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FRIEND’S NEWSLETTER

JUNE, 2014 www.greatsouthwestwalk.com,P.O. Box 192, Portland, 3305

Vale Sam Bruton, 31:1:27—15:5:14

By Bill Golding

Sam was and is The Great South West Walk. It is to him we owe the whole concept.

Having had a long career as a forestry officer at Orbost and Myrtleford, Sam came to Portland to be second in charge of

National Parks in South West Victoria.

One Sunday, in February, 1980, he was turning over some maps when in a visionary explosion, he suddenly saw it all.

On the Monday he bounded into Portland High School and gained the support of the Principal and his Deputy. The School Council’s President soon followed, as did Sam’s boss, the Superintendant.

Then came the Land’s Department, the Shire Council and, somewhat cautiously, the Forest Commission. In no time, The

Great South West walk became an official Portland High School project and was driven for the next four years by a Steering

Committee of which Sam was Deputy Chairman.

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In 1984, Sam was elected Vice-President of the newly formed Friends Of The Great South Walk. He served for 9 years in that capacity. Within 4 years of the Walk’s official opening, Sam had retired. Thus most of his service to the GSWW was as a volunteer. His hands-on work in the field will long be the subject of stories. His exploits on our little Kubota Tractor, his swashbuckling feats with the chainsaw and his creative efforts with bridges were all memorable. Some of the land marks he left us have already succumbed to time. For example, the log and earth embankments which enabled the second Fitzroy Bridge to be built, and which served for 18 years, have not been required by the third. Similarly, the massive 90 m, Tim’s Bridge, which bore many marks of Sam’s genius and which provided extended walking in the Surry Valley for 16 years, is no longer there. However another of Sam’s inspirations, the Perilous Parapet, on the South coast of Cape Bridgewater, has done 20 years work and is still going strong. Without it we would be walking along a farm fence with the sea well and truly out of sight. The route of the ‘Wesley Track’ west of the Bridgewater Lakes, is also his. He has given us some grief on the South side of its highest hill, but the view from the top, across the lake into the farm land beyond is ample compensation. ‘Looker’s Lookout’, on the Glenelg River marks the site of some

Sam Bruton, late 1980’s

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Sam Bruton & Bill Golding, 10th Anniversary of GSWW

impulsive mischief from Sam and Rob Looker. Totally without consultation or authorisation they made a small earthen platform overlooking the river. To avoid repercussions we removed obvious traces of the platform and kept it hidden for years. However, 2 years ago we confessed the misdeed to Ranger Bruce Mackereth who responded by building a fully professional, official lookout on the spot. ‘Looker’s Lookout’ now offers a splendid up-stream view of the River. We can assume Sam was more than 50% responsible for this inspiration but the name ‘Looker’s Lookout’ is hard to resist. To find it, drive into Glenelg Drive from the Winnap Road. Stop at the first place the GSWW crosses the road. Walk into the track on the North side and proceed upstream for about 100 m. However, in all this detail, at this sad time let us not lose sight of the fact that The Great South West Walk exists and that it exists because of Sam. His memory is also perpetuated in a 7 km walk close to town and highly popular with locals, called most fittingly, ‘Sam’s Loop’.

Our debt to him is beyond measure.

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SOMETHING TO CELEBRATE! 25th ANNIVERSARY OF GSWW.

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Thankyou to Brewster & Walsh for their

sponsorship of this Newsletter and Kathy Cram

for printing it.

Articles& photos for next Newsletter to Jan Tonkin by 20th September, tonkin.janice.m@edumail.vic.gov.au

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FGSWW Walking Program 2014 Please read ‘What’s On’ in Friday’s Portland Observer in case

walk details have changed. Unless otherwise stated, all walks leave from the Customs House,

Cliff Street, Portland. Our By-laws require that intending walkers advise the contact person by the Thursday prior to the walk so

that transport arrangements can be made. We would like to encourage all walkers who are not already financial members to join up and help keep us running. Membership forms are available from the contact person on the day of the walk or go to our

website, www.greatsouthwestwalk.com and either download a form or pay online.

Suggested Equipment for Day Walks Morning tea, nibbles and lunch, water bottle (min.1l), day pack, sun

hat, sunscreen, waterproof jacket, insect repellant, beanie, comfortable, broken-in footwear, change of clothes for return trip (left in car) if conditions are wet. Additionally, on Twilight Walks, meals will be at designated venues at own expense and, as walks commence after

lunch, something to nibble on, eg fruit, nuts or the like, would be advisable.

Julie Davies, FGSWW Recreation Officer Ph: 55232131 or Mob: 0407052914

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING, 2014 Notice is given that the Annual General Meeting for 2014 will

be held on 30th July at 6.30pm for a 7pm start. The Meeting will be held at the CFA Offices and the guest

speaker will be Peter Novotny from the CFA.

Members who wish to be nominated for the Committee or would like to nominate another member for the Committee

may obtain a nomination form from Ewen Lovell, ewenjan@bigpond.com

Saturday July 12

9.00am start from Portland. Hamilton to Coleraine Rail trail. Contact: Wendy—55723097

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Saturday

August 9

9.00am start from Portland – Mt Eccles National Park. Explore the volcano. Contact: Jenny & Viv—55788206

Saturday

Sept. 13

9.00am start from Portland - Trewalla Camp to Murrell's Beach on GSWW.

Beach and coastal path walk.

Contact: Rob—55265372, Mob: 0428381772

Saturday

Oct. 11

9.00am start from Portland – Bats Ridges - wildflowers

and caves. Watch out for rare orchids.

Contact: Julie—55232131

Saturday

Nov.15

3.00pm start from Portland - Walkers' End of Year - Henty Bay to Portland. Evening meal at Richmond Henty Bistro. Contact: Jan—55232696

APRIL WALKERS

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McHugh’s Track to Simson’s Landing

Saturday April 12, 2014

Due to the recent bush fires at Mt Clay, the scheduled monthly walk was changed - with a swap being done

between the April and May walks. This could have been fortuitous as the past two scheduled walks along the Glenelg have been cancelled due to the weather – one because of torrential rain the other because of the threat of bushfires. We hope the Mt Clay track will be clear for our May walk.

At 9.00am local people set off from the Customs House to drive to

Nelson Tourist

Information Centre to

meet with walkers

from Hamilton and

Heywood at 10.00am.

In all, 25 walkers

headed out on

McHugh’s track

bound for the Great

South West Walk,

south of Hirth’s

Landing. There were

many tracks leading off McHugh’s and we actually ended up at

Hirth’s Landing where we had our lunch.

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The leader for the day feels that there could have been a conspiracy to make sure that Hirth’s was our destination! As it turned out it was a perfect location for lunch and there was enough seating for everyone to be comfortable (thanks Rob) – PLUS it added a couple of kilometres to our walk – just in case anyone was wondering why the stated 8km walk seemed much longer. Ewen’s GPS device reckoned we did 12kms.

The weather turned out to be perfect for walking and the walk went off without a hitch. The only wild-life spotted was an echidna and a couple of wallabies. We were pleased to welcome a young hitchhiker from Wales who is staying in Portland for a few weeks and working for a local farmer – she said she’d had a great day. As usual, the views from the track onto the river and environs were spectacularly beautiful.

After the walk some people headed for the Nelson pub and local store for coffees (and maybe some amber fluid).

We live in a glorious part of the world and it’s a pleasure to be able to share it with others. Heather McIntosh

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Mt Clay Walk, 17th May

After swapping April’s walk for May, we were able to do our Mt

Clay Walk with the leadership of Ivan Boyer. 23 Walkers left

Ivan’s property and after walking through the bush, we walked

to Boyer’s Rd. where we had our first impression of the April

fires. A short walk along Boyer’s Rd., we turned into Tower’s

Rd. then into Angelino’s Rd. From Angelino’s Rd we headed

to the communication towers where we enjoyed our lunch.

From there we went across country to Beavis Rd, then turned

into Devlin’s Rd. We returned to Ivan’s property and after a

few challenging hills, we got a magnificent view of Portland

Bay and surrounding coastline. Our heartfelt thanks to Ivan

Boyer for leading this walk. Alan & Robyn Lewis.

Ivan Boyer briefs the walkers.

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Fire Zone at Mt Clay View looking inland from Mt Clay Walkers take a breather! View towards Portland Bay

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TRIP TO LITTLE DESERT NATIONAL PARK The weekend visit to the Little Desert National Park, June 13/15, was highlighted by a meal in Nhill on Friday evening at which the founder of the Little Desert Lodge, Ray 'Whimpey" Reichelt spoke

of his passion for the promotion and protection

of the Little Desert National Park, including

the unique mound building Malleefowl bird. This included the DVD

"Whimpey's World". Saturday included a 12 km hike under overcast skies in the Little Desert National Park by walkers and led by Rob Bartlett.

The new aviation heritage centre at Nhill was visited on Sunday morning, Whimpey

explaining the restoration underway on the twin engined Avro Anson plane. Some members visited Whimpey at home to see his

workshop and award winning motor vehicle restorations. The catering and

accommodation for the weekend at the Little Desert Lodge was

enjoyed by the thirty one in attendance,

including visitors from Horsham and Avenel.

Planning is already underway for next years

weekend away. Thanks Rob for

organising a great weekend.

Ewen Lovell

John Avenel & Rhonda

John & George