Picnic on the Mason-Bird Heritage trail - Hardinge Park to Victoria Dam (12km)

Let's have a picnic together after we go for a pleasant History Walk in the Hills.
The weather forecast suggests mild temperatures with a range from 13°C when we start the walk to 19°C when we sit down for our picnic.
Enjoy a history lesson as we walk a moderately challenging track through Korung National Park. There are spectacular views of the city, reservoir and creeks. Variable vegetation with plentiful wildflowers at this time of the year.
We will start at Hardinge Park just at the foot of the Bickley Dam and from there walk up the Mason-Bird Heritage Trail. Plenty of history along this section, look out for the wooden tramway line, historic photos, old vegetable gardens and old wooden bridge. I hope I don’t bore you to death with the local history. At the top we turn down the bitumen road heading down towards the Victoria Reservoir and pass Francis Weston’s gravesite on the left and saw pits. Off the road and down a gravel track to the lookout with views of the dam and a vista of the city. Walk the dam and then go to the base of the original dam down the valley. Heading uphill again we navigate a goat track that takes us to open views of Perth. We then trace back along the road to Hardinge Park.
For those who can stay, let’s join together for a picnic/BBQ @ Hardinge Park and have a well deserved late breakfast, drink and chat. A thermos of hot coffee and cold drinks would go down a treat as well.

Where: Hardinge Park, Orange Grove. See the pin drop for the MeetUp place.
Parking: It is a small park with limited parking but we’ll probably be the only ones there. Park near the far four shelters and we will claim the BBQs on the right.
Distance: 12km, Elevation 392m, Walking time 2.5-3hrs
Difficulty: A moderately difficulty trail with a few slightly steep sections. The final track is great for mountain goats. 😊 A few tracks have heaps of sharp stones so wear shoes with good soles. This is a walk for regular hikers, not beginners. If it has rained overnight some sections could be slippery.
What to bring: Plenty of water, good walking shoes, hat & sunscreen (poles if you want)
🧺 No café so let's have a picnic! 🧺 Bring picnic food, drinks and a good sense of humour. (Gas BBQs, benches & shelters are available at the park)
Toilets: At the dam (7km) and the park (12km).
All trails maps: This walk is based on this AllTrails track. You can see our route and a few points of interest: Mason Bird / Victoria Dam Loop

Fast Facts

• The Mundy Brook Bridge, a horse tramway bridge is the oldest wooded bridge in Australia. (1871)
• Mundy, Yagan and Midgegooroo, traditional owners of adjacent lands—were outlawed and a price put on their heads for the ambush and murder of two Europeans. Mundy was later pardoned, sadly not the same for the other 2 men.
• Mason Mill employed 138 men which represented 1% of the male population in WA at that time.
• The gravity powered trams were pulled up hill by horses. Accidents occurred. One day before the horses were unhitched the tram’s brakes failed killing 8 horses. One horse was worth the equivalent of a year’s salary. We found the hand-written plaque still located in a tree just after the bridge on the eastern side remembering all the horses that died at the site.
• The Victoria Dam, first constructed in 1891, is Perth's oldest dam. Between 1895 and 1900, there were 4047 cases and 425 deaths from typhoid fever in Perth and the water supply was suspected to be contaminated.
• The new Victoria Dam cost $21.6 million and completed by May 1991, at a height of 36 m with storage of 10 million cubic metres
• The Bickley Brook Dam is a 13 metre high dam with a volume of 106,000 cubic metres, its water is pumped back into Victoria Reservoir
• Bickley was originally known as "Heidelburg" but during World War I it was renamed after a local pioneer Wallace Bickley.
• A Good Read

RSVP - no shows & late arrivals: If you are on the "Going" list and can't make it on the day please RSVP "Not Going" at the earliest convenience as a courtesy so to allow others to join who might be on the "Waitlist".
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