Widely referred to as "the Eighth Wonder of the World", the Denniston incline was recognised the world over as a remarkable feat of engineering. Linking Denniston with the Conns Creek rail head below, the incline fell 518 metres over 1670 metres in two sections, incorporating dramatically steep gradients between 1880 - 1967. Eighty full wagons travelled the incline a day; around 350 tonnes of coal. Hewn from underground, hauled by rope road across a barren terrain, the coal was weighed, screened, stored, poured into wagons, transported to Westport wharf and dropped into the holds of waiting colliers.
The high-grade coal was worth the hardship, with unsurpassable clean qualities that supplied even the British fleets. The 100-year-long production that was the plateau can still be seen in the Cornish stonemasonry, the town loop tracks and the walkable 2.5km coal transportation rope road linking Coalbrookdale to the Brakehead.
The Camp
Robert Denniston was remembered for bringing coal down from the clouds by naming the township in his honour. It all began in 1871 when the first survey camp was established and a few workers pitched, or rather perched, a tent on a narrow cliff top flat which would forever after be known as the Camp.
This was a full 2 years before the first coal was brought down to Westport by pack horse. Until 1880 there was no township as such. When development of the colliery was almost complete the Westport Coal Company diverted labour from its works to start an extensive building programme.
Looking down on The Camp from near the entrance to the Banbury Mine 1879
As late as early 1882 the living conditions were still described as appalling. There were 8 houses and a number of huts, unlined and draughty. There was no running water and the toilet was a long drop over a crevice or a bucket that you emptied over the cliff. Cooking was done over a fire while kerosene tins served for many household purposes including heating water for baths and washing clothes.
Over time, the Camp boasted more substantial houses, a hotel, a night-cart toilet service and Denniston’s first School. Despite the physical bleakness, including winter snow, there was at least one family that shunned a corrugated iron roof. Nicholas and Maria Milligan chose to live for six years in a tent at the Camp where four of their seven children were born.
By 1886, 485 people lived at the hill top settlement. Cottages straggled along the Tramline at the Camp, around the ridge and to the more recently developed centre of the settlement. It was also in the school rooms at the Camp that the first religious services religious services were conducted by the Salvation Army.
The Camp, Denniston 1907
The Cache
A 5 minute walk on a well graded track from the carpark down past the remains of the aerial ropeway, the breakhead among other relics of days gone by to The Camp.
Plan to spend at least half a day here. I’ve been here a number of times and can’t leave without at least one full day exploring. There are a number of caches available to be found in Denniston, Burnetts Face, Coalbrookdale, Conns Creek and the Denniston Plateau.