By the Commemoration Plaque on a post at the base of the Tower, it was Opened by Councillor Col Utber, on 26 May, 1985. [About five years before the 'Duplication' of the South Gippsland Highway was completed.] Certainly a worthy distraction to keep the passing tourist from getting too 'hazed' by the otherwise flat surrounds and fast speed on the highway.
The Tower structure is based on two groupings of four 'Telegraph Poles'. With the taller group having cross-beams at the very top from which steel rods 'hang'. Looking like marionette strings, they support the wooden staircase that works its way around the Tall Posts. Each flight of 8 steps or about 1.5 metres height has a square landing, with the next flight being offset by 90°, anti-clockwise as you ascend. There are five flights to get to a wooden walkway that goes to the other grouping of four Poles, that directly support the actual viewing platform, where there is an Orientation Table.
Quoting Gayle Beveridge, from her blog on 20/11/20015 about the Tower (
visit link) : "The structure is very stable, the stairs and platform are enclosed by high, closely spaced railings and the stairs themselves are wide enough to be comfortable but narrow enough to enable you to hold the railings on both sides."
With the perspective issues of looking up at the Tower, it could almost look like a 'Penrose' impossible staircase.
If you go to the Monuments Australia site for the Memorial of Col Utber, their photo of the Tower, better shows the 'marionette' aspect of how the 'stringers' support the staircase. (
visit link)
As the Orientation Table waymark (
visit link) does not give the locations indicated by the Table, I will include them here. The main compass points are indicated in the centre of the of the circular table. Going clock-wise from North:
* Koo Wee Rup Swamp: 5 km
* Mount Ararat: 19 km
* Koo Wee Rup Water Tower: 3 km
* Koo Wee Rup Township: 3 km
* Warragul: 40 km
* Morwell: 80 km
- East
* Heath Hill: 21 km; Mount Worth - 1664 m: 45 km
* Strzelecki Ranges: 40 km
* Lang Lang Township: 11 km
* Korumburra: 43 km
* Lang Lang Beach: 10 km
* Red Bluff: 13 km
* Grantville: 22 km
* Bass Hill: 31 km
* Steenholdt Hill: 34 km
- South
* Settlement Point: 29 km
* San Remo: 35 km
* French Island: 15 km
* Westernport Bay: 1 km
* Mt Wellington: 16 km
* Phillip Island - Cowes: 34 km
* Long Island: ?
* BHP - Westernport Steel Mill: 23 km
* Harewood Airport: 2 km
* Tooradin: 7 km
- West
* Frankston: 30 km
* Cranbourne: 19 km
* Melbourne: 58 km
* Berwick: 22 km
* Mt. Anderson: 50 km
Address: South Gippsland Highway, Col Utber Swamp Tower Reserve, Koo Wee Rup, Victoria, 3981
Visited: 1455 - 1505, Tuesday, 24 May, 2016