Victoria - Colonial: 1854 -1900.
The Ballarat No. 8 West line.

 

The main factor underlying the construction of this line and its branch lines was the need to have a direct line between Melbourne and Ballarat. In the first half of the 1860s, the main line to Ballarat went through Meridith, Elaine and Buninyong . With the re-organisation of the lines, a line connecting some of those Offices became part of what was called the Horsham line (and now incorporated into the Bordertown Line). In the mid-1870s some of the stations were classified as being on the North-Western line. To the east, the line from Melbourne north to Gisborne was constructed through to Swan Hill.

In addition to the main line, the Ballarat Number 8 Line West comprised threeA value is required. branches:

  1. the Ballarat Buningyong branch;
  2. the Ballarat - Ballan - Blackwood branch;
  3. the Wycheproof branch.

In addition, there was, in 1887, another main line called the Ballarat Special line which went to Stawell.

 

Main Ballarat No. 8 West line: Ballarat to Melton.

The main factor underlying the construction of the previous North-Western line was the need to have a direct line between Melbourne and Ballarat.

Gold had been a significant influence in the development of the region beyond Ballarat - especially at Mt. Egerton and All Nation's Gully.

Ballan and Bacchus March were amongst the early settlements in the Colony of Victoria.

In addition, there were requests from the "selectors" in the region to construct Telegraph Offices in their town. The Ballarat Courier of 14 January 1874, for example, reported that:

"Mr W. Clarke, M.L.A. had an interview with the Hon. the Postmaster-General to-day, for the purpose of presenting a numerously-signed petition from Gordon, asking for the establishment of a telegraph and money-order office at that place. The telegraph wires are to be extended from Ballarat to Ballan and, as Gordon is on that route, the petitioners very justly think that their wants ought to be considered at the same time. They also believe that the amount of business now transacted there fully justifies them in requesting the Government to accommodate them with a money-order office. Mr Langtan promised to take this matter into consideration". 

Most of the requests for telegraphic facilities were based on the significant agricultural interests of the district. The types of discussions and the reasons advanced are further demonstrated by the report of a meeting at Myrniong on 11 July 1874.

The Bacchus Marsh Express of 22 June 1872 published a very well reasoned article quoting one of the Councillors of the Ballan Shire Council to try to unite the various individual claims being made:

"COUNCILLOR BLAKE, of the Ballan Shire Council, has renewed the agitation for a telegraph to connect Ballan and all townships between it and Melbourne and Ballarat with each other. This subject has been referred to twice or thrice by us. When hon. E. Cohen was in office in the McPherson Ministry, he was said to contemplate making a second line to Ballarat to accommodate the then large amount of telegraphic work thrown upon the one line to that place, and it was said he would take the new line by way of Bacchus Marsh and Ballan.

He referred to that intention of his at the time in our issue of the 26th February, 1870 and remarked upon the reply the Gordon people got to a request of theirs then recently asked for telegraphic communication with Ballan namely, would they guarantee the Government against loss in the working of such line? Upon the present occasion, we have again to call attention to that question of guarantee. A line of telegraph, such as that which Cr. Blake desires, would be "terribly handy" to use a common phrase expressed a great deal, but we feel almost sure that fees earned by it from the people of the neighbourhoods using it would be trifle interest upon the outlay. Should the Shire of Ballan, Bacchus Marsh and Melton seek a deputation to the Postmaster-General asking for the line, he is bound to ask a sort of guarantee against loss to the Government will be forthcoming. Without a satisfactory assurance on that head, the whole thing falls to the ground and must lie in abeyance until the advancement of the districts proposed to be served puts beyond all doubt the remunerative nature of the work for the telegraph to do.

Is it wise for the Ballan Council to incur this deputation expense and appear before the Postmaster-General before it has decided as to providing the guarantee (whether it be in the shape only of statistics of probable revenue or in the shape of a distinct bond to pay any balance of deficiency between receipts and working expenses) which he will doubtless ask for? We think it unwise, decidedly. However, there is no harm done in asking the opinion of the Shire Councils of Bacchus and Melton upon the matter, but we would ask them to consider not only the benefits the telegraph would be to those Shires, but also what the Government is likely to say to the proposition that such benefits should be afforded.

It is true the Government can be urged to construct the line for its own use as an aid to detection of crime for instance and as an alternative line in case of accident to the line along the railway. It is also a fact that the residents along the road from Keilor to Ballarat, by way of Melton, Bacchus Marsh and Ballan, have a claim upon the Government because they have not had a railway provided for them by the Government, nor even a main road to the same extent as the population on the Castlemaine road have had. But all these wrongs done to our district will not justify the Government in inflicting another wrong upon other districts in order to confer a benefit upon this one.

The construction, maintenance and officering of say fifty miles of telegraph is not a trifling boon to ask of the Government. We believe that the officering need not cost much, as the present postmasters along the line could act as operators and probably would do so at small expense to the Government in order to prevent the erection of Government post and telegraph offices. We see by the Report of the Post and Telegraph Department for the year 1869 that " by means of Wheatstone's non-recording alphabetical instruments which do not require any special knowledge on the part of the operator but can be worked with ease by any person of ordinary intelligence after an hour's practice, the working expenses are only a third what they used to be under the "old arrangement" - whatever arrangement that may be. Consequently here appears good reason to believe that the first cost of the line would be about all the Government would have to meet, in addition to repairs, as probably the fees on the messages would be sufficient to meet all other working expenses.

Perhaps the best course for the Shire Councils interested to adopt would be for each to appoint one or two of their number to act together as a committee to collect information and report the same to the several Councils. We think that by taking the telegraph revenue returns of places that have a population about equal to the townships of Ballan, Bacchus Marsh, Melton, etc, an estimate of the probable revenue of this proposed line could be arrived at. Of the 80 stations in operation in 1869 (the latest return we have at hand) there were 28 bringing in less than £50 per annum and 16 more than £50 and less than £100. About half of the stations were therefore unremunerative, we should think, but particulars of salaries are not given. At some of these stations the operator acts as line repairer as well as postmaster. The total deficiency of revenue to meet expenditure in the Post and Telegraph Department was, in 1869, £79,392 and it has not altered much for the better since then so that any application for a new line of telegraph has to fight against that dead weight to begin with. It is also to be noted that many of the 86 stations only exist because they are on the main lines of telegraph connecting Ballarat and Sandhurst with Melbourne".

On 10 August 1872, The Bacchus Marsh Express reported on the next stage of the deputations:

"Mr. Levien, M.L.A., has apparently abandoned his intention of questioning the Ministry about the erection of a line of telegraph to connect Bacchus Marsh and Ballan with the telegraph system of the colony. Perhaps he is holding off until the deputation from Ballan and Bacchus Marsh Councils visits Melbourne. We see that Mr. Langton said recently, in the House, that a line of telegraph 65 miles long to connect Hamilton and Coleraine would cost £1,500. At that rate, the line Mr. Levien has to ask for would not cost anything like £6,000. In the course of a few days, a return will be laid before Parliament of proposed telegraph extensions and their probable cost, which will be a guide to Cr. Blake and those whom he will get to assist him in this work".

Clearly the most appropriate response was to construct a line from Melton. In 1874, the route for the railway from Keilor through Melton to Bacchus Marsh and Ballan was being finalised by the Minister. Fifteen years before, a survey for the railway between Melbourne and Ballarat had taken the line about six miles to the south of Bacchus Marsh. Such a decision is of course independent of the interests of the people who live at Bacchus Marsh. "The argument we would wish to advance is this - that as the proposed line to Bacchus Marsh is intended to be a light and cheaply constructed line, costing about £6,000 per mile, there ought to be no firm objection to making a detour of a few miles in order to come within reasonable distances of the townships proposed to be served by the new line. And the extra expense thus caused would be made up for, to some extent, by the saving in the construction and maintenance of present roads which will be effected by bringing the (rail) line close to those roads instead of taking it far away, which would necessitate the making of considerable lengths of new roads to the stations, and would not draw off so much of the traffic from the present main road as a line nearer to it would do.

Although a line may be constructed through the large territories of the Messrs. Staughton and others to the south of Bacchus Marsh at a cheap rate, owing to those gentlemen giving their land at nominal rates, we submit that the policy of the Government in making this or any line should not be guided entirely by the question of expense, There is scarcely any settlement to the south of Bacchus Marsh, and a line there would not open a country anything like so valuable for railway traffic purposes as that situated to the north of Bacchus Marsh, and a consideration of that kind ought to weigh heavily against the south line".
(Bacchus Marsh Express, 2 May 1874).

On 3 January 1974, "Smart progress is being made with the erection of the telegraph posts for the line between Keilor Road and Ballarat East. The, survey is now nearly completed and the position of the posts, pegged off. The trees are cleared up to Ballan and the posts are being put in down about Melton. There is yet no sign of any Telegraph Office at any place but at Ballan where a two-story brick building is being put up by Mr. Flack". Another report in May indicated that "The telegraph line is nearly completed, being within a few miles of Keilor Road".

The places along this line were all quite involved in what was happening. In early May 1874, the Bacchus March Express noted that the residents of Myrniong were of the opinion that "it would improve the appearance of Myrniong if the telegraph posts in the township were painted white. If the Council are going to get the posts at the Marsh painted, I hope they won't forget us. By-the-bye, I heard the other day that we may probably get a Telegraph Office yet at Myrniong, especially if it be made a junction for a branch line to Blackwood".

In addition, there were requests from the "selectors" in the region to construct Telegraph Offices in their town. The Ballarat Courier of 14 January 1874, for example, reported that:

"Mr W. Clarke, M.L.A. had an interview with the Hon. the Postmaster-General to-day, for the purpose of presenting a numerously-signed petition from Gordon, asking for the establishment of a telegraph and money-order office at that place. The telegraph wires are to be extended from Ballarat to Ballan and, as Gordon is on that route, the petitioners very justly think that their wants ought to be considered at the same time. They also believe that the amount of business now transacted there fully justifies them in requesting the Government to accommodate them with a money-order office. Mr Langtan promised to take this matter into consideration". 

A telegraph Office was opened at Ballan on 16 September 1874, Bacchus Marsh on 14 October 1874 and at Myrniong in February 1876 (see why). Hence the line was constructed from Ballarat through Ballan and Bacchus Marsh and Melton and then to Melbourne via Footscray.

 

1. The Ballarat-Buninyong branch.

From early days, the plan for the line to Ballarat appears to have been to construct the line to pass by Buningyong in 1856. But delays seem to have stopped action on the construction of a telegraph office for a about six years. At Buningyong, it appears to have been another case of "have line, have no office".

The Ballarat Star of 29 April 1862 reported on a deputation from Buninyong with the Postmaster-General:

"the deputation stated that its object was to obtain an electric telegraph station at Buninyong. A sum of money had been placed on the estimates of last year for that purpose, but the object had not been carried out and the vote had lapsed.

Mr. O'Connor presented a memorial, signed by 895 of the inhabitants of the district, setting forth the necessity which existed for a telegraph station there and the disadvantages under which they were placed by its absence.

The other members of the deputation, having made some remarks in support of the end in view, Dr. Evans, after conferring with Mr Turner, the Secretary of the Post and Telegraph Department, said he fully concurred with what had been stated by the deputation of the growing importance of Buninyong and the desirability of establishing a Telegraph Station there. The only difficulty in the way had been the want of a suitable building for the purpose.

Mr. Shepard said there was a brick building well adapted for a station which was now available should the Government choose to take it.

Dr. Evans regretted that Mr. McGowan of the Telegraph Department was not present; but he would consult that gentleman as to what arrangements could be made with a view to carrying out the wishes of the deputation. No doubt he (Mr. McGowan) would obtain a Report from the Board of Public Works with respect to the desirability of the building alluded to and, if the report turned out to be favourable, he (Dr. Evans) would promise that the station should be opened with as little delay as possible, provided however that the House sanctioned the expenditure as an additional item.

The deputation thanked him and withdrew".

The Telegraph Office at Buninyong was opened on 27 October 1862. The Office at the intermediate station of Sebastopol opened in January 1870. The Ballarat (- Sebastopol-) Buninyong Branch of 1862 was south-east of Ballarat.

The line of telegraph between Ballarat and Buninyong was broken for some time in May 1864.

On 7 June 1873, The Leader published the following amazing account:

"NEW RUSH AT BUNINYONG.

"The Courier says that the most recent novelty in gold mining is a rush which set in on Saturday morning last - almost in the centre of the town of Buninyong. The particular spot is situated about 200 yards on the opposite side of the road to the new Post and Telegraph office. About a dozen holes have already been sunk upon washdirt. It is stated that House and his mates washed on Saturday about half a pennyweight to the bucket or 6 dwt in all. This agreeable surprise in the present depressed times had quite a magical effect on the Buninyongites generally and was the cause of some acres of the hill being pegged out. Unluckily, the greater part of the ground is private property, belonging to the Rev. G. J. Russell (incumbent of the parish church). Terms, however, have been come to by which the claims can be worked, by the payment of a small sum weekly as rent. The hill — which is a spur of the White Horse Range — has for years been regarded as auriferous. Nuggets, up to half an ounce, have been occasionally found in the gravel taken from the hillside for making roads, etc. Several quartz reefs also run through the ground and these are of a gold-bearing character".

The Ballarat Courier of 21 June 1973 referenced the Gazette noting the Government had invited tenders on 18 June for the erection of a (new?) Post and Telegraph offices at Buninyong.

Another branch line was constructed to the south-west of Ballarat in 1873 - the Smythesdale-Rokewood branch - which was part of the Narracoorte Line.

This line was a possibly an attempt to amalgamate a number of stations which could not be accommodated easily elsewhere. They formed a corridor west of the Ballarat-Heathcote-Seymour line but east of the lines from Gisborne to Ballarat.

 

2. The Ballarat branch: Ballan - Blackwood.

The need for a line from Ballan to Blackwood had been recognised for a while. Some people thought but there was still discussion about where the Telegraph Office was to be built:

"The public buildings (at Blackwood) comprise a very large Wesleyan Church, just erected, a smaller Episcopalian Church, being erected, a State School on a high spot with a good fence round it and a Mechanics' Institute, opened last week. Should the place progress much more, there will probably be an agitation for the erection of better police quarters and a Court House to be associated with an Electric Telegraph Station and Post Office. At present the Court business is transacted at Golden Point, the inhabitants of which place cherish with a natural solicitude this relic of its former pre-eminence as the capital of Blackwood, for we may inform strangers to Blackwood that it consists of four townships, three of which form the base line of a triangle, at about equal distances apart, Red Hill being in the middle, with Simmons Reef at one end and Golden Point at the other, Barry's Reef forming the apex of the triangle. This gives to Red Hill a great natural advantage as a central place for such Government buildings as are required for the convenience of the whole of the residents comprised within the territory known by the generic term of Blackwood.

Now that the Government purposes to extend the telegraph line to Blackwood, a local agitation has naturally sprung up to prevent the placing of the station at Golden Point instead of at Red Hill, where it ought certainly to be, unless it is placed at Barry's Reef. In our opinion, the Government should place the telegraph terminus at Red Hill in the meantime, leaving to Golden Point and Barry's Reef their respective Post Offices in the hands of their present holders until time has determined whether the central Post Office, Telegraph Station and Courthouse for Blackwood should be placed at Red Hill or at Barry's Reef at, which latter place, the Blackwood railway station is likely to be situated, a fact which to be borne in mind in discussing a question of this kind".
(The Bacchus Marsh Express, 3 January 1874).

It is sometimes a wonder that suggestions do not reflect activities in the past. On 16 May 1874, the Bacchus Marsh Express noted "Now that the telegraph wires are in position connecting the line of route betwixt Ballarat and Melbourne, no time should be lost in asking for a branch line from Ballan to Blackwood. This want is daily brought under notice and requires only a slight pressure from without to accomplish this much desired object. As a means to the end, I would suggest that a petition from the residents of both Ballan and Blackwood be sent through the Shire Council and that without delay. Co-operation and union are the only means by which the ratepayers can ever hope to obtain that consideration which is due to the Shire of Ballan".

Most of the requests for telegraphic facilities were based on the significant agricultural interests of the district. The types of discussions and the reasons advanced are further demonstrated by the report of a meeting at Myrniong on 11 July 1874.

Some of the events concerning the Ballan-Blackwood line which followed included:

Construction of the Ballan-Blackwood line was completed before the end of August 1875.

 

The Ballarat Special line. Almost the same as the Horsham Branch of the Bordertown line which also included Horsham.

Ballarat, Beaufort, Ararat, Stawell.

On 18 December 1872, the Ballarat Star published a story related to our old friend Mr. Bechervaise who had served as Station Master at the Ballarat Telegraph Office since it had opened in 1858:

"At the City Police Court, on Tuesday, John Lennon, the proprietor of the house-removing machine, was charged by Mr Bechervaise, Telegraph Station-Master, with breaking the telegraph wires on the Ararat route. It appears that McLennon, for some time past, has given the telegraph department some trouble by breaking wires when removing large wooden houses and Mr Bechervaise, on this occasion summoned him. Mr Gaunt cautioned the defendant but said he was liable to be punished for a misdemeanor".

 

 

The 1890 classifications.

By 1890, several lines had replaced the various lines which had been established around Ballarat. The Offices which had been listed on those lines and were reclassified but not solely for telephones include:

Line 18: Melbourne through Footscray Test box, Melton, Bacchus Marsh, Ballan, Gordons, Egerton, Ballarat East, Ballarat Railway, Ballarat.
Line 19: Melbourne through Footscray Test box, Melton, Bacchus Marsh, Ballan, Gordons to Ballarat (quadruplex).
Line 139: Ballarat through Cattle-Yards, Sebastopol to Buninyong.
Line 140: Ballarat through Ballarat Railway to Ballarat East.
Line 142: Myrniong through Ballan to Blackwood.