Port of Sale - Engineering Heritage Marker #2 Sale, Victoria, Australia
By Team MavEtJu on 19-Oct-15. Waypoint GA7662

Port of Sale - Engineering Heritage Marker #2

The Port of Sale and the Sale Navigation Canal provided an innovative solution to the problem of access to Sale. The Canal made it possible for steamers and small sailing ships to make optimum use of the natural waterways for moving people and goods. The Port of Sale was a key element in the trade and communications network linking Gippsland with Melbourne and Sydney from the 1880s to the early 1900s, contributing substantially to the growth and development of the region within a period of major expansion and development throughout the state.

In the early days there was pressure for support facilities in the area for timber getting, mining and a growing pastoral industry. Later an attempt was made to open a sea transport link to the outside world via the Gippsland Lakes to the Port of Sale at the western extremity of the lake system. There was public pressure to build the Port of Sale and to open up the entrance to the lakes at Lakes Entrance and to replace the fixed bridge at the confluence of the Thompson and Latrobe rivers. The construction of the Sale Swing Bridge, the Port of Sale and the Sale Navigation Canal met these demands.

Once a railway link from Melbourne to Sale was established in 1879 there was competition between shipping and rail transport which further reinforce d Sale’s status as the transport hub of Gippsland.

The civil works occurred at a time of significant change in the execution of such works. The transition from manual labour to the use of machinery for major civil construction work was occurring world- wide at the time. It is known that newly–invented horse-drawn scoops called Chesney’s Patent Automatic Earth Scoop were employed on the project. A traction engine was also employed.

The works were a very large project at the time of building and the Sale Navigation Canal remains the longest navigation canal in Australia.

The works are still being used for much the same purpose as originally envisaged and the Port of Sale has recently been redeveloped to modern standards with a strong focus on the tourist industry in Sale. The Sale Swing Bridge has been restored and can be opened to allow the passage of craft between Sale and Lake Wellington.

The redevelopment is a good example of sustainable use of old infrastructure. The Port of Sale and the Sale Navigation Canal should be recognised, protected, conserved and recorded as a fine example of Victorian engineering in the 1880s.

When logging this virtual, please add a photo of yourself or your GPSr at the plaque.

For more information, please see this page at the Heritage Register at the Engineers Australia website: https://www.engineersaustralia.org.au/portal/heritage/port-sale-canal-thompson-river-1890