took when he visited the statue and decided to share the story with you.