Last Friday a large crowd gathered in the shade of the Mount Tarrengower Lookout Tower to celebrate its 100th year.
The poppet head, purchased from Lansell Mines in Bendigo for 87 pounds, has stood guard over the township of Maldon since its official opening on January 26, 1924.
For a century the tower, known to local children as the home of the Easter Bunny, has served as a base for dedicated fire spotters and has become a destination, for locals and visitors, to view the incredible panoramic views that reach from Cairn Curran to Lalganbook (Mount Franklin).
The tower was first illuminated in 1927, using ginger beer bottles filled with kerosene, and for the past 97 years the lights have continued to serve as a beacon and warm welcome at Easter (although the task became a little easier after 1953 when electricity was introduced).
Local historian and president of Maldon Museum and Archives, Derek Reid, who is currently writing A History of Mount Tarrengower, the Tower and Environs, said that due to the effects of WWI and the closure of many gold mines, Maldon began to decline.
“This led to the formation of the Advance Maldon Association in the early 20s to try and revive the town,” Derek said.
“Some of the ideas floated by them included a chair lift from the town to the top of the Mount to take in the views, but by July 1923 the idea that took off was that of obtaining an old poppet head to be used as a lookout tower.
“The roadway from the Butts Reserve to the summit of the Mount was constructed during September of 1923 to allow horse-drawn teams to transport the poppet legs.”
It was not, however, the first tower to sit atop the mount. The original tower was built in the 1900s, serving as a fire tower and a place for townsfolk and visitors to visit and enjoy the spectacular views across the district.
Longtime fire lookout Peter Skillbeck, who worked at the Tarrengower Tower between 1997 and 2022, told the Express he had really enjoyed the job.
“I met a lot of incredible people while working on the mount and there was always a different landscape to look at as the light changed,” Peter said.
While the history of the tower is long, the relationship between the Djarra people and the mountain itself spans centuries.
Tarrengower (meaning big and heavy in Dja Dja Wurrung) appears in a Djarra mythology about two warring volcanoes. Tarrengower is the big, bold, wise old volcano who became tired of throwing rocks and lava, and Lalgambook, the young, loud and cheeky volcano challenged old Tarrengower’s wisdom and authority and threw rocks at him, eventually exploding in fury.
All the rocks thrown by Lalgambook at Tarrengower can still be seen today and have formed what is known in the present day as the Guilford Plateau where the Jaara people would perform ceremonies on the Bora grounds also known as Yapene.
