Mount Clear block holds rail trail’s missing link

A TRIANGULAR, pine-filled block of land, fifty-five Recreation Road in Mount Clear may seem an insignificant location to many.

But for residents of the area and the Friends of the Canadian Corridor, it’s a missing piece of a bigger community puzzle, containing remnants of the old Buninyong train line, including a wooden rail bridge.

FoCC president, Bob Hartmann said the green space currently owned by the Victorian School Building Authority, almost touches the Woowookarung Regional Park and is a rural conservation zone which cannot be developed.

“This land is sitting here waiting for someone to do something with it and it is a perfect connection, fundamental for a whole series of things,” he said.

“Securing the land preserves a last section of the Buninyong railway line in public ownership in the community, some native bushland and pines. It’s a keystone and missing link.

“It’s a direct access connection between the Mount Clear community including four schools, and Woowookarung Park. It forms a major walking loop connection for the Canadian Creek Trail, and while that’s local, that could also become a tourist attraction.”

Fifty-five Recreation Road’s section of the railway line is something FoCC “had no idea” existed until recent times, but ever since the discovery, they’ve been lobbying the City of Ballarat, encouraging them to purchase the land.

FoCC have permission from neighbours next door to cut an easement through the top corner of their property, and applied to the Buninyong and District Community Bank for funding so the section will be publicly accessible for people of all abilities, prams and bicycles.

“Part of that funding is to re-top the track with granite sand, and we’ve got a proposal to put a new bridge over the old rail bridge which goes over a creek,” Mr Hartmann said.

The “Bunny” Trail currently winds its way from the Eureka Centre, through Sailors Gully, and Woowookarung Park, stopping suddenly at the said block, before picking up again on Recreation Road and looping around to the Canadian Creek Trail, through Canadian Lakes and Lake Esmond.

Fellow FoCC member, Jeff Rootes said the block was set for auction in November of 2019, but Member for Buninyong, Michaela Settle worked to stop it, allowing this group’s advocacy to continue.

“If it had sold, we never would have had this opportunity,” he said.

FoCC launched in 2012 to protect the Canadian Forest, lobbing the State government. As a result, the multiuse forest area, Woowookarung Regional Park was established.

The group has 640 friends receiving correspondence, nearly 500 Facebook supporters, and 60 members providing financial backing.

Visit facebook.com/friendsofcanadiancorridor.