Willaura / Glenthompson / Mt William / Victoria Valley

Submitted: Wednesday, Nov 14, 2007 at 01:11
ThreadID: 51585 Views:3080 Replies:3 FollowUps:1
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Anyone been in these areas lately?

Just wondering if there is much water in the Hopkins river / Lake Muirhead / Wannon rivers?

Also has the Grampians started to recover from the fires?

Does anyone also know if there is much water in Lake Fyans and Lake Lonsdale also Lake Zumstiens and the Lake Belfield at Halls Gap.

Years ago we used to travel the Three Chain road from Moyston down along the Grampians to Willaura and Mt William.

Did anyone get to meet old Whirly Wilson who owned the Southern Cross Hotel at Moyston?
He was a real character, he had an old "T" model ford that he put an aeroplane prop on to look like a helicopter and for the cooling he had a 12 gallon drum full of water and above it an old shower rose so you could watch the water come out of it.
He always entered it in the Golden Gateway Festival in Ararat each year.
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Reply By: 96 GXL 80 series - Wednesday, Nov 14, 2007 at 01:26

Wednesday, Nov 14, 2007 at 01:26
The Hopkins river was always a good place to either catch eels or use a drum net for them.

Lake Kiora was anther good place when the area had a lot of water around as you could net in the channels on the edge of the roads around the lake.

The Wannon river was always a good place for black snakes and on the banks of the Hopkins river.

Tiger snakes seem to stick to the flat areas around Lake Muirhead and swamps and dams in those areas.

The dried up swamps were always a good place to let the dogs out and chase hairs.

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Reply By: Member - Doug T (Qld) - Wednesday, Nov 14, 2007 at 07:31

Wednesday, Nov 14, 2007 at 07:31
96 GXL 80 series\They have had some good rains in the area lately so that should help a bit, The Eels will be growing legs ,
As for the fire ravaged area , the Australian Bush will recover , as it has done for millions of years, There are some species of native flora that needs fire to germinate and continue the cycle , In any part of Australia the native Flora and Fauna always returns after fire or flood. The Government Departments i.e NP&W seem to want to restrict the natural process , they won't even do controlled burns , if they did the natural fires would be much less severe
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Reply By: Member- Tony C - Wednesday, Nov 14, 2007 at 09:06

Wednesday, Nov 14, 2007 at 09:06
G'day
I,m not sure about the Hopkins and Wannon Rivers but would imagine flows would be light at the moment.We had good rain over cup w'end(76mm Halls Gap) but i dont think there was that amount in the cathment south of the Grampians.
Lake Bellfield is at 18% capacity, Fyans23%,Lonsdale reads 0%but there is water in it although very shallow.
The bush here is looking fantastic and has recovered well after the fires.Some of the lighter stoney country where the fire may have been crowning is going to take a bit longer but still looks good.
Cheers
Tony
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Follow Up By: 96 GXL 80 series - Wednesday, Nov 14, 2007 at 16:29

Wednesday, Nov 14, 2007 at 16:29
Hi Tony,
yes I remember them building Lake Bellfield, and we used to visit Halls Gap regularly as we lived in Ararat up until I was in my 20's.
We used to play football against Halls Gap, and still remember climbing the Elephants hide many times over the years.

We also used to always go to Lake Lonsdale and Lake Fyans swimming or fishing.
They both were popular through out the summer.

Next time we are in that area we must have a good look around.

I can remember when I was a kid and was at my grand parents place in Willaura when one of the big fire stated in the Grampians.
My father and uncle were there for days helping out and the stories you hear were un real.

They were telling us that you could hear this roar and the next thing you had a fire jumping from one mountain to another at least a kilometre or more away, back in those days it was in miles.

As DougT has pointed out they should be allowed regular burn off's and stop the build up of fuel on the ground.

It not only cleans out the rubbish but also give fire fighters a chance re knowledge and access to those places.
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