The Big Culvert is a substantial

granite Granite () is a coarse-grained (phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies undergro ...

and

bluestone Bluestone is a cultural or commercial name for a number of dimension or building stone varieties, including: * basalt in Victoria, Australia, and in New Zealand * dolerites in Tasmania, Australia; and in Britain (including Stonehenge) * felds ...

arch culvert bridge on the historic

Yarra Track The Yarra Track is the former name of the gold fields road from Healesville to the Woods Point and Jordan Goldfields, in Victoria, Australia. History A direct route via the Yarra River and the Great Divide was discovered by Reick in Septem ...

near ,

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

, Australia. It was built in the 1870s as part of the improvements to the road from Melbourne to the

Woods Point Woods Point is a small town in Victoria, Australia, Victoria, Australia and is located on the banks of the Goulburn River. At the , Woods Point and the surrounding area had a population of 37, down from 94 in 2006. History The town began as a g ...

and

Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...

Goldfields. It was probably designed by

Clement Wilks Clement Wilks (15 February 1819 – 2 May 1871) was a notable civil engineer and architect in colonial Victoria, Australia. Early days Clement Wilks was born at Peckham Rye, Surrey, 15 February 1819, the youngest son of the Rev. Mark Wilks, of ...

who was also responsible for the design of the

Wilks Creek Bridge Wilks Creek Bridge is a former timber and bluestone road bridge on the Yarra Track, located just off the Black Spur route, between Narbethong and , Victoria, Australia. It was built in 1870 to the design of colonial Public Works Department engi ...

near Marysville also on the "Yarra Track". This moss covered granite and bluestone arch was constructed by a German settlor, George Koehler, who operated a hotel nearby. The bridge is listed on the National Trust of Australia (Victoria) Register: B5804 and on the (now defunct)

Register of the National Estate The Register of the National Estate was a heritage register that listed natural and cultural heritage places in Australia that was closed in 2007. Phasing out began in 2003, when the Australian National Heritage List and the Commonwealth Heritag ...

: Place 5720); and was previously listed on the

Victorian Heritage Inventory The Victorian Heritage Inventory, commonly known as the Heritage Inventory, is a list of all known historical archaeology sites in Victoria, Australia. It is maintained by Heritage Victoria , the Victorian State Government’s principal cultural ( ...

References

Bibliography

* Cumming, D.A. ''Some Public Works Engineers in Victoria in the Nineteenth Century'' Technology Report No. TR-85/10. August 1985. * Thomas, Ann. ''Wilks Creek Bridge at Marysville, Victoria''. 1993. * Stacpoole, H. (Ed). ''Tracks to the Jordan''. Lowden, Kilmore, 1973.

External links

Obituary: Clement Wilks, 1819-1871 Minutes of the Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers, Vol.33 January 1872 pp.275-276 - Thomas Telford-ICE Virtual Library
Road bridges in Victoria (Australia) Bridges completed in 1870 1870 establishments in Australia Transport in Victoria (Australia) Stone arch bridges in Australia {{VictoriaAU-struct-stub