A blast from the past
By Margaret Topp
Perched on the side of a hill, our local quarry once reigned over The Gully. The miners set off blasts that broke the rock and shook the earth, but it will happen no more.
If you have recently travelled down Quarry Rd you would have noticed a new estate emerging from what had become in recent times a controversial site.
The estate known as Peregrine Heights has become one of Melbourne's most prestigious pieces of real estate, incorporating some of Melbourne's spectacular views.
The estate was built under strict council guidelines and with the understanding that it meet environmentally friendly standards.
This prime piece of land was a once thriving quarry. Quarrying began in the 1870's when Ferntree Gully was known as Lightwood Gully and came under the parish of Scoresby.
It was dominantly mined for its hard rock, metals and small amounts of bluestone rock.
On May 26th 1892 the quarry under the ownership of Laudehr Bros closed. With 40-50 men employed and 200 ton of metal passing over its line daily the closure caused hardship for all concerned. It was shortly reopened.
The quarry was not without its share of tragedy and under the ownership of Herman's it suffered its first causalities. On May 29th Henry Dawson was killed in a blast and 11 days later on June 9th, 1922 Robert Sutherland also lost his life under a rock fall.
In 1948 Jim Kerr took over the quarry. During the next 20 years sirens could be heard to go off prior to blasting. Blasting was permitted on a daily basis but kept to a regular schedule of 10.00am and 4.00pm.
By the 1970's mining had gone quite deep into the ground and the internal blasting muffled the sound from the local people. Kerr continued to mine until CSR Ready Mix took over in 1979.
CSR''s licence was due to expire in1991 but was extended by four years despite strong resistance from residents (two years for extraction and two years site rehabilitation).
Residents had fought for ten years to close the quarry and in1996 they were successful. The land would be redeveloped into a residential estate to be known as Peregrine Heights. In 1999 part of the quarry was turned into a lake and park.
As we close the door on what became a part of the biggest industry to invade our hills we also said goodbye to a magical world that we as young children imagined to lay beyond the dusty treetops and overgrown brambles.
The treetops have gone but somewhere beneath the earth and footings of sprawling suburbia come the muffled echoes of a blast from the past.
