Fyansford, Victoria
Encyclopedia
Fyansford is a township on the western edge of Geelong, Victoria
, Australia
, named after Captain Foster Fyans
who came to Geelong as a Police
magistrate
in October, 1837. It is located at the junction of the Barwon
and Moorabool
rivers.
Fyansford is one of the earliest places of settlement in the Geelong region. Fyans established his police camp nearby where the Moorabool could be forded
- giving the name Fyan's Ford.
.
Cement
production began at Fyansford in 1890 led by Peter McCann
, but it was not until 1911 that a modern rotary kiln was installed. The original Australian Portland Cement company plant was located at the foot of the Fyansford hill between Deviation Road and Hyland Street. In 1918 a railway line was extended from the North Geelong railway station
to the top of the hill above Fyansford, and in 1926 the narrow gauge Fyansford Cement Works Railway was opened to serve a new quarry, and the works themselves expanded across Hyland Street, which became the main production site, Geelong Cement, in later years. The cement works were later acquired by Adelaide Brighton Cement
, and were closed in 2001.
runs though the town. The first river crossing at Fyansford was a ford
, with the first wooden bridge built downriver by the Corio
and Bannockburn Shire
councils in 1854, and was tolled until 1877. It was in poor condition by 1898, with load restrictions being put into place. A new bridge was built nearby in 1900 by John Monash
and J. T. N. Anderson
, the three-arch bridge being the largest Monier
reinforced concrete bridge in the world at the time. In 1970 a new bridge was built on the site of the old wooden bridge to cater for heavier traffic on the Hamilton Highway, the 1900 bridge retained for pedestrians.
High Street (now Hyland Street) was one of the first sealed roads in the area in 1933, the road being relaid in concrete in 1937. Deviation Road was built between 1931-32 with unemployment labour during the Great Depression
and opened in 1933. Cut into the hillside, the surface was originally of concrete construction. The road opened 54 years after the first petition by Fyansford residents for such a road.
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, named after Captain Foster Fyans
Foster Fyans
Foster Fyans , soldier, penal administrator and public servant, was acting commandant of the second convict settlement at Norfolk Island, the first police magistrate at Geelong, and commissioner of crown lands for the Portland Bay pastoral district in the Port Phillip District of New South...
who came to Geelong as a Police
Police
The police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...
magistrate
Magistrate
A magistrate is an officer of the state; in modern usage the term usually refers to a judge or prosecutor. This was not always the case; in ancient Rome, a magistratus was one of the highest government officers and possessed both judicial and executive powers. Today, in common law systems, a...
in October, 1837. It is located at the junction of the Barwon
Barwon River (Victoria)
The Barwon River rises in the Otway Ranges of Victoria, Australia, runs through Winchelsea and the city of Geelong, where it is joined by the Moorabool River, and enters the sea at Barwon Heads after passing through Lake Connewarre on the Bellarine Peninsula...
and Moorabool
Moorabool River
The Moorabool River is a river in Victoria, Australia that runs past several small towns and areas such as Meredith, Anakie, and Staughton Vale...
rivers.
Fyansford is one of the earliest places of settlement in the Geelong region. Fyans established his police camp nearby where the Moorabool could be forded
Ford (crossing)
A ford is a shallow place with good footing where a river or stream may be crossed by wading or in a vehicle. A ford is mostly a natural phenomenon, in contrast to a low water crossing, which is an artificial bridge that allows crossing a river or stream when water is low.The names of many towns...
- giving the name Fyan's Ford.
Industry
The area was once a centre for Geelong industry. In 1845 the first flour mill was erected by William Henry Collins on the banks of the Barwon. By 1859 the population was sufficient to justify a Post Office which opened on 1 February 1859 (closing in 1978). The Barwon Paper Mill opened at nearby Buckley's Falls in 1876. In 1895 mill became part of the Australian Paper Mills company, the predecessor of Amcor LimitedAmcor
Amcor Limited is an Australian-based multinational packaging company. Its headquarters are in Hawthorn, Victoria ; and it is listed on the Australian Securities Exchange....
.
Cement
Cement
In the most general sense of the word, a cement is a binder, a substance that sets and hardens independently, and can bind other materials together. The word "cement" traces to the Romans, who used the term opus caementicium to describe masonry resembling modern concrete that was made from crushed...
production began at Fyansford in 1890 led by Peter McCann
Peter McCann
Peter McCann is an American singer and songwriter, who later resided in Nashville, Tennessee. As a staff writer with ABC Music he wrote the song "Right Time of the Night", which was a Billboard Hot 100 Top 10 hit for Jennifer Warnes in May 1977...
, but it was not until 1911 that a modern rotary kiln was installed. The original Australian Portland Cement company plant was located at the foot of the Fyansford hill between Deviation Road and Hyland Street. In 1918 a railway line was extended from the North Geelong railway station
North Geelong railway station, Victoria
North Geelong is a railway station on the Geelong railway line in North Geelong, Victoria, Australia. It is 71 km from Southern Cross station...
to the top of the hill above Fyansford, and in 1926 the narrow gauge Fyansford Cement Works Railway was opened to serve a new quarry, and the works themselves expanded across Hyland Street, which became the main production site, Geelong Cement, in later years. The cement works were later acquired by Adelaide Brighton Cement
Adelaide Brighton Cement
Adelaide Brighton Cement is an Australian manufacturer of cement, lime and dry blended products.ABC operates manufacturing and distribution facilities in South Australia, the Northern Territory, Fyansford, Victoria and New South Wales...
, and were closed in 2001.
Transport
The Hamilton HighwayHamilton Highway
The Hamilton Highway in western Victoria, Australia runs from the Princes Highway in Geelong west to the town of Hamilton through the towns of Inverleigh, Cressy, Lismore, Derrinallum, Darlington, Mortlake, and Penshurst....
runs though the town. The first river crossing at Fyansford was a ford
Ford (crossing)
A ford is a shallow place with good footing where a river or stream may be crossed by wading or in a vehicle. A ford is mostly a natural phenomenon, in contrast to a low water crossing, which is an artificial bridge that allows crossing a river or stream when water is low.The names of many towns...
, with the first wooden bridge built downriver by the Corio
Shire of Corio
The Shire of Corio was a Local Government Area located between Geelong and Werribee about southwest of Melbourne, the state capital of Victoria, Australia. The shire, which included all of Geelong's northern suburbs, covered an area of , and existed from 1861 until 1993.-History:Corio was first...
and Bannockburn Shire
Shire of Bannockburn
The Shire of Bannockburn was a Local Government Area located about west-southwest of Melbourne, the state capital of Victoria, Australia. The shire covered an area of , and existed from 1862 until 1994.-History:...
councils in 1854, and was tolled until 1877. It was in poor condition by 1898, with load restrictions being put into place. A new bridge was built nearby in 1900 by John Monash
John Monash
General Sir John Monash GCMG, KCB, VD was a civil engineer who became the Australian military commander in the First World War. He commanded the 13th Infantry Brigade before the War and then became commander of the 4th Brigade in Egypt shortly after the outbreak of the War with whom he took part...
and J. T. N. Anderson
Joshua Thomas Noble Anderson
Joshua Thomas Noble Anderson was an engineer practising in Melbourne, Australia, and New Zealand during the difficult times in the Depressions of the 1890s and 1930s, but still practised innovative engineering in these periods.-Early career and migration to Australia:Anderson, known commonly by...
, the three-arch bridge being the largest Monier
Joseph Monier
-Overview:Joseph Monier was a French gardener and one of the principal inventors of reinforced concrete....
reinforced concrete bridge in the world at the time. In 1970 a new bridge was built on the site of the old wooden bridge to cater for heavier traffic on the Hamilton Highway, the 1900 bridge retained for pedestrians.
High Street (now Hyland Street) was one of the first sealed roads in the area in 1933, the road being relaid in concrete in 1937. Deviation Road was built between 1931-32 with unemployment labour during the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
and opened in 1933. Cut into the hillside, the surface was originally of concrete construction. The road opened 54 years after the first petition by Fyansford residents for such a road.