In search of 1800's history , Lerderderg, Victoria, Australia 

Hey, thanks for watching. I love sharing things that people normally wouldn't have known or looked sideways at. I've walked about 1800kms in there and still have things marked down to explore along with the other areas i have been and going back to previously walked places to have a better look at. I'm so glad you enjoyed it and popped in to say hi.

Ive walked into some areas and it looks like a bomb hit the place. The roots don't have a lot to grab onto in some spots. It took ages for Parks to open some tracks again because of the downed trees. They also closed a couple because the trees all over the place is crazy.

@@HikeingiTuP to ensure vanguard species grow again, aka stay they fuck out for 3 years.

I was about to say the same, some storms went through that whole area a few years back, and there's some spots where the terrain & wind must have combined to create localized cylones. There's lot's of BIG trees ripped out at the roots, but only in localized patches. It's worth running a detector over the root balls, because ya never know!! What I do know is I'm glad I wasn't camping up there when the storm came through, and it's probably worth checking the forecast before you go, just in case.

@@frankhammer6795 It seems that way, like a burst just came down and went bang and disappeared. I remember going down a road last year sometime , just before i went out and it was blocked by pine trees after a big storm

I'm not sure, but have seen ideas of fungi issues after weather events, etc. Weakening already weakened root and soil.?

I love learning things like this. Now ill be able to point them out to others. I'm still a bit curious though as to why i have only seen them in areas of human activity.

​@@HikeingiTuPWild cherry(Cherry Ballart) trees love heavily mineralised ground,like the Victorian goldfields

@@user-cm4wn6qp5s Ahh, i see. Maybe they used it as a clue of where to look. Thanks for having a look and the comment

You actually can't even plant them. They won't grow. They're almost impossible to cultivate.

@@DonHavjuan . That's really interesting, they seem to only be around either beginning of tracks or where there were old mines or activity.

I was very happy with that. Sometimes its hard to get a view in there because you're always going into valleys and the tree cover is thick, but that was a ripper. Might have to go back there when the sun is out sometime.

I remember hurting my knee at work in the 90's and walking along the track from the flat for a bit of rehabilitation. Even caught trout in the river. I often wondered about going for a walk but there were always news reports of people being lost in there ( still is) so i didn't. It had an aura about it, still does in some respects.

The girl who owned that house was in my class! We spent many summers swimming, hiking, camping, fishing along the Lerdy.

@@MajorMalfunction . I always used to think how cool it would have been to live there.

@@HikeingiTuP I could ask her. ;) I've been in some of the mines there, too. Really deep going hundreds of metres. Super scary, because there's no shoring at all, and the dirt is a loose shale/gravel/clay. Could collapse any moment with the slightest disturbance. And there's plenty of evidence of collapsed mines. There was a huge landslide that took-out the main path a number of years ago, the slopes are unstable. And just so you know, I've drunk from that river, pissed in that river, skinny-dipped in that river, and had sex in that river. :D

@@MajorMalfunction I remember the land slide. The trees were on an angle on the side of the hill instead of straight up before it happened. If only the river could talk.😂

I see a lot of trees down around certain areas, yep you are right about the wind damage , the tracks were closed off in some part of the forest in certain areas because of it. What made this little spot so interesting is that it was only that spot that had "every" big tree knocked down. All the big trees around it were still standing with what i would consider a normal fall rate from what I've seen in there over the past 14 months. Thanks commenting and your consideration.

@@HikeingiTuP I was further north on Yankee Creek in Blackwood. The best part of 60% of the larger trees were knocked down on one embankment. The wind tunnels and funnels along a gully and gains power and momentum. Nature can be frightening and exhillerating at times.

Was a great video until you spoilt it with bloody music.

@@markkerin5699 I myself thought the music was appropriate although unsure if it was necessary. I suppose if one is trying to hear the silent sounds of nature , then the music doesn't help.

@@markkerin5699 I appreciate the feedback, I'm trying to decide if i like it as well

Thanks for watching. Its a hidden gem around there. Ill have to do more investigations around those trees because they are few and far between. Only places they i have seen them is at the start of an access road ( which i suspect was just a track once) or near the workings. I think from memory Ive only found 8 in the park so far.

Thanks for that info, it's very much appreciated. I'll definitely have a look. Regarding a flume Sth of O'brien's, i think you'll be quite interested in what Ive found and explored pointing to the flume being on both sides of the river Sth of O'brien's. The workings in some areas Sth are massive and very well put together. Obviously its all guesswork as there is no documentation about mines the Chinese worked, apart from Ah Kow ,not even at the historical society. Thanks for having a look and commenting.

@@HikeingiTuP Any knowledge is antidotal, if there is anything written it would be in The Express archives (they were held in the local library in the 1980's, not sure if they are still there?) FWIW, my father told me (in the mid 1960's) that the daughter of the family (Rogers?) that lived in the house during the 1920/30's which was located just North of the Pump Hole at the mouth of the gorge, would often pan for gold successfully in the river during the depression years. No such luck by the 1970's. All panned out. The only gold I ever panned was in Goodmans Ck and Pyrites Ck. There also was a brick house deep in the bush just downstream from the Antimony mine on the west side of Pyrites Ck that was used as a weekender during the 1970-80's, it still maybe there? I did see people there once and spoke with them briefly. I'm wondering if that is the house that you referenced in your video? It would be at a similar latitude, just over a couple of miles away in a straight line? Never found the road/track into that one. :) Thanks for taking the time to write this up, it brings back many memories, sadly I'm in no condition to hike into this country anymore but the memories are still there.

@@BlackCat-fr4ue There is so much un written history of the area. Old roads ( some i think are over 100 years old ) ,abandoned tracks, unmarked gold workings in some smaller gullies Ive seen. I'm out there this weekend ( weather depending) again not far from where this video was done, just to get all the area looked at. There are some things Ive seen along the way that makes me interested to go back there. The story about the old house was told to me by a "local" walking his dog on one of the tracks that i met whilst on the Ah Kow track i think it was last year. But now knowing what you just said I'll definitely have a look . I have done a few in there but not down the creek from the mine site end. What you said about being panned out rings true. Ive seen old pictures of a dry river bed with a trickle running down the middle used for sluices and when looking at the river in some places it really does look like its been turned upside down. Thanks for replying again. The more info we have the better the story can be told. I really appreciate it.

@@HikeingiTuP Just one last thing. I did a lot of research in the 1970's using the records of the Mines Department as it was known then. The library was outstanding and included all gold returns, plans and many other observations such as mine plans, site plans and such. If there is any written records of the flume etc. then that would be held in those mining returns in the archives I don't know what happened to the archive, but it would fill in many gaps all you need to do is to locate where the records now reside. I seem to remember the Latrobe Annex of the State Library held many records as well.

@@BlackCat-fr4ue Great info thanks. I'm looking at the Department Of Mines site now, not expecting a lot, but i guess it's worth a try. Not sure the infrastructure will be noted especially as it was probably Chinese but you never know. Thanks for putting me on to that.

It sure is an amazing place. So much to see. Ive seen a few places with shafts open. There is even one no more than a meter from Byers back track.. Unfortunately due to fires ripping through there, anything that was constructed of wood has gone. There are a few places i have walked into and thought about "why is this road here" there is no in and no out, nothing flat around it, only a flat but now grown over spot. I'm sure there is much more in there. Thanks for taking the time to comment.

hi, There is a lot down there. Its a wonderful area I get a bit carried away trying to find things after weeks of scouring satellite images.

@@HikeingiTuP UP STREAM IS THE MOST RECENT GOLDMINE BELONGED TO JIM MANSFIELDFUTHER UP NEAR RUTHS CREEK WAS A SHACK AND TUNNEL POINT HAVE YOU HAD A LOOK THERE

Thanks for watching and commenting. I didn't set out looking for things originally. I then found that others hadn't and there is very little information about that part of the river. So i thought , yeah why not. And yeah the music, I'm not sold on but i tried something, a slight change in the works for the next video.

I haven't, but Ive looked at a few places on Satellite that look interesting along the river. I have seen a what looks like a straight line going through a saddle where a horse shoe in the river is just past that, I will be having a look at that spot in the next couple of weeks.

I see a lot of quartz along and going down spurs and along ridges. Most look like it's just bull quartz. I was out today and there was quartz on the surface that looked like it had been dug up, it had almost no weathering to it. It's what makes me look twice for human activity in an area, couldn't see any today that hit me in the face but it's possible because there was a mining site at the bottom. They may have prospected on the way down at some stage. There was a few stringers in native rock down by the river. Thanks for commenting.

I had a look at some info about it and they say its very very hard wood and they fruit around Christmas. Plus its the only fruit that has its seed on the outside.

Definitely still is

Thanks, only reason i say that is that throughout the areas Ive been, the only places they seem to be is where there were settlements and gold workings. Thanks for having a look and commenting

Also know as cherry ballart, native cherry. Good bit of bush tucker when there in fruit.

@@ldcgold9907 I'm definitely going to make sure i have a go. Thanks.

​@HikeingiTuP cherry ballart is a parasitic plant that only occurs naturally. It is near impossible to propagate, so I'm confident these were not planted by anyone

@@HikeingiTuP yeh they grow in arid, high mineralised ground. The old fellas used them as an indicator.

I got onto the mines department and ordered some old maps of the area, hopefully they will show something. Plus its all closed in there for detecting, panning and prospecting so i doubt they will. I'm interested in finding where all the old timers did their work and what they did

You are 100% correct there. I think the only one they felt they had to maintain was the East Walk because it is so popular. So far Ive done about 1800kms in there since April last year, i haven't seen much in the way of maintenance, or interest from them at all. Even the foot washing stations rarely have water in them down in the Brisbane ranges. I see now that in another location in Vic the Beeripmo walk wont be open for another couple of years.

Yes, that is what I thoughttoo, Cherry Ballaet, semi parasitic in other trees roots, edible red ""cherry"".

@@suechandler8162 Thanks for having a look and commenting. Ill defiantly check out when they fruit and get to a couple to have a look around.

Good on you buddy. Sitting here at 58 yrs old and having not been able to get out in the bush like you, for the last 30 yrs or so because of my wheelchair I feel like you guys doingstuff like this is a reasonable compensation. Good job.

@@murpbassett4818 Hi there. Thanks heaps for having a look and commenting. We are the same age and I consider myself very lucky that i can get out there and do that. Mind you , i only started in April last year, wish id started a lot earlier. I love being out there now and pretty much want to show all the things that i can. If it's looking for history or just a nice walk. I'm super happy you enjoyed having a look. I'm still hunting the history in that part of the park over the next few weeks, track or no track. Be safe and thanks again, i honestly appreciate it.

Thanks so much for the kind comment. The songs areactually written by AI believe it of not. The first one "On The Dusty Trail" and "Under The Southern Cross" is the second, both with 98% my lyrics.

I never got to it. I probably will try again but the terrain was a bit steep for the sort of day it was. It had just stopped raining pretty heavily and the leaf litter on the ground was very slippery. I reckon it was about 30 degrees, I've been down and up 40+ degrees before but not in the wet. The is no way my shoes would have gripped going down. I couldn't even get to it from the river, there were sheer rock walls all around there down along the water. It's probably a big square rock, but it still has me curious. Thanks for having a look.

Yep, parked at Obrien's and Nolan's, walked the 600 mtrs and turned off onto the line of the ridge. Thank you for watching.

I did see the trench you are talking about and decided to not highlight it because it looked a lot like a water run off in the way it sloped in from that part of the spur and then disappeared later. But you may well be right. Thanks for commenting.

Thanks for the kind words. All the songs and music are totally made by AI, the lyrics on that one were all mine and then entered into the program to come up with the song

@HikeingiTuP Wow!!! The song was absolutely wonderful! Do you think you could upload it to your channel so that we may enjoy that too? Maybe with a video of your walking highlights??? Honestly, I loved it so much.

@@ladybirdtravels That's so nice of you to say. I'm working on an idea for something like that. Not every video suits music in that way, the next will have a song at the end with pictures taken during the walk. Thanks again.

@@HikeingiTuP I'll look forward to it. And your future videos. Cheers! 😊

Nope nothing .

@@HikeingiTuP I hike with the miso on the hope of seeing wildlife it’s amazing far away they hear you coming from and sneak off but you would think it’s full of animals but it actually is pretty barren of wildlife .

@@Sportfishing_inc Most times you hear the thud of a roo or wallaby shooting down a gully before you even know they are there. Plenty of Wombat signs everywhere, but not seen one yet.

It's all made with AI so there is no where to point you to. Sorry i cant help

Makes sense. I wouldn't be surprised if the area where all the big trees fell was a camp of sorts, there was a bit of free quartz around there that wasn't out of the ground naturally. Although what I've noticed in the area is that the roots grad into the rocks, as they grow they crack the rocks and down they come, normally it's a single tree here and there, not in a large group. Thanks for stopping by.👍

It's a hidden gem

All of the including the instrumentals are made using an AI program. Type in verses, chorus and then it makes version of it for you. All the words are original only a computer does it for you