I had been thinking about cycling and photographing at the Glenburn Heritage Precinct for a while without committing to the ride but then I decided to put the idea into practice after some friends were talking about a separate trip that they were planning. So on Sunday, 27 December 2020, I set off very early in the morning for the car trip to the start of the trail. The precinct is on the left-hand side of the Kings Highway just after the road crosses the Molonglo River on the east of Queanbeyan. The area consists of the ruins or remains of a rural community that tried to establish itself in the area in the 1800s. They did not succeed, eventually abandoning their former homesteads and other buildings. They tried hard to make the community thrive, even establishing a school for a period of time but it was not to be. This area has now been turned into a heritage precinct that consists of three trails. Because the ruins are situated in two clusters, the trails form an inverted triangle from the Kings Highway entrance. One trail takes visitors to the western ruins, while another trail heads to the eastern ruins and the remaining trail is a loop that covers both sets of ruins. The full loop is approximately 12 km that follows fire trails, grass tracks or occasionally disappears under overgrown vegetation. I took my mountain bike because I wanted to cover the distance at a reasonable pace but still be able to see things. The trail was not challenging although the Glen Burn Creek had some water in it, so my feet got a little wet crossing it but that was a nice way to cool them off. I thoroughly enjoyed my morning at the precinct, being a little upset when I realised that it was over. I liked seeing the early settler history of the area as well as the wildlife that I encountered along the way. I would go back because I am sure that I would see things that I missed. I hope that you enjoy the photos below.
The information board at the start of the precinct
The actual routes that I ended up following
The precinct has a brown sign on the Kings Highway indicating its location as you approach the site. When you turn off the Kings Highway, you need to go through the right-hand gate that also has a sign to the Canberra International Clay Target Club facility. Don’t worry, the facility is clearly sign-posted and fenced-off with warning signs all along the fence line to ensure you do not inadvertently cross into the area. There are also red flags to warn you of shooting and I suspect that you would clearly hear any firing long before you crossed into where it was dangerous.
There was a grassy area on the right where I parked my car before the locked vehicle gate at the entrance to the precinct. On the left-hand side of the locked gate there was easy access for walkers and bike-riders. Immediately through the gate on the right was an information board, a container with pamphlets and a marker sign showing the way to go. While the marker sign was probably not needed it was a good way to learn what signs to look out for to keep me on track.
The day that I visited there was a light mist covering the area and the sun was still not fully up so it was about 11 degrees Celsius but with no wind. Fortunately, it did not take long for the mist to clear with a lovely blue sky.
A slight mist was settled on the start, note the information board and track marker
(Apple iPhone 8 [ISO 20, 3.99mm, f/1.8 and 1/296 SEC])
While riding along the fire trail, that is called Charcoal Kilm Road, only a few minutes after starting I saw a pair of Australasian Pipits (Anthus novaeseelandiae). One flew off into the field to the east while one looked at me from the road before flying to a nearby fence where it stayed for a few minutes, allowing me to approach a little closer. Its head markers were less distinct than an adult’s leading me to believe that it was most likely an immature bird. It stayed on the fence wire for a little while, occasionally looking at me before it also flew into the field. I wondered if its lack of concern about me was also due to it being a young bird without much experience of humans.
Later, I saw a second pipit, this time an adult at my first true stop beside the Glenburn Sherarers’ Accommodation. The bird was among the low plants, presumably looking for food but also demonstrating how its camouflage helped it blend in. You can see the bird in the second photo below.
There was also a pair as I approached the Glenburn homestead. One of them had caught a rather juicy-looking caterpillar but had not eaten the nourishing insect. The pipit was possibly going to feed it to another bird. Even though it held the caterpillar in its beak the bird continued searching on the ground, as can be seen in the picture at the top of the post and in the third photograph below.
Immature Australasian Pipit on a fence wire
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 400, 400mm, f/8.0 and 1/320 SEC])
Australasian Pipit near the Glenburn Shearers’ shed
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 100, 400mm, f/14 and 1/60 SEC])
Australasian Pipit spotted on the way to Glenburn Homestead
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 200, 400mm, f/8.0 and 1/640 SEC])
The first set of major ruins that the trail came to were what remains of the actual Glenburn property. This must have been a substantial property because the buildings themselves were reasonably spread out. The first buildings encountered were the shearers’ accommodation, which were a reasonable size. The trail then headed off in a loop to cover other structures on the former property, including the graves of two children who drowned in the Glen Burn Creek. This part of the trail was very overgrown with only a hint of where the path may have gone. It wasn’t that hard to see where to go because I could see the structures and sign posts dotted around. However, I decided to dismount from my bike because I was not sure what the ground was like. I’m glad I did get off my bike because after a few steps my foot went into a depression that was covered with vegetation that my front wheel would have fallen into, probably pitching me over the handle bars. I wouldn’t have been too worried about injuring me but I did not want to damage my camera gear. Once I followed the loop back around to the remains of the hay shed the path was again cut to an easily seen height. There was still a bit of boggy ground here and there through which the path traversed, but not enough to make it impossible to move through.
From the remains of the hay shed, basically desiccated old posts sticking out of the ground like fingers on an upturned hand, I could see where the Glenburn homestead still stood, as if it was still being used and the family would welcome visitors. I was almost waiting for smoke to appear from the chimney to announce that the family was boiling water for a morning cuppa.
The homestead still had its walls standing but a replacement roof was probably essential to help keep some of the elements out to help preserve the structure a bit longer. Behind the homestead sat a wooden slat shed. This little compound had a fence around it to ensure eager visitors did not put themselves at risk of entering a building that was undoubtedly getting more frail with each passing year of environmental wear. This cozy dwelling was the homestead built by Luke and Mary Colverwell who became major landowners in the area despite starting their time in Australia as convicts. They originally settled in the area in 1831 and had six children.
Glenburn Shearers’s accommodation, with my bike in the foreground; which has a tripod and camera bag attached
(Apple iPhone 8 [ISO 20, 3.99mm, f/1.8 and 1/941 SEC])
Shed beside the shearer’s accommodation
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 100, 400mm, f/8.0 and 1/100 SEC])
Remains of the hay shed
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF40mm f2.8 STM [ISO 100, 40mm, f/20 and 1/15 SEC])
Glenburn homestead from a distance showing its place in the landscape
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 100, 182mm, f/8.0 and 1/800 SEC])
The homestead
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF40mm f2.8 STM [ISO 100, 40mm, f/14 and 1/125 SEC] two shot panorama)
Using the drone to get a closer shot of the front door while I remain outside the fence
DJI Mavic Air 2 [ISO 100, 4.5mm, f/2.8 and 1/1000 SEC]
Looking down on the homestead
DJI Mavic Air 2 [ISO 100, 4.5mm, f/2.8 and 1/1000 SEC]
After viewing the homestead I hopped back on my bike to follow the obvious track that circled around the back of the compound. The trail joined the Charcoal Kiln Road again and I turned right on the dirt surface in the direction towards the pine forest. Getting closer to the forest I could see that there was a three-strand wire fence with a gate and I also noticed the numerous butterflies and moths flying around me. While I was contemplating if I should stop to try and photograph the insects a Brown Hare ran onto the dirt road in front of me and stopped.
The Brown Hare (Lepus europaeus) stood in the path for a few minutes, it seemed to be looking into the grass on the eastern side of the trail with its ears erect and pointed towards its front. I was able to move closer to it without scaring it off, although when hares are scared they stay still so maybe this hare was doing its best to remain motionless until I passed. After a little while it turned tail to run back up the trail before hopping into the grass on the other side of the trail. I am not sure if I finally spooked it or it was reacting to something else.
European settlers introduced these pests into Tasmania in the 1830s for sport but, somewhat ironically, the animals did not survive. The Acclimatisation Society of Victoria tried again by introducing them onto Phillip Island in 1863 for sport following the establishment of a colony in Westernport in 1862. The hares thrived and by 1875 they were in NSW and by 1900 Queensland. They are a major agricultural pest, like their feral rabbit relatives that are also thriving in Australia. The hares eat ground vegetation but also gnaw the bark off young trees and vines weakening the plant against disease.
Brown Hare on the fire trail that I was following
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 100, 400mm, f/8.0 and 1/250 SEC])
While I was photographing the hare I paid attention to the flittering butterflies and moths around me, hoping that one would remain still on a plant long enough for a photo. I was rewarded when this Grapevine moth (Phalaenoides glycinae) landed on a plant very near by and was not perturbed by my approach. It stayed still on the plant, just slightly adjusting its position. It may have been trying to sun itself. There were three other moths in the area but they were moving more regularly between plants so were much harder to photograph. The caterpillar of this moth is considered a pest on vines, hence the name of the insect. Ironically the Indian Myna bird was introduced into Australia in 1862 to help control insect pests, including the Grapevine Moth, but was unsuccessful and the bird is now considered a pest itself in some parts of Australia because it thrived in its new southern home.
Grapevine Moth
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 100, 400mm, f/8.0 and 1/400 SEC])
After photographing the hare and the moth I went through the gate that was adjacent to where the charcoal kilns had been, although nothing was visible above ground any more. This was also the general area of the former Kowen School but I think the school had been abandoned before the kilns were in use, otherwise it would have been an unpleasant experience in the the school house if the wind carried the smoke that way.
Once through that gate, I turned left and followed the fire trail along as it ran briefly through a pine forest before emerging into more open terrain. The fire trail was well maintained so I was able to move at a reasonable speed but still take in the scenery. The Glen Burn Creek paralleled the trail off to the left, or south, making a pleasant sight. The area was very open and maybe in few decades will be a nice woodland. Eventually I came to an intersection and turned right up a slight incline and very quickly the next set of ruins came into view on my left.
Two indeterminable brick structures were all that remained of John and Catherine Coppin’s homestead. These were the same Coppins that gave their name to Coppins Crossing on the other side of Canberra and at some stage they had a property there but at least one source that I read possibly conflated this property at Glenburn with the other one, which is over 25 km away in a straight line. If I have read the details correctly, the Coppins probably left the property near Coppins Crossing and moved to this site in 1891 but this site was sold just a decade later in 1902 after Catherine passed away and John moved in with one of his children, who was living not far way, due to his health. The Coppins called their holdings here “Cohen’, however, an earlier spelling by a different settler was Cowen, and the district is now officially called Kowen. Although I could not find a connection, I wondered if there was a connection between the names as they are phonetically very similar.
There is not much left on the site now and I realised that it was not a good subject for drone photography because it was hard to make out the brick structures from a vertical view and even using an oblique view, there was not much difference from the photographs that I took from the ground. Indeed, the two brick structures were lost in the background because of the angle and without something to show scale, it was not clear that the shot was from a drone, it almost looked like the structures were small and I had just photographed them from the ground. Sometimes, just because the capability is there, does not mean that you should use it.
The remains of Coppins homestead from the ground
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF40mm f2.8 STM [ISO 100, 40mm, f/20 and 1/60 SEC])
Looking down on the front brick structure
DJI Mavic Air 2 [ISO 100, 4.5mm, f/2.8 and 1/1000 SEC]
While I was photographing at the Coppin’s homestead I noticed two Yellow-faced Honeyeaters (Lichenostomus chrysops) high in a tree. I thought that it was strange seeing these birds here because there was not much tree cover and I could not see many flowering plants. One bird was active, moving between branches, while the other was more stationary, preening itself occasionally.
Yellow-faced Honeyeater
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 100, 400mm, f/8.0 and 1/400 SEC])
I also captured, what I thought, was a nice picture of a Common Brown butterfly (Heteronympha merope) on a leaf. I really liked the way the sun back-lit the wings, showing their pattern through the wings themselves.
Common Brown butterfly on the leaves of a tree
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 100, 400mm, f/8.0 and 1/400 SEC])
When I had finished at the Coppin’s homestead I turned right back on to the road running beside the ruins, then I retraced my path by turning left at the first intersection. After less than a kilometre I came to a t-junction and took the road to the right leading down hill to the Glen Burn Creek. The trail rose across the creek before winding to the right, then it turned to the left again before running straight before another slight curve to the left.
If you are following this route, just after that second curve to the left look out for a trail marker on the right that may be obscured by a bush. You should also see the next set of ruins off to the right, or maybe a fence line that runs just before the bottom of the un-named perennial creek line and has an obvious gate that you will go through. On the day that I visited the area, the sign post was not obvious and the trail was overgrown. Prior to my visit I had tried to see the trail on Google maps but I could not make it out. After my visit, by using Google maps, I could see a faint scar on the land that was probably the trail. If you miss that turn, as I did, you will end up continuing along the fire trail as it climbs a hill, where you will get a good view over the area.
I realised something was wrong when I saw the warning signs on my right for the shooting range, yet if I was still on the right trail the signs should have been on my left. My geographical embarrassment was confirmed a short distance later when I came to a locked gate that warned me to keep out because of the shooting range, yet the road that I was following went straight under that gate. Because this was after Christmas, I had a bit of extra food to work off so I was not too put out by having to cycle up a hill. I have included the marker post that I missed in a photo below, as well as an indication of how the track was not that obvious.
The sign post that I missed that was off the right-hand side of the fire trail, the gate and ruins can be seen in the middle distance
(Apple iPhone 8 [ISO 20, 3.99mm, f/1.8 and 1/1715 SEC])
I once again dismounted my bike to negotiate this overgrown section of the trail because I could barely make out the way that I was supposed to follow. I did realise that I had chosen the correct path when I crossed over a grated-bridge across a creek. Through the gate on the other side of the creek I was once again on an obvious trail. The trail went past the Curley’s homestead but there was nothing obvious there and I completely missed it, thinking that the information board was about the far more obvious, Collier’s homestead, just up the low incline to my front.
The Collier’s homestead had that look of broken dreams, of a challenge taken that proved too much. I could imagine that in dryer conditions it would look like a dreary, dry, abandoned farm that nature defeated. The homestead was used by William Collier and his family but he did not own it. Instead it possibly dates from the early 1880s and was probably built by the local agricultural magnate, George Campbell, who seemed to own a major part of the land that Canberra was to be built upon. If you are interested in the homestead there is a very thorough conservation proposal here with a lot of useful background information.
The homestead has no roof now, with parts of its walls tumbled over. I hope that the photo conveys a sense of desolation, even though this cottage is not far from Canberra thanks to modern transportation. I liked the ground shot but I could not isolate the structure easily from the background. I thought the drone shot from a similar angle was better because, while the building is still hidden in the background, it shows the wider context of the homestead with what appears to be empty land strecthcing to the horizon. In a drier year I suspect that yellow, desiccated expanse would emphasise why agriculture was such a challenge there. I also liked the vertical shot. I initially took a straight down square shot that lined up along the sides of the frame nicely but I preferred the diamond-shaped shot that I took later because it seemed to provide a less-conventual way to view the structure.
Ruins of Collier’s homestead
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF40mm f2.8 STM [ISO 100, 40mm, f/20 and 1/80 SEC])
A slightly higher perspective
DJI Mavic Air 2 [ISO 100, 4.5mm, f/2.8 and 1/1000 SEC]
A vertical view of the homestead
DJI Mavic Air 2 [ISO 100, 4.5mm, f/2.8 and 1/1000 SEC]
From Collier’s homestead I rode up the hill along what I found out later was the road that led to the school that was established at Kowen for the families to send their children to. I had to climb over a locked gate that had no signs showing that it was part of the precinct and checking the maps later I suspect that there should have been a road heading south east, but the cut-grass path did not go that way, not could I see any other obvious routes and there was no marker to point me in the right direction. Getting to where the ground levelled out along that road the shooting range was on the left with warning signs along the fence line. This path eventually joined back up to Charcoal Kiln Road, where by turning right I followed that road back to the start.
Returning to where my car was parked marked the end of my trip to the Glenburn Heritage Precinct but I thought that I would still take at least one more picture while I was in the area. I wanted to get a shot of the railway bridge over the Molonglo River just to the west of the precinct. I don’t think that there is any special significance to the bridge but I have always seen it when I drive along the Kings Highway and thought that it would make a nice subject.
Railway bridge over the Molonglo River just to the west of the Glenburn Heritage Precinct
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 125, 100mm, f/14 and 1/100 SEC] four shot panorama)
I really enjoyed the visit to the Glenburn Heritage Precinct and I would recommend it to other people. I am glad that I used my bike because there were long stretches between the sites so it helped to travel that intervening distance but still allowed me to do the journey at a pace where I could see things to photograph. I also enjoyed the wildlife that I saw and there were somethings that I was just not able to get a shot of. It was a lovely way to start a Sunday.
Thanks for reading this post and thanks also for looking at my photos. I hope you come back again to read more about some of the wonderful natural things that the Australian Capital Territory has on offer. All the best until the next post.