THE Epping Road Upgrade has revitalised three historic dry-stone walls to keep the region’s local heritage while working to deliver safer travel in Melbourne’s north.
Trained specialists were brought in to reconstruct the walls using traditional methods at three locations in Wollert. As part of the upgrade, the original walls were dismantled to make room for new lanes, and the expert wallers reassembled them using the original basalt stones.
The process involved fitting together stones of multiple sizes to rebuild the walls, all without the use of wet binding materials like grout or mortar. Each walling specialist was qualified for the job with an International Certificate of Craftsmanship in Dry Stone Walling.
One of the rebuilt walls, 90m in length, is located on the north side of Lehmanns Road, while the other two, 60m and 20m long, are on the south side of Pine Park Drive.
The wall beside Lehmanns Road was rebuilt over eight weeks earlier this year, while the others were finished in October after six weeks of work.
Victoria’s dry-stone walls are considered European heritage as they reflect aspects of the agricultural, economic, and social life at the time of settlement.
The walls began appearing in Australia following the arrival of European migrants, who were from countries with long histories of dry-stone walling such as England, Scotland, Ireland, and Germany.
Dating back to the 1840s, the builders of dry-stone walls in the Wollert area used weathered basalt found on the ground’s surface.
The use of the surface stones helped clear paddocks to increase livestock feed growth, made land more arable for planting, and conserved timber for fencing.
The Epping Road Upgrade is adding extra lanes and improving intersections between Craigieburn Road East in Wollert and Memorial Avenue in Epping. The project will also develop sections of shared walking and cycling paths and new on-road bicycle lanes.
Due for completion in late 2025, the upgrade will bring safer, more-reliable journeys for the 35,000 drivers who use Epping Road daily.
Major Road Projects Victoria (MRPV) is delivering the Epping Road Upgrade with construction partner McConnell Dowell.
MRPV Director Dipal Sorathia said keeping local heritage was just as important as the overall upgrade.
“We are pleased to have been able to work with the team of specially trained wallers to rebuild three historic dry-stone walls in Wollert,” he said.
“Conserving local heritage for generations to come is an important part of our work as we deliver safer, more-reliable travel with the Epping Road Upgrade.”
For more information about the Epping Road Upgrade, visit www.roadprojects.vic.gov.au/epping.
