BMWMCCWA

A big turn out at Cats today with a flurry of activity. A tank bag was being fitted to a GS, Sleepy Paul revving in a schmick Rnine T that only needs one gear for the metro area and Ross and Kim scrapping over whose coffee was whose.

Thirteen riders buzzed along Albany Highway in a slow procession before reaching the traffic light free Leach Highway to get to the international airport. Dinga, Braam, Tom, BillB, Rob, Beemer Dave, David, Lefty, Carla, Ross, Kim, Swampy and Bozo headed through the Swan Valley to Bullsbrook where Dinga and Braam turned off. The rest took the Chittering Valley to get to Bindoon for a pastry pause. The Chittering Valley was very green with fruit laden orchards with road side stalls chock a block with oranges and mandarins. All but Rob, Beemer Dave and Bozo headed home. The remaining trio headed north on the Mogumber Road stopping at Wannamal. A pink spider orchard and hundreds of potato orchids were spotted just opposite the tennis courts. An unscheduled stop and the group headed to Mogumber to be greeted by white spider orchids, cowslip orchids, milk maids and egg and bacon. A run along Yarmindah Road got us to New Norcia for a quick drink at the hotel. Heading back through Calingiri, Bolgart and Tooday we passed healthy canola crops and Leschenaultia.

Great to be out in the stunning colourful countryside.

Thanks to Swampy for running Tail End Charlie duties to Bindoon.

Bozo

A notable first for a Bozo ride with a father and daughter participating as riders...the father on a cruise ship and the daughter on a sports bike. Thanks to Lefty as well for providing the dad jokes on father's day.

Homework:

Greater Perth's population in 1900 was 73,000 out of a state population of 179,967. The population of Kalgoorlie was 4,793 in 1901.

The total population of the Goldfields was much higher with over 20,000 voting in the 1900 referendum and putting WA into the Federation...see http://www.slwa.wa.gov.au/federation/popup/009979p.htm

Bozo

Bozo, Thank you for another enjoyable ride!!

We would be lost without you as you have brought new life into the club

From all of us who enjoy your Sunday sojourn's

Swampy

PS. Also a big Thank You to the new girls who greet us each Sunday with big warm smiles and a coffee at Catalano's led ably by lovely Eve

Swampy

Thanks for the sentiment...there are a lot of great people in the club that add colour and energy to its activities.

Homework 2:

The Coolgardie Pipeline had eight pumping stations all fuelled by wood. A typical pump needed 8 tons of firewood a day to operate. They were designed to use coal but were modified soon after commissioning to burn wood. At Mundaring Weir jarrah trees were ring barked to kill them and the dead wood collected in six foot lengths and taken by rail to the pumping station.

A photo from 1910 of the wood stacked at Mundaring No 1. Station is attached at http://www.rolian.net/learning_federation/6635.html

From the 1950's to the 1960's the steam pump stations were replaced by new electric pump stations in purpose designed buildings. Only Dedari, number 8, was converted to diesel in 1970 but became electric in 1984. The high pressure sections of the pipeline had the "locking bar" pipe replaced with cement lined continuous welded mild steel that enabled No 2 Pump Station to be made redundant. There is still a massive amount of the original pipe in service though all of it has been lifted, lined and relaid (by the 1940's only 20 miles of pipe was as laid by O'Connor).

The wood stave pipe was used in low pressure sections of the pipeline around the 1930's as part of replacing corroded sections of pipeline and freeing up pipe to be refurbished. I understand that the wood was Karri and the pipes were made locally as part of a scheme to stimulate employment. Around 40 miles of wood stave pipe was laid. The pipe was high maintenance and all of it has been removed. There were still remnants of the wound wire that held the staves in place along the pipeline track east of Merredin in the 1970's.

Bozo

From what I know of my family history my Grandfather and some of his brothers used to cut and cart wood to these pumping stations in the 30s, probably around Bodallin/Carrabin, not sure what number they would have been possibly 5 or 6.

Colin

From what I can find out your relations were involved in contracting to provide wood for fuel to Pump Stations 3 (Cunderdin) 4 (Merredin) 5 (Yerbillon) 6 (Ghooli) and 7 (Gilgai) at various times in the 1930's and 1940's.

Bozo