Researched and written by Sally and Peter Cotterell, with appreciation to Kelvin Fielding. Photo of Ron Fielding with his catch!
“Dad would get a fern hook and go back into the bush at the back [of his South Riana farm] and try to cut a good grade around the steep granite rocks,” remembers Kelvin Fielding, son of Ron Fielding of South Riana. “Dad wanted to be able to drive his car down to Gunns Plains to go fishing.”
As early as January 1904, less than ten years after the first settlers moved into South Riana, the value of a road between South Riana and Gunns Plains had been recognised, but it would be more than forty years before it became a reality. The steep terrain, and hence the steep grade of any proposed road, was a major stumbling block to the project.
During the first decade of the twentieth century, the Leven and the Penguin Councils received many reports, petitions and suggestions from staff, ratepayers and interested farmers proposing what they considered to be the most appropriate route for this necessary link road.
Over time, some local walking tracks were created between South Riana and Gunns Plains to go fishing (the fishing was good in Gunns Plains); or to go courting. Many a romance was facilitated by these tracks.
Time and again, representations were made to the Tasmanian Government prioritise a link road. Surveys and funding were often promised, but no real progress was made. Three potential routes were under serious consideration, one off Masters Road, another Barkers Road and the third was Fieldings Road; but none of these tracks became the final road.
During the 1940’s, it looked like local hopes would finally be realised. Six thousand pounds was allocated by the Tasmanian Government for a survey, but the Second World War intervened, and resources of workers and finance became scarce.
When the war was over, calls for a link road were renewed. The Minister for Lands and Works met with the local community and promised more funding, but once again post-war reconstruction priorities meant little was done.
It was not until January 1949, when local farmers took it upon themselves to build the road, that any real progress was made.
Ron Fielding of South Riana and George Woodhouse of Gunns Plains each agreed to donate some of their land for this link road. Ron Fielding was already exploring possible routes to continue the road through his farm, and George Woodhouse had already made a track from Gunns Plains to his farm, near the present day George Woodhouse Lookout. They planned to link the two farms, but steep terrain, tall trees and sections of solid granite rock lay in-between. Wilson Brothers, local saw millers, owned this difficult section and allowed the road to pass through their land. “I can get me logs out if it’s a road there,” commented Mr Wilson.
Kelvin Fielding remembers his dad organising working bees of local farmers to cut the road through the bush. They would work their farms in the morning and evening, but most of the day was spent building the road. Ron Fielding and Bert Walker were there every day, with others joining them as they were able. The ladies of the district provided refreshments throughout the day.
Whenever the farmers encountered solid granite rock they would drill a hole by hand. One man would hold the drill and another would strike it hard with a sledge hammer. A half turn of the drill and it would be struck again. Slowly and carefully they made a hole in the rock. They would then insert some gelignite into the hole and blast their way through the rock. All the farmers had experience with gelignite, as it was used to clear big tree stumps.
Allan Smith of South Riana owned a motorised saw and this was used to cut through the larger trees.
Mr Fidler MHA was a politician but, more importantly, he was a surveyor. When he heard of the enterprising farmers, he volunteered to survey the road and supervise the work free of charge. At one point he changed the intended direction of the road to make an easier grade resulting in a sweeping bend. The locals still call this curve in the road ‘Fidler’s Bend’.
The road was to be half a chain wide (ten metres) and after the bush had been cleared it was cut through by bulldozer. To meet the cost of the bulldozer, Ron Fielding, Bert Walker, and George and Bill Woodhouse canvassed the families of their respective districts seeking donations of two pounds ten shillings each, which was one hour’s bulldozer hire. They raised between two hundred and three hundred pounds. The bulldozer was driven by Ray Shepherd.
The making of the road was a popular attraction. “Many visitors have been out daily (as many as 150 on one day) to watch hills being turned into reasonable grades by means of modern mechanism,” reported the Advocate on 22nd January 1949.
Stone crushers visited the district regularly. As a result, Ron Fielding had a pile of gravel at his farm. To make the road less slippery this gravel was carted by horse and dray and placed in the wheel ruts of the road they were constructing.
With the opening of the road, the long awaited vital link between two communities was created. Locals could more easily go fishing and courting, attend dances, cart logs and share produce. Tourists travelling from the west were gifted an alternative route to Gunns Plains and the famous limestone caves.
The Examiner newspaper reported on 17 March 1949 that ‘hundreds of cars had already traversed the route. It was now possible to travel from Ulverstone to Waratah, [without] touching the coast at any point.’
The South Riana-Gunns Plains road is a fine example of perseverance, local initiative and enterprise.