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  1. #1
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    Default A Few Australian Drains

    G'day All,

    I do have quite a bit to post, but at the moment I am in my busiest period at work until the start of Feb (yes, bad planning in me joining this site now) and my wife is due on Jan 1st (bad planning in general), but just quickly I'm going to borrow a few of my favourite Australian "Drain Of The Week" by Siologen.

    I will (promise) make more of my own posts as time goes on.

    Cheers,

    Doug

  2. #2
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    Default Re: A Few Australian Drains

    Nice one look forward to seeing some stuff, drains and anything subterranea is my favourite 'splore.

    Siologen is the man when it comes to drains

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    Default Re: A Few Australian Drains

    No worries mate, look forward to seeing what's under down under. Sorry, what a crap sentence. Good work with the cricket too (not that you were playing I don't think)

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    Default Re: A Few Australian Drains

    This one would sneak into my top 50... probably higher is I was half the height that I am.

    Cheers,

    Doug.

    Milsons Park Drain.
    One of Sydney's older drains, having originally replaced a nice leafy gully in the centre of North Sydney as early as the 1870's, Milsons Park Drain was only explored by we of the Cave Clan post 1996. Popular with SUSS (Sydney University Speleology Society) for training excercises and for when they simply couldnt be bothered trailing out to Colong or Bungonia to real caves, this old marvel of just-barely post-colonial construction had seen a lot of exploration in its days prior to becoming a favorite target for New Explorers Expos and Interstate Visits.

    Built originally as a mixture of sandstone hallway/parapet and brick pipe/archway its original design was already throbbing with beautiful old atmosphere. Later additions transformed it into a showcase of over 10 unique styles of tunnel construction, intermixing dozens of times, no section longer than a few hundred metres, as it weaved its way up from Sydney Harbour to the centre of North Sydney, covering a distance of 1700m.

    Beginning originally as a twin 5ft high concrete rectangle, sitting barely 20m from the maximum high tide line that forced harbour water up the concrete channel leading up through the park, the drain twisted its way up the rear of the valley, coming to a waterfall that had, according to the history books replaced a babbling natural fall that had delighted the well spoken local residents of the area prior to 1872.

    This waterfall was only ever seen by SUSS and a few Cave Clan members, one of whom was Mr India. He explored the system with his dad when he was 10 years old and has photos of the old original brick waterfall.
    In 1992 this whole brick section was torn out and replaced by RCP and a steep curving slide was seduced into replace the old fall. These replacements were neccessitated by the construction of the Sydney Harbour Tunnel, a project that altered the Milsons park Drain in more than just this one obvious way.

    Otherwise unrelated, in 2000, a large CDS Unit was installed inside a large chamber built over the original 5ft high outlet. This chamber was grilled, turning Milsons Park into one of the only drains in Sydney to have an active barrier over its outfall. After a year or so, the lack of an overflow pipe in the weir built to divert flow into the centrifugal-garbage-guzzling-washing-machine that is a CDS Unit, blocked the tunnel off, as it filled up with water to the weirs height: 5ft, completely submerging the old outfalls and forcing those wishing to explore the system to use the large gutter grille entrance up in central North Sydney.

    In an effort to find a more reliable entrance, given the commonality of a car being parked over the North Sydney Grille, a manhole entrance was found about 50m up a 2ft diameter RCP that sat near the top of the slide. Lifting the huge bathplug out of the ground from beneath, the skin of ones shoulders wilting under the pressure of 80kgs of reinforced concrete, it was found that this cover was in a quiet park behind a block of flats.
    A few months later we returned intending on entering via this new manhole, only to pop the wrong cover. Curious as to why the room below the manhole shaft was so large, we climbed down and found ourselves in a 10ft high rock blasted tunnel. WTF? This large monstrosity of weeping sandstone and dripping calcium lead onwards for a good 300m to a gutter grille that looked up *into* the Sydney Harbour Tunnel, cars flying past above, doing 140kph, in the process of speeding up, having slowed down to 80kph for the fixed speed camera.

    Turns out that because noone had ever thought to crawl 400m up a half flooded 2ft rcp, noone had ever known about this extra addition that had been installed to make up for the removal of the cool old 1870's waterfall.

    But ignoring all these post 1998 additions/realisations, Milsons Park ran as follows... approximately (despite what Dougo reckons, i dont carry a tape measure down drains).

    * 10m of 5ft high twin rectangle
    * 5m of 5ft high concrete covered canal.
    * 50m of 6ft RCP, sloping uphill.
    * 100m of 5ft RCP, sloping ever further and good fun on a skateboard due to nicely met sections of pipe and little waterflow.
    * 200m of 6ft RCP.
    * Then the slide room, complete with a little vestibule room full of explorers tags and the remnants of a blocked off side tunnel. The Slide itself sat in a nice big room, its curvature such that it was felt a rope might make acension/decension easier, especially given the injury-inducingly placed churn blocks mounted to the base of the steep ramp.
    (THE SLIDE ROOM featuring Hatchet and Green)


    Once at the top of the slide, this, so far 'little drain', got even littler.
    * 300m of very old three and a half foot high sandstone ... loaf shaped tunnel. Complete with an 8 inch deep watercarved trench down the centre and the sounds of pain eminating from those game enough to waddle or crawl thru such a small wet tunnel.
    * 400m of 6ft high, by 4ft wide concrete hallway, that twisted and turned under and past the Warringah Freeway taking cars from the Sydney Harbour Bridge, stopping only to offer a treacherous exit that if utilised would place you at head level and straining against 40kgs of steel grille with cars and trucks hurtling past at 80kph.
    The rectangle then got wider and headed uphill somewhat, offering more twists and turns and the odd hanging chunk of concrete begging for soft thin scalp skin to massage into a bloody mess, before reaching the first section of continuous tunnel over 6ft high.
    * A 7ft high sandstone slab Archway with the natural creekbed floor. Slippery as lubed arsehole, minus the terd thanks to a very complete sanitary separation project in the 1960's.
    (THE ARCHWAY (Image by Dsankt of http://www.dsankt.com)


    * This archway in turn morphed into what seems to have gained the name 'Parapet Tunnel' because of the odd little sandstone semi circles wedged into the edges of the ceiling.
    * The two swop and change, the tunnel height rising and falling, while side pipe gush water from office tower drain sumps, and seepage leaks out of cracks in the soft, fractured, sedimentary ceiling.
    * Suddenly, out of nowhere, around a bend pops another 5ft RCP. This swoops upwards, a short but steep, and slippery as hell, slide leading up to another 7ft high Brick Archway bathing under the light of a small roofgrille.
    * The Archway headed on up for another 300m, its buckling brick floor leading on from puddle to puddle until you come across...
    * A Brick pipe! Big deal you say. Neigh! comes the reply, cos while brick pipes are the big thing in Manchester, London, Melbourne and Brisbane, they are few and far between in Sydney. This little gem runs under the busy streets of the North Sydney Business District, and here the original exit grille sits, snuggled into the gutter of a back lane often populated by badly parked BMW's. Because of the ineptitude of those relying upon sonar parking sensors and other fancy vorsprung durk technique parking implementations, the grille is often entirely parked over and those wishing not to trudge back to the downstream end can either do a nasty back contorting limbo to get into the next upstream gutter box, or continue onwards upstream to the end.
    * Here the badness that is Lazy Sydney Water Crappy 4ft RCP Syndrome kicks in for 300 painful metres,
    * Only to become a 'U' Shaped brick tub, with a concrete roof that transforms suddenly into the oldest section of the system.
    * The last 200m is an 8ft high sandstone slab hallway, complete with dangling roof chunks, 100 year old terracotta side pipes infested with roots and old grimy stuff, ending abruptly at a brick wall partially clad in rusty corro iron sheeting.
    (THE PARAPET TUNNEL Image by Dsankt of http://www.dsankt.com)


    An odd but fitting end to such a disjointed, ill organised little drain, a drain full of the fun that is entailed in multiple shape changes featuring example of different construction spanning a century; the duck and dive thats involved in exploring a drain whos charms revolve heavily around walking upright for 100m then abruptly having to crawl for 200m only to be rewarded afterwards with yet another standy-uppy bit beyond.

    Milsons Park & Waked Drain (as the rock blasted tunnel was named... simply cos, 'mufucker, its just wak!') have always proven popular, especially in a city so full of straight, boring, walk thru drains.

    In late 2000 it was chosen to host a New Explorers Expo, a replacement to the normal location of choice, Fortress. 35 ppl staggered thru it, the groans of displeasure at all the stoopy sections very soon overridden by the delight of seeing such and old and mismatched jumble of architecture and style. Upon reaching the main grille exit, it was realised that a good few of the newbies couldnt get up out of the pipe, given that there were no step irons and street level was 8 ft up, but a concierted effort known as the Milsons Park Grille Exit Powerlift was set into play and before long new explorers, both lightweight and heavy where being hauled bodily out of the hole in the gutter by a myriad of grabbing hands.
    It was goodah!
    (THE BRICK ARCH, featuring a headless Ogre, one of my VERY old and crappy photos, that for some reason Orchy scanned onto http://www.orchy.com/underworld.. badly)

  5. #5
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    Default Re: A Few Australian Drains

    Quote Originally Posted by ojay View Post
    Siologen is the man when it comes to drains
    Ain't that the truth. They are his life!

    Quote Originally Posted by boxfrenzy View Post
    Good work with the cricket too (not that you were playing I don't think)
    I was on the phone to Cricket Australia with a few tips ("play better" being the obvious one).

    Eternity is a pretty cool Sydney drain as well (I can stand up in it without bending)

    Cheers,

    Doug

    _______________________________


    Eternity.

    Predator got a job with Sydney Water back in the mid 90's. One of his tasks was to follow a shitty little 5ft oval drain its entire length pushing in front of him, a dolly with a video camera mounted on it.

    The drain was named Deep Throat and it was recognised universally as being crap. Long, low and boring.

    There wasnt a lot wrong wity Deep Throat, it was just bloody small.
    Turns out that was indeed all that was wrong with it.
    The area around Meadowbank, on the northern side of the Parramatta River in Sydney was prone to flooding, and with only two smallish drains, Deep Throat and Charity Creek, it wasnt coping.

    In 1998, it was Ryde Municipal Council, rather than Sydney Water that set about fixing the problem.

    They proposed, then set about, building a replacement for Deep Throat.

    A really bloody BIG replacement.

    They started digging a tunnel into an embankment in Meadowbank Park.
    We got wind of this thru a local explorer and headed down to find a large shed encasing the portal. A bit of hijinxing and we were in, staring a 12ft high smooth bored TBM tunnel in the mouth. We cautiously walked thru it, sloshing in the mud and water on the floor, until it dead ended after about 200m with the TBM's face jammed against the rock, ceased mid-grind. A little alcove had been bored off to one side of the huge contraption and in it sat a small fridge, and a table with chairs.

    THE PORTAL, MID 1998



    Over the next year, various trips were made to the tunnel as its creation progressed. Predator eventually visited it along with Diode and the two of them named it Eternity in honour of this chap: http://www.greenplanet.com.au/eternity/eternity.htm His name was arthur Stace and for 40 years he secretly wrote, in a sophisticated kaufman script, the word 'Eternity' in chalk, on the sidewalks and pavements of downtown Sydney.

    While the tunnel was completed fairly quickly, all the fittings, spraycreting, concreting, grillework and the floor werent completed until early 2000. In mid 1999 a public tour of the tunnel was run and a bunch of us went along. The drain was still in a bare state, the walls were still bedrock, the floor uneven and muddy, the huge ventilation fans still blasting air thru it.

    It was strange for Drain Explorers like ourselves to traverse a drain while surrounded by hundreds of normal civilians. At one point a minivan full of old folks drove past; there were kids running around, getting screamed at by their parents; middle aged couples with walking sticks; the whole shebang, all walking thru this rough, wet, fluro lit tunnel.
    As it turns out, spoilsports abounded and Ryde Council was unsuccessfully sued when a few people who'd ignored the sensible footwear notes issued by the council recieved mild burns from the high concentration of Lime still in the tunnel water.

    By March 2000 the drain was complete. A padlock, (which we later gained a key for thru helping the company CDSTech, who looked after the anti pollution unit) was placed on the grille leading into the Pillars Chamber, so our big inagural Cave Clan expo had to start at the tidal outfall.

    EMERGING FROM THE 5FT HIGH OUTFALL (pic by Curly)


    Stooping up one of the three 5ft high, knee deep tunnels, we soon arrived at the Pillars of Eternity Chamber, nice and big, with large pillars and a big ramped overflow that diverted the water coming out of the main tunnel into the CDS Unit.

    HALF OF THE PILLARS OF ETERNITY (pic by Curly)


    The main tunnel was the prize tho. A 12ft high smoothbored, spraycreted horseshoe arch, running gunbarrel straight. Not many drains in Sydney are this consistantly big.
    Unfortunately the little alcoves bored during comnstruction had gone.

    THE NEW EXPLORERS EXPO IN THE MAIN TUNNEL


    A good way up we came to the first pit. This would later gain a big STOP sign near it, preventing those careless enough not to see it from falling in, and directing them along the narrow ledge that allowed passage. The pit aquired an old VCR over the next few years, an old top loading Sanyo, that sat jammed in sediment, a good chunk of it above the water line. Off this pit ran a 5ft high fibreglass rcp. This lead to a tall shaft then onto smaller pipes, graduating to an exit grille outside a service station.

    Not far beyond the pit was the Main Room.

    THE MAIN ROOM ON A NEW EXPLORERS EXPO (Photo By Dsankt)


    This was a 17m high chamber, with a 14m high waterfall, that in full swing facilitated the water toppling from above to curtain the tunnel beyond. A long ladder headed up to a balcony, across the way from the top of the Fall. This Room at the top of the fall was sadly only accessable from outside the main drain, via a grille in a carpark. Off this room ran two drains, one a remaining section of the original Deep Throat Drain, the other a larger tunnel full of large ceiling grilles that drained a minature railway park.

    Running quickly under the curtain that coated the continuing tunnel, we realised that a shape change had occured. No more 12/14ft high arch, rather a 10ft high uncreted, rock bored mummy/loaf arched tunnel. Niiice!
    Following on, past the numerous odd drillmarks, we reached the Pit of Eternity. This one was a bit more obvious, being lit by a huge grille set in a large room 12m up a vertical shaft. Getting to the ladder in the middle of the pit, or indeed getting across it, either required wading straight thru its thigh deep wetness, doing the splits, using the ladder as an island, or as Hatchet did once: Swinging across it from a a grappling hooked rope.

    HARDCORE HATCHET DOING THE BIG SWING


    ME UNDER THE SPOTLIGHT (pic by Dsankt)


    Much japes were had everytime a New Explorers group reached this point, numerous efforts, most unsuccessful have been made to try and get the masses across it without getting wet. Only one succeeded and it involved carting a three hinged ladder all the way up the drain and using it as a bridge
    Going up the ladder lead you to a small balcony, across from which was another room, leading onto more incorporated Deep Throat.

    Barrelling up the main tunnel from this pit, Eternity would often dry out, rendering the last 300m completely void of moisture, before you reached The End of Etenity.

    Another deep pit, with a 1m high shaft, at the top of which was another balcony with another unreachable room and tunnel across the void from it.

    MELB CC AT THE END OF ETERNITY (pic by Bullwagon)


    This tunnel at the top of The End lead out to a small creek and was originally a small old drain known as Kinder Surprise.

    Eternity still thrives today, albeit a bit more stalagtited, and muddied somewhat by the CDS Unit. It was included in a really bad SciFi film shot in 1999, called 'Subterano' ( http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0255623/ ) but lived to tell the tale.

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    Default Re: A Few Australian Drains

    ANZAC Part A

    To Dougo and other oldschoolers. I think i got most of the history correct...

    This week we look at Australias most famous drain and the Academy Awards of Urban Exploration: The Clannies.

    Anzac:
    Australia & New Zealand Army Corps.
    Those who fought valiantly and died for their countries during WWI.

    Anzac Day:
    25th of April, a public holiday and a Memorial for the Glorious War Dead.

    Anzac Drain
    The 'spiritual' home of the Cave Clan, and host to The Clannies. A drain first explored on Anzac Day 1987.

    When Dougo Sloth and Woody first went up the drain they named Anzac, it was undergoing a few structural changes. After the initial 400m or so, tunnel they were in arrived in a long open section thru which the stream ran via a canal sandwiched between two buildings. Beyond this stretch the creek ran underground again. This open section was undergoing some kind of construction work. Something was being built over it. Covered Canals are common in Australia given all the canalised creeks. When somkeone needs the land thru which a canal runs they'll most often place a big slab over the top of the canal and be done with it. At least, thats usually what happens in Sydney, leaving behind lots of shitty low covered canal drains. But not in Melbourne. When they cover a canal in Melbourne they make it something special.
    Thus a few months later, The Chamber was created. And the rest is history.

    BEANZ AND GREEN UP TO IT IN THE YARRA RIVER OUTSIDE ANZAC DRAIN (pic by Ash)


    Anzac Drain:
    Sitting aside the River Yarra, its maw gaping out from the bank like a sign post to drain heaven, the 12ft high by 25ft wide brick arch tunnel really is a site to behold. Protected by nothing other than a 'keep out' sign and the occasional wash of a high tide, you are sucked into the breathtaking size of its internal demensions. Wandering in you immediatly come to the huge Walk/Hall of Fame. Written on the wall on the right hand side in white letters 4ft high is: 'CAVE CLAN inc. 1.1.86'. This is followed by a good hundred or so names, starting with Dougo, Sloth and Woody, the founders of Cave Clan, then progressing on with the names of others who where in CC during the early years.

    THE WALK OF FAME (pic by and featuring Curly)


    The Walk goes a good 300m, after which the names swop to the opposite side and head back downstream. Beyond this the tunnel takes a curve or two and you eventually come to a large underpass section, beneath Chapel Street. The roaring rumble of trams passing overhead reverberates the big bluestone chamber, which it seems is only still standing thanks to formworking pressed to the ceiling by a forest of steel jacks that tower up a good 20ft, lining the edge of the canal which at this early stage is only a foot or so deep.

    THE FOREST LOOKING DOWNSTREAM (pic by Curly)


    Ahead the canal banks rise in height to about mid chest level, with the ceiling dropping and rising periodically allowing only stooping clearance in some sections and plenty of head room in others. By this time youve seen more graffiti on the walls than you would in any other 10 drains you could think of combined. The Cave Clan Lightning Bolt symbol features prominantly, along with names of the 5000 odd Cave Clan members over the last 19.9 years. You aint seen nuffin yet!

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    Default Re: A Few Australian Drains

    ANZAC - Part B

    The Chamber:
    The Chamber starts off slowly, the canal sides widening to a good two metres, the walls on either side covered with a huge artworks done by gifted Clan Members and graff artists alike.
    Theres paintings of Prowleywise; Waves crashing over explorers at the outfall of Fortress; The Head; numerous monsters; Gothic landscapes and weird Picassoesque mish mashes. The ceiling height suddenly balloons upwards, peaking a good 40ft above. A thick rope dangles across the centre of the channel, suspended from a pipe above.

    The graff has gone into overdrive now, tags and marker pen messages everywhere. The Chamber spans forwards a good 200m, its size a guaranteed jaw dropper for those who havent beheld its wonder before. On the right wall, beyond the art gallery is the Corporate Sponsor Sign for The Clannies, displaying the logos for Melbourne Water, Vic Roads, Victoria Bitter, Melbourne Police and others in honour of they stalwart support over the years.

    This sits next to the centrepeice: The CLANIES piece, done in a flaming swirl of reds, golds and blacks, most recently rerendered to its current glory by Dunit. In its original form it was a simple black on white peice, the word 'Clannies' supposedly having been originally misspelt as 'Clanies', with not enough time to correct the mistake, and the mistake then living on in reincarnations of the sign.

    Above the Clanies peice, off to one side is the 'Big Drain Posse' a memorial for Cave Clanners who have passed on to the Big Drain in The Sky. It includes amongst others, Favero, Mullet, Cougar, Sydney CC founder Predator and long time Cave Clan Collabarator and Infiltration creator Ninjalicious. The opposite wall features The Yellow Submarine, a massive rendition of The Beatles magical mystery device, done by a mass group of Clanners in 2002.

    THE CHAMBER DURING THE 2005 CLANNIES FEATIURING THE CLANIES PIECE (pic by Curly)


    THE CHAMBER DURING THE 2005 CLANNIES FEATURING THE YELLOW SUBMARINE (pic by Curly)


    The rear of The Chamber tapers down slowly, the ceiling getting lower in big steps, with odd grilles in the vertical sections. Peering out the lowest of these grilles you realise the grille sits behind a slab-slat staircase leading up to the front lobby of a hotel... the hotel The Chamber sits beneath.

    The roof drops down to 9ft high and the canal banks cease, the narrow channel down the centre of the canal widening out and the tunnel beyond becoming twin 6ft rectangles.

    Beyond The Chamber:
    This is where most people stop. So aghast at the site of The Chamber and what precedes it, they dont realise that beyond a short section of stoopy rectangle and covered canal lies some prime oldschool redbrick goodness.

    The low tunnel continues a way then splits to a low tunnel that leads to a redbrick pipe with a small waterfall and staircase, then becomes a nice blue capped bluestone canal; and a set of double barreled 7ft diameter redbrick pipes that go a ways before merging into a single 8ft pipe, then eventually splitting up into a mix of brick oviform and pipe, the largest of which dead ends at a brick wall that at one point was a direct connection to another of Melbournes famous big drains Como Falls (formerly Yarra).

    The Clannies.
    The Cave Clan has been around for nearly 20 years. Its 20th year will arrive on the 26th of January 2006 (which is also Australia Day). The Clannies are being held that weekend rather than the usual date around late March/early April.

    While its the Cave Clans 20th year, its only (hah!) the 18th Clannies coming up. But it will be special!
    Celebrations look to be lasting nearly three weeks with numerous expos organised and road trips to other cities galore!

    But the Clannies started with much more humble beginnings in 1988, when a joke was made about hosting an awards night in Anzac. The joke became a reality and the first Clannies went off without a hitch and a good hundred or so Clanners in attendance, all sitting on one side of the chamber on a collection of aquired carpet, seats and milkrcrates, with the awards being handed out from the other side of the canal.

    The Gold Clannie (a genuine AMF Bowling Pin spraypainted Gold) was won by Dougo and other since long standing awards such as Dodgiest Crashout(from consumption of alchohol), Best Drain, Biggest Goboff(shit talker), Goes Further(which later on became Most Hardcore), Best Individual Effort, Best Group Effort, Biggest Japes/Funniest Situation, Biggest Coward and Most Wasted were handed out for the first time, amoungst short lived awards like 'Tallest Clanmember', 'Best Graffittist' and 'Most Problems in Life'

    SOMEONE GETTING AN AWARD FOR BIGGEST GOBOFF AT THE FIRST CLANNIES (pic by Cave Clan)


    As the years progressed, awards came and went, eventually formulating to what we have today; however the winners and crowds just kept coming. The biggest Clannies attendance was in the realm of 300 ppl; in 1995 the awards went ahead despite the floodwaters surging between the two sides of the canal, and the cops showing up and arresting a bunch of folks.

    The biggest gold winners so far are Dougo (4 years), Cro(3 years) and Bob (2 years). The awards were for Melbourne until Cave Clan branches started popping up in Adelaide and Sydney in 1991, after this they became national awards but were still dominated by Melbourne winners until around 1999 when other state branches grew enough to compete. The first non Melburnian to win the Gold was, erm, me and the second non Melburnian (from Adelaide) and first girl to win, was Elfen in 2005. However the other awards have been handed out, based upon votes from all Cave Clan members to an amazing variety of men and women from every state over the years.

    The awards night was always a grand affair, the atmosphere in The Chamber electrified at points and full of the rowdy laughter and carry on of 200 odd pissed drain explorers having an excellent time socialising, while cheering along as each award was announced and collected, Academy Awards style. Over the years it slowly got more high tech fromm portable stereos and candles to generators powering p.a systems, fairy lights and electric grillers.

    The announcement of the Gold would be done as a tally, with the names of those voted for and the number of votes they recieved tagged on the canal wall beneath Dougo, allowing the tension to build until two contenders where neck and neck. Finally the last vote would be announced and the house would erupt in cheers as the deserved recipient of the Cave Clan's highest order went up to collect their Gold Clannie

    DOUGO ABOUT TO ANNOUNCE THE GOLD WINNER AT THE 2003 CLANNIES


    Then the fireworks would start.
    And being in a confined space they were guaranteed to be impressive!

    BOB GOING DEAF AT THE 2001 CLANNIES.


    PPL DUCKING FOR COVER IN 2005 (pic by Curly)


    TRIOXIDE AND TYR FIRING ROMAN CANDLES AT EACH OTHER, FEATURING NUMEROUS ARTWORKS AND THE SPONSORS BOARD.(pic by Dsankt)


    Afterwards the crowd would usually mingle, getting more and more wasted, doing tag ups on the numerous guest book walls, talking shit, larking around, letting off more crackers, dancing to the dodgy 80's music and generally making merry. Between 2 and 4am, ppl would head off home, set off on expos to explore the City Loop subway tunnels, or crashout on the carpets adorning the banks of the canal (often setting themselves up to win awards at the next years awards if their passing out was spectacular).

    THE CHAMBER AFTER THE CRACKERS, BUT NOT BEFORE THE SMOKE HAD DISSAPATED, 2000.


    A few days later, a small group would return to clean the chamber up, removing bagloads of litter, stacking chairs and generally trying to avoid Melbourne Waters Wrath(which usually resulted in chairs being removed, thus meaning they had to be reaquired the following year) by keeping the place from looking like the Biggest Drain Party In The World (TM) had been held there yet again.

    Anzac has only missed one Clannies; the 2004 awards were held in a bridgeroom chamber after bad weather saw the flooding drain unfit for its usual calling. Despite this, Anzac remains the heart of The Clannies and indeed the Cave Clan.

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    Default Re: A Few Australian Drains

    Always worth a visit when you're up north!

    Cheers,

    Doug.

    _____________________________

    This week its off to Tropical Sunny Banana Bending Queensland, beautiful one day, perfect the next!

    BURFORDS BATCAAYYYVE!
    In 1990, Dougo, Rusco and Knightstalker of the Melb CC heded up to Banana Bender territory, aka Qweenslend!

    They were on a crusade to try and find Biiig Drayynes, having been thoroughly let down by what they'd found in Sydney the previous year. Over a weekend of cruising around the Brisbane River on numerous ferries searching for outfalls, they found two excellent drains, Brisbane Darkie (darkie being another name for a drain... cos a drain is dark inside, dur...), an old brick oviform drain and 100th, a long, muddy, tidal and really fuckin cool drain built in the 1890s, named 100th cos it was the 100th drain the Cave Clan had found.

    Despite these wicked finds, it was still thought that Brisbane, while not sucking as almightily as Sydney for Biiiig Draaayyynes, was still not on par with the gargantuan monsters than inhabit Melbourne. Like Sydney, Brisbane needed its own mega darkie, a crowning glory to top the city, and Dougo n co hadnt found it on their first trip.

    It wasnt until 1994 that Brisbane revealed its mega darkie.
    It was found my some dude named Burford.
    It had bats in it.
    And it was like a cave.

    OUTFALL OF BURFORDS BATCAVE (pic by Dsankt)


    Burfords Batcave is utterly unique in Australia. There is no other drain like it. Dozens of rock blasted drains exist all over the country, most notably Fortress in Sydney, Domain in Hobart, Eli's Tomb in Adelaide and Luminosity just outside Melbourne. But all of these are similar. They all have jagged, uneven rock walls and ceilings, but smooth finished concrete adorns the floor, so you never completely feel like your inside something natural. With Burfords Batcave, everything is natural bare rock, the floor, ceiling and walls and given that the drain is essentially a rough cut tube thru the earth, you can't even really figure out what is wall, ceiling or floor.

    The drain begins under a cliff on the western side of Kangaroo Point, not far from the Storey Bridge. It sits at river level and is full of water for a good 12 hours of a 24 hour day. Even at low tide, unless its a really low, low tide, you'll still be wading thru knee river water to get into it. But on the odd occaision where there is no water in the outlet you can climb down into the short channel that eases the waterflow out of the jagged portal into the river.

    INTO THE LIGHT (pic by Dsankt)


    At night time, or at dawn the outfall offers a breathaking view over to Brisbane city centre. Heading in, the first thing you have to do is make sure you dont fall into any of the big fuckin potholes in the floor, some deep enough to get you really wet or worse, break your ankle.
    See, this drain is blasted out of Tuff, which in essence is compressed volcanic ash. Unlike the numerous other rock blasted drain which are mostly sandstone, this is one of the few blasted thru igneous rock. Tuff, as you would imagine from its connection to ash, is dark in colour and subsequently this drain is really gloomy without a good torch.
    When this thing was built, it was originally a drain for a rail yard. It follows no natural creek or watercourse and as it was built a good 120- years ago, there was no concrete to line it. Thus you get the impression of walking thru a large uneven, rock throat, with no indication anywhere of any sort of structural order.

    The tunnel varies in height, between 17ft at the highest and around 10ft at the lowest. Its quite the site, and gives you a feeling of unease, all the blackness and jagged material.

    THE TUFF TUNNEL (pic by Dsankt)


    As you stumble thru it, stopping every few seconds to gingerly negotiate yet another knee deep pool you become aware of another presence. A flurrying, flying, flapping presence...

    This drain is home to what seems to be in the realm of ten thousand bats. Yes... a fuckload of them! And they take great delight in unleashing their revenge upon you for waking them up by flying past you once ever three or four minutes as they aimlessly make their ways back and forth from one end of the drain to the other.

    I remember the first time i explored this drain in 2002, Fishie was with me, and he don't dig the bats. As i ducked for cover, he just stood there and screamed. This occured a good 20 times during our trip, as blasts of wheeling, whirling, winged rats flew past us, stirring up guano and dust, while making us feel like we wre caught in the midst of some black bellied hurricane.

    Fortunately, the Rabies virus doesnt exist in Australia, and these bats were small in size. Despite this and the myth that bats sonar prevents them from running into things, we did get wacked a good few times, more a factor of so many bats in such a small space than anything to do with sonar failure on the bat's part.

    Heading onwards, the ceiling launches upward, then drops again, repeatedly; the tunnel widens, then narrows; like a convusing osophegous transporting some chunky beer and curry mixture that its owner needs to throw up onto the pavement outside their local pub.

    CURLY AND DSANKT IN THE UNEVEN SECTION (pic by Curly)


    Then after a good kilometre or so you get spat out into a 10ft rbp, that quickly becomes an rcp, the only 'new' section of the drain, built under a freeway; you leave the bats to their own devices, as they seemingly have no intent of following you out of their naturally rendered home stretch. The Rcp runs a fair way before morphing back into a nice old brick tunnel, still 10ft in diameter and blessed with Brisbanes unique alcoved manhole shafts.

    FISHIE IN THE TRANSITION


    Finally you come to a junction with a small staircase leading to a small pipe named 'Hell', but head right into the 6ft redbrick pipe and wander out towards the light.

    THE JUNCTION (pic by Curly)


    The end comes all too soon and you find yourself standing in front of this wall featuring odd two tiered windows in it. These widows once had concrete flaps attached to them that swung against the waterflow, but the hinges have since rusted away.

    You emerge to a short canal leading almost directly underground again, passing beneath a railway embankment, and from here you battle to climb the 12ft high barbwired fence out into suburbia

    THE END OF THE NIGHT FOR AN ALLNIGHT EXPLORER (pic by Dsankt)


    For a long time, Burfords remained Brisbanes premier drain. It wasnt until a branch of the Cave Clan popped up around 1996 that other great tunnels like Toadie, Aquacave, Waa, Dsanktuary, Ekwelecksotica and Brain started being found thanks to the efforts of Azza, Possum, Dsankt, Ekwelecks and Quantum X. These days Brisbane is an amazing draining and UE city, full of mad hardcore shit, not just drains, but bridges, power stations, reservoirs and cranes.

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    Default Re: A Few Australian Drains

    Proud to say I found this one on one of our early visits to Sydney, but the SydClan did the whole thing after we only got a chance to check out a small part of it.


    Cheers,

    Doug

    ______________

    Darling Harbour Drain. Part A

    Sydneys drains are never particularly long or indeed large.
    The longest is the Darling Harbour System. With its main trunk and side tunnels its a 4.4km walk and a 1.1km boat trip. It's also the oldest.

    THE YOUNG GIRL WHO HAUNTS THE STREETS BELOW CENTRAL

    DODGY PAINTSHOP MAP


    Servicing, via a main tunnel, two overflow tunnels and 9 side tunnels the area between Redfern and Darling Harbour, it was originally known as the Lackey/Hay Street Sewer and comprised of a 2km long 7ft high sandstone slab arch tunnel that ran from Cockle Bay to Elizabeth Steet, before splitting to two 7ft high brick and sandstone oviforms. Its initial construction was finished in 1854, a year before the famous Tank Stream was first covered, making it the oldest tunnel in Australia with exception of Busby's Bore, which was completed 6 years earlier. It was a full blown sewer until 1899 when the Bondo Sewer was completed. It nevertheless remained a strong CSO for many years.

    The history from the 1850's until the mid 1960's is a bit murky...
    It seems that a concrete tunnel was attached to the outfall arch tunnel when 400m of Cockle Bay was reclaimed for the Darling Harbour Freightyards. This was around the the 1930's and it seems, looking at old maps, that a water cooling tunnel for Ultimo Power Station (The Power House Museum) was connected to the newer concrete tunnel. This cooling tunnel was found, albeit behind a concrete wall, on one of the Cave Clans expos down this older tunnel.

    Around 1964, flooding necesitated the construction of three extra tunnels to take the burden off the old brick oviforms upstream of the intersection of Elizabeth Street and Eddy Avenue. Three 6ft high concrete arch tunnels were added heading off up Foveax St and southern Elizbeth Steet. One of these actually cut off the southbound 7ft oviform, leaving it to deadend after 200m but then carry on from the end of the newer archway.

    In 1979, the system was separated from the sewer, this time almost completely, leaving behind only small CSO's and the light fittings left behind by lazy workers.

    And in 1983 the axe fell, obliterating almost half of the old original sandstone archway and removing the existance of Lackey Street from the cities maps.

    The two main elements for this historical decimation were the creation of the Darling Harbour we know today - no longer a messy freight yard surrounded by silos, power plants and warehouses - but rather a harbourside entertainment area full of malls, Imax's, nightclubs and waterski displays; and the construction of the Sydney Entertainment Centre, the Exhibition Centre and all their associated Carparks, all of this saw the inclusion of a pair of 12ft high prefab concrete tunnels that combined into a large 9ft high rectangle, before cutting into the old tunnel which was replaced with 7ft high concrete rectangle tunnel heading upstream and left, thankfully, in original condition heading downstream albeit shunted aside as a tidal overflow tunnel for the larger replacements.

    (A recent PDF document relating to the tunnels history, and written in a very 'pro drain' fashion(aka, no boring crap about the history of the streets above or old rivers) can be found here: http://www.sydneywater.com.au/Public...lic4574216.pdf Copywrite Sydney Water)

    It was during these works in 1984 that Diode found a way down into the remains of the old archway. He named it the Chinatown Drain given that Hay Street runs thru the middle of that part of town. It was lost after everything was sealed up and only rediscovered when Dougo and Co from Melbourne visited Sydney in 1990. They searched under the wharves at Darling Harbour and found six outfalls (four that turned out to be for Darling Harbour Drain, the other two for what was named Sydney Drain). They headed up the smaller tunnel first and found the Sydney Tunnel, a smaller, newer system that drained Ultimo and around the Cleveland Street area.
    So it was left to Predator and Mullet to explore the remaining tunnels, which they did in 1992, the account stating that the paddled up one of the two main tunnels at low tide, explored the system and found an exit manhole near Central Station.

    Since then little has changed, a few manhole shafts have been filled in after the light rail was put in down Hay Street and most recently plans have been made to try and save the heritage listed Convict arch, as sections have started to collapse.

    THEgCOLLAPSED SECTION


    Exploratory trips down the system always render something new, as it is connected to so many old and oddball areas that every side pipe, no matter its size, goes somewhere. At the least youll prolly find money(Australian dollar bills are made from plastic) floating in the ebb tide area of the main tunnel (my biggest haul was $117).

    The usual Trip involves lifting a pair of Trimar covers out the back of Central Station

    THE MANHOLE ENTRANCE, 1998.


    This lead down into one of the 1960's tunnels, at this point only 5ft high, its walls plastered with expo graffiti. Heading upstream, the tunnel rises to 6ft high, becomes a concrete arch then splits to two narrow arches. These each lead to drop pipes, passing numerous stalagtites on the way.

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    Default Re: A Few Australian Drains

    Darling Harbour - Part B

    THE 1960's ARCHES (pic by Curly)


    Heading downstream, stooping thru the 5ft section, you reach a slide, leading 6ft down into a 7ft rectangle, with a narrow arch side tunnel that cuts off, then connects with the old southbound Oviform. Following this leads to a Flattener. Those game to head through the flattener will reach more 7ft oviform, but only to finally reach a CSO.

    THE JUNCTION AT THE BOTTOM OF THE SLIDE (pic by Curly)


    IN THE FLATTENER


    The tunnel leading downstream of the slide becomes an archway then sidles its way up to the geriatric old convict tunnel, a wide squat arch with a sloped floor and a decent amount of water flow, its stone walls scarred by the graffiti of its convict builders, its floor pockmarked by the dents left behind by the crude stone conveyor system used in its construction. This area is popular for being the choice area for taking a breather to blow up rubber dinghies for Floatout Expos. Many a visit has see this area filled with up to 30 people all madly huffing and puffing or pumping air into Intex inflatables for the journey thru the tidal waters downstream.

    THE CONVICT ARCH


    Leading off the old arch, just upstream of its connection to the 1960's tunnels are the old Oviforms.
    The right hand tunnel leads only a short way before ending at a wall, its only contribution to the system these days is a small abount of overflow sewage that is oblitered by the chlorinated deluge of drinking water that spews from its left hand neighbour.

    THE TWO OVIFORMS, 1997



    THE TWO OVIFORMS (pic by Curly)


    Heading up the left ovi, the water is cold and very clean, rushing thru the narrow bottom at a fair rate, the smell of chlorine blowing past with the water. Dozens of blocked off sewer attachments litter the tunnel walls as you traipse a good 900m up, before reaching an odd section where the stone walled/brick ceilinged ovi gives way to a thick rusty steel replica of itself. This only lasts 20 or so metres before the brickwork returns, but by this time your in the midst of a mash of wiring and forgotten lightbulbs.

    THE LIGHTBULBS


    Heading on, there is a small weir to navigate, then the tunnel heads up a long steep slope, water speeding down it, fuelled by numerous burst drinking water pipes that fountain out of the floor and walls. At the top the tunnel reaches a junction and splits into smaller 3ft high ovi's.

    LOOKING OUT INTO THE CONVICT ARCH


    Back in the Convict Arch, we head downstream to where the 1980's rectangle takes over, the floor starts to get slippery and the stalagtites start appearing.

    THE TRANSITION


    The newer tunnel is just over 7ft, with stalagtites dangling from cracks in its ceiling for most of its length. It has various small 5ft side tunnels joining onto it and two pits, one about waist deep, the other only akle deep and shaped like a diamond cut into the floor.

    This leads onto the Overflow Junction, where the Old Convict Arch reappears, relegated as a tidal overflow tunnel to the top of an extremly slippery embankment off to the right of the newer 9ft high main tunnel.
    Above the embankment is a street grille and great source of amusement for those who wish to scare people walking down Hay Street with their shopping. The emankment has seen numerous peolpe eat shit from its coating of tidal scum the worst case resulting in a bloke dislocating his shoulder.

    THE OVERFLOW JUNCTION (pic by Curly)


    Different trips down the old overflow have presented different features. Its a bit lower than its upstream cousin and blocks of sandstone hang precariously from the ceiling. The floor is orange with silt at low tide and at times water has gushed out between the bricks in the walls like there was a well behind them. Most recently, the tunnel has been decked out in reflective laser markers, as it seems Sydney Water has been trying to sort away of securing the frail archway while restoring it.
    The tunnel rounds a bend and heads north towards the harbour, changing to an oval shape and growing larger before transforming into the 1930's built concrete tunnel, a much larger covered canal around 10ft in height. Here, even at low tide, the water, mud and silt start to build up, making it a slow trip down towards the harbour. Much to our surprise it was found that you can walk the tunnel all the way to its twin outfalls at low tide and the water never gets much above knee height.
    Its not a greatly interesting trip, becoming smelly as the harbour is neared and you pass only a single 6ft rcp that leads up towards Goulburn St. Soon enough tho, the tunnel splits into two rectangles one of them blocked by a 3ft high weir and subsequently full of silt and from there its a short trip to the outfalls under the wharf, passing on the way a thundering inlet from the Darling Harbour Fountains.

    It was on my last trip down the overflow before i left for the UK that i found the old Cooling Tunnel.
    At the split i noticed the wall was badly built, not even joining to the ceiling in fact. The location matched the supposed placement of the connection with the Cooling tunnel and i got a 50c coin and flipped it thru the gap near the ceiling listening as it made a squishy splash into the tunnel behind the wall.

    THE MAIN TUNNEL AT THE O/F JUNCTION, WITH FLOATOUT CREW


    The main tunnel downstream of the o/f junction is a 9ft high, 15ft wide concrete duct. The low tide is reached after a good 200m of passing silt filled manhole shaft alcoves. As you pass the litter filled ebbtide area, you often find money floating in amougst McDonalds litter and styrofoam particles.

    You pass what was once the other entrance into the system, a street grille that has since been welded shut and depending on the tide you either turn back or everyone on a floatout expo jumps into their boats. Here the tunnels split, the two becoming narrower but taller and from there to the harbour, unless the tide is below 0.5m, its all paddling,

    500m on you reach the Peir Street Grilles, one in each tunnel. These are 25m long grilles sitting beath a large bank of argon lights that hang from the underside of the Peir St expressway flyover. This is amazing feature, both to float under in a boat or indeed to walk thru.

    THE PEIR ST GRILLE, 2000


    THE PEIR ST GRILLE MORE RECENTLY AFTER GREEN MESH WAS PLACED OVER IT TO CATCH LEAVES.


    From here its a near straight paddle to the harbour, thru water that is full of flying mullet and bioluminescant algae. With expos of up to 30 people paddling down this tunnel, lots of good times have been seen, with people dodging flying fish; trying to avoid the sharp barnacles on the tunnel walls; failing and having their boats sink; and just gently floating thru, watching as the algea illuminates the tunnel with its green glow.

    As you reach the end, the tunnel becomes huge, with 9ft of water below and 10ft of air above and finally you emerge to beneath the Wharf, a large pollution boom floating over the mouth of the tunnel and the lights of the harbour 50m away.

    APPROACHING THE OUTLET


    Here, depending on which of the 20 odd expos over the last 10 years you choose as an example, people have either paddled up the adjacent Sydney Drain to emerge from a manhole or slopped themselves over the boom and daringly paddled out to the wharf ladders. The latter is so much more fun as theres nothing better than 20-30 soaking wet drain explorers deflating rubber dinghies only 10m away from queues lining up outside the cinemas and clubs.

    Overall Darling Harbour is one of my faves to explore in Sydney, whether its for taking photos, finding new hidden places or taking an easy but interesting stroll beneath the city centre.

    UNDER REDFERN

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