The Road to Water: The Old Mount Jackson to Ularring Road
Historian and explorer Alan McCall traverses through the North Coolgardie Goldfields in search of signs of years gone by and vital sources of water that once sustained outback living.
When travelling through the North Coolgardie Goldfields there is always a sense of history around wherever you look. There is always an assortment of things to see and do that can trigger a trip back in time.
I have had a longstanding interest in how the early travellers managed to get around this countryside, including how they survived in the environment of mostly dense bush, yet still managed to get access to that most necessary resource—water.
With the gold rushes of the 1890s, towns, settlements and water reserves were established—most of which would eventually succumb to the ravages of time. Seeing what remains these days always provides an interesting historical perspective. The surrounding countryside where many prospectors had camped and their kind of lifestyle out bush would seem difficult to the average modern person, but at the time, it was considered completely normal. It goes to show just how far we’ve come.
When looking for interesting places to visit in the area, we noticed that there used to be a road that went from Jackson Townsite to Ularring. Jackson, also known as Mount Jackson due to the nearby mountain of the same name, was once a small town servicing the local mining community. Now, somewhat unsurprisingly, it lies at the north end of the Mount Jackson Road. Ularring was a small outpost and crossroads to the north of Coolgardie, which is now on the Davyhurst Mulline Road.
This road was initially needed for the prospectors and their service industries, as various gold finds were made both to the north of Southern Cross and Coolgardie. Although the railway was slowly extending from Southern Cross to Kalgoorlie, it was still a long walk for many hopeful prospectors aiming to go north to these areas.
Around the time of the gold rush, the only other road roughly heading north-east in the area was the Southern Cross to Goongarrie Road (or Gus Luck Track).
A surveyor, Mr C. Sabine was sent out in 1895 to survey a route for this new road. In 1900 the road was officially gazetted as a main road (approximately 150 km long). It was shortly after this that it was noted that Mr Sabine was not on the register of licensed surveyors. Not only this, but his field notes were lacking in detail. Much discussion was had at the Perth Lands office, as the lack of detail could have affected proper land resumption. It was finally decided to allow the road to proceed.
Most of the route shown on maps indicates the route as approximate; however, we decided that on this trip we would endeavour to visit the water reserves we knew were along the road, starting at Ularring at the eastern end of the route. Ularring itself is a large granite outcrop about 60 kilometres west of Menzies and well signposted. It is famous for being where explorer Ernest Giles was attacked in 1875. Once you arrive, you’ll find a small camping area, a sheltered table and bench and water supplies, two of which have permanent water. There is also a well not far from the main road — please be careful with your pets and children here; the well is very deep.
The track heading straight out west from Ularring is quite typical of the area; generally a good sandy track; however, note it can get a bit boggy after rain. This corresponds quite well with Sabine’s map too, for now. About 30 kilometres to the west are three named water reserves, all within a few kilometres of each other. The first is Maninga Soak, named Mount Manning Soak by Sabine. Adjacent to an outcrop not far from the track, hidden behind some scrub, is a small well with a metal door. It was dry, although it had been filled in quite a bit over the years, so in the past it was probably deeper and would provide water.
The second is Yowie Rock. This is a large outcrop adjacent to the track. Despite spending a couple of hours looking around, we could not locate the main water reserve, so this had to be left to find another day. The third is Gedagie Soak. This area is low-lying and has large runoffs from the lower-than-normal adjacent outcrops. Just south of the track is a well, almost totally filled in with just the upper level of stonework visible.
The road followed from one water point to another, and on average these waterholes were spaced out enough to enable reliable access to water when needed.
There is another well, Curara, about 12 kilometres further to the south-west. It sits just next to the track to the north and looks like it has its original timber frame still in situ. This was also dry and unused. The current track is still quite good at this stage.
Most of the wells have been sunk at short distances from the outcrops where there is a good run-off during rains. The water runs off the rocks and soaks the adjacent soil, filling the wells. Covering the wells gave an extra protection from evaporation to hopefully ensure a continuity of supply.
Yerilgee is next along the track, about eight kilometres further. These are some gnammas that had been modified to fit two tanks, one 500 gallons and another 1000 gallons. The tanks have long since disappeared; however, you can see where they used to sit on top. Here is where the original track would have turned towards the north-west to the next reserve of Wogling, which is located now on an east-west fire trail. There is a very rough old track going that way; however, to save some time and possible damage to the vehicle, we went south-west to Kurrajong Rockhole, then north-west to the fire trail. If you do go to Kurrajong Rockhole, have a look for the old-timer inscriptions on the face of the rock just to the right of the rock hole.
In 1924 farmer P.W. Mayer leased reserves Wogling, Dooling Soak, Chatarie and Olby Rock. The latter two were not on the Mount Jackson to Ullaring Road but were slightly further to the west. In 1928 Mayer absconded in a stolen motor truck and was never located by the police. The government tried to re-lease the soaks without result, as Mayer still held some leases over the adjoining land. Subsequently his unpaid lease fees were written off.
Dooling Soak was the next feature to see, located a kilometre off the track. There, the old road completely fades away. Please be aware that it is a fairly isolated area, and the last thing you want is to be stuck out there when a problem strikes—so think about whether you have the level of experience to drive in for a look—if in doubt, walk, and remember to take some water with you. Dooling Soak is a modified soak adjacent to a small outcrop which used to supply 300 gallons of water an hour. It has been many years since anybody has cleaned the soak out, and it now has trees and plants growing all over it.
The next feature, Stinking Well, was way too far through the thick scrub to the south to attempt to drive all the way there from Dooling Soak. It would have to be attempted from the south, where the terrain was more spread out. The quickest way was to keep going west along the fire trail and then south along the Bullfinch Evanston Road. A feature just near the end of the fire trail is one of Mayer’s old leases, Olby Rock. These little-known waterholes are accessible via a small track to the south from the fire trail.
Stinking Well has very little descriptions about it—just an approximate location and size. Sabine wrote it was eight and a half feet long, six and a half feet wide, and five feet deep with a water level of three feet four inches. We headed north-east from the abandoned Atkinson’s Find Mine off the Bullfinch Evanston Road. There was a track for the first few kilometres, then it had to be cross-country driving for the remainder of the journey, another few kilometres. Once again, please review your level of experience if you choose to drive here—this country is renowned for punctures and is probably a bit too far to walk in to. The feature we had targeted suited the measurements that Sabine provided, though we did not dig it out to see how deep it was.
The next feature was at Marda, which is quite popular with 4W drivers when visiting this area. When Sabine went through, this was only marked as a couple of gnamma holes. Later, just below the gnammas, a concrete water tank was built in a creek. Even later a massive dam was built on the same creek, which is the first feature most people see today when they visit.
The final feature was the townsite of Jackson, which is the terminus of the old road. Little remains of the town now but one abandoned building, the old Freemason’s Lodge, and a huge cleared area where the town once stood.
Even today, with our modern reliable vehicles, there is a strong feeling of isolation when out in the area. The old-time folk must have been tough and determined to trudge along these tracks. The lure of gold, and possible riches, must have been very strong.
This adventure can be found in the 127th edition of Western 4W Driver at issuu.com
