It Wasn't Me Traditional Cache
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(regular)
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Historic Burkes Bridge
DO NOT CROSS THE BRIDGE ITSELF
From an outsiders point of view Hurstbridge is the end of the train
line, with a seemingly blossoming community feel. So when several
sets of friends of the Solomonfamily moved in over last 12 months
it gave us the opportunity to visit more regularly – it also gave
us the opportunity to “cache” the landscape enjoying the local
caches and to add now our mark. What better way to celebrate
Australia Day then to acknowledge some of history.
It was on one of the caching adventures that we came across the
Historic Burke’s Bridge, an interesting structure – rich with
history.
Henry Hurst came to Victoria, from England in 1852 and worked as a
surveyor. In 1859 Hurst moved to a place known as Allwood to manage
160 acres for Cornelius Haley – Haley had been running cattle from
1841. The Hurst family later bought Haley's homestead in 1868.
It was Hurst that is said to have built the first log bridge across
Diamond Creek. This crossing was soon known as 'Hurst's Bridge'.
There are difference references and accounts of what transpired on
the 4th of October 1866. A person calling himself Robert Bourke
tried to obtain a horse from Hurst, possibly with the intent to
plan a robbery of the gold escort. Was Hurst at that moment running
an illegal still? – I am not sure. But a gun battle ensured. “Henry
reached for his gun, shot and missed, and was himself shot”. Bourke
was however captured and tied to a wheel of a wagon under a tree
until the constabulary arrived.
Bourke was tried, found guilty of the murder of Henry Hurst. Again
there are conflicting reports, if he was then hung or shown mercy
by the jury because Hurst fired first.
Finding Burkes Bridge and doing the research the Solomonfamily were
a little confused, why would the local community name a bridge
after the murderer of the town’s namesake.
A little more digging revealed that Robert Bourke was not the only
Burke of the district.
In 1864 a Patrick, William and Mary Burke immigrated unassisted to
Australia from Ireland. The living conditions at the time in
Ireland with the potato famine would have been truly horrendous and
it boggles the mind about how fortunate we are.
Arriving in 1864, Instead of seeking gold like many others, Patrick
is said to have went straight to settle in the Stringy Bark Ranges
a handful of kilometers north of Allwood (now Husrtbridge) while
William moved to Whittlesea and Mary married a Tom Cohen in
Melbourne. The aboriginal occupants of the Stringy Bark Ranges (the
Wurundjeri) called the place Nullumbuik - the name was later
addopted by the local shire council.
When I stood at GZ, the historic bridge, the site that commemorates
the Burke family’s connection with the land; the land where Patrick
lived and worked; I looked around, and envisioned the landscape in
1864; it would have been really tough going to make a living off
the land. But yet Patrick Burke cleared and the cultivated the
initially 20 acers land granted to him and he later purchased. In
subsequent years he and his family purchased other nearby blocks
including land owned by Bill Byod – where he planted an orchard.
And another plot that is diveded by a road that is now know as
Patullos Road. Even through there was a massive flood in the area
in 1863 which I guess would have made the area a little more
fertile, I still find it hard to imagine doing a mass planting here
without our modern machinery and they still had to live with fire
and drought.
In 1875, just eleven years after Patrick arrived, he declared that
he owned 57 freehold acres of land and leased at least another 242
acers. In that time Patrick was very busy; he married in 1867 and
they had their first child in 1869, the second in 1871 and the
forth in 1874. When his third child was born Patrick made a special
trip into Melbourne - as there was no train service like we have
today so he probably would have had to ride a horse most of the
way. Once in town he declared that the spelling of his name is
Burke not Bourke as previously and inconsistently documented.
Confusion about by which Bourke is which still occured even
recently; In February 2002 even the local shire council with
support of an historical society deduced that the bridge
commemorated the bushranger “Robert Bourke” and they had to be set
straight.
I wonder if Patrick Burke’s declaration about the spelling of his
name was a way of saying “It Wasn’t Me”
The Cache
The cache itself is a split 2 liter Sistemia, located on the north
side of the historic bridge, please don’t cross the historic bridge
itself as I don’t feel it is safe. Park on the south side (north of
Boyds Rd) and carefully walk across the current concrete road
bridge which was opened in 1979. For a better view of the area and
the bridge drive up Boyds road.
References
http://www.hurstbridgeheritagetrail.websyte.com.au/site.cfm?/hurstbridgeheritagetrail/3/
“Not The Bushranger” (L.M.Burke) ISBN: 0977574223 Gangara
Press
Mr Google
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