Onsite work commences on Blandowski Walk
Published on 23 December 2014
The much anticipated upgrade of Merbein’s popular Blandowski Walk took a step forward this week, with the installation of the new staircase and boardwalk beginning on site.
Council was awarded $272,000 in August 2013 from the then State Government to help fund new infrastructure, which will allow safer accessibility to the cliff face and riverfront from the top of Pump Hill in Merbein. The total cost of the project is $408,000 with Council contributing $128,000 in cash and in-kind support. Parks Victoria and Australian Vintage will also contribute in-kind funding to the project.
Recreation and Sport portfolio Councillor Mark Eckel said Blandowski Walk will provide a stunning outlook over the cliffs at Merbein.
“Since the funding was announced, Council has been working hard to get the final concept and technical designs just right,” Cr Eckel said. “We really want to thank Australian Vintage for their fantastic support, as well as Parks Victoria, the Merbein Historical Society and the Friends of the Merbein Common for all their valuable input.”
“The contractors are busy constructing the boardwalk and putting the footings in place for the staircase, which is a difficult job on the side of what is essentially a vertical wall.”
The new Blandowski Walk will include 46m of staircase and 30m of boardwalk with the work scheduled to be completed by the end of February 2015.
“Once completed Blankdowski Walk will provide a fantastic bookend to the new riverfront trail,” Cr Eckel said. “The trail will consist of 5kms of walking and bike tracks which will follow the river from Merbein through to the Riverside Golf Course.”
Who was Blandowski? – William Blandowski was a Victorian Government Zoologist who established a camp at “Chaffey Landing” at the bottom of the Merbein cliffs, in 1857.
With the help of the local Nyeri Nyeri people Blandowski studied our local wildlife and collected over 17,000 specimens for the Museum of Natural History in Melbourne.