Water Powered Crusher - Forest Park, Orbost, Vic, Australia
S 37° 42.530 E 148° 27.220
55H E 628134 N 5825495
Just south of the iconic slab hut Information Centre at Forest Park, Orbost is Working Water Wheel.
Waymark Code: WMWV0Q
Location: Victoria, Australia
Date Posted: 10/14/2017
Views: 5
On the Interpretative Sign on the walkway around Forest Park, titled, "European Settlement Changed Our Waterways", it gives the following information about this wooden Water Wheel that is still turning by water channeled to it:
"This six-head crusher was used on the Combienbar River (north-east of Orbost) in the early 1900's to crush ore from the Rozynski gold mine.
"The crusher was quite unique from the normal crushing batteries with its ability to be driven by water power. According to the Mines Department, it was the only one of its type in East Gippsland and possibly the whole of Victoria.
"The volume of water in the river at the mine was inadequate to drive the crusher and required a small dam to be built forty feet upstream. During the night the dam would fill and by using a wooden gated valve, release enough water to operate the crusher for several hours before emptying."
[Reprinted from "Combienbar - The Valley of Contentment"_1982 with kind permission from Graham Dyce. The crusher was moved to Forest Park in the mid 1980s]
Visited: 1130, Saturday, 14 May, 2016
Visit Instructions:
Please give the date of your visit and a brief description of your experience and any additional information you may have about the waterwheel, its current condition, etc. We would very much like at least one original photo from your visit, but it is not absolutely necessary.