The Queenscliff tunnel grows larger as the years roll by
Few things are so permanent as those set in stone but even stone eventually succumbs to the passage of time.
Manly
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Few things are so permanent as those set in stone but even stone eventually succumbs to the passage of time.
The result is that few things made of stone, whether created by nature or by artifice, actually benefit from the erosive work of the elements.
But one stone monument does just that – the tunnel through Queenscliff headland, a man-made structure which actually grows as it is eroded.
Piercing the headland just east of the Queenscliff rock pool, the 25m-long Tunnel bypasses a difficult point in the trek around the headland in stormy seas.
Excavation of the tunnel was commenced in late-1908 at the behest of Robert Lewers, of Freshwater.
Lewers employed Mr D. Bevan, who mostly worked single-handed and completed the task within about three months.
By January 1909, one newspaper was able to report that the tunnel was “the commencement of the construction of a walk from the ocean beach at Manly round to Freshwater”.
“To finish the work, no more tunnelling will be required, the rest of the work to make the walk easy for pedestrians, being mainly a matter of blasting the big rocks and smashing the debris to fill up the yawning crevices, and making a level path,” it said.
For Lewers, having the tunnel carved through the headland was of less significance than his overall contribution to the development of Freshwater’s early life.
A manager with the Bank of Australasia, Lewers had previously built a substantial home for himself and his family at Forty Baskets Beach, which he later sold before briefly moving to Tasmania.
Lewers and his family lived in a house called The Eyrie at Queenscliff and also owned a holiday cottage called The Camp on the edge of the cliff at the end of Queenscliff Rd.
Work was commenced on the Queenscliff tunnel in 1908 and in the same year, Lewers built The Kiosk at Freshwater, nestled in a commanding position at the southern end of the beach.
As well as offering refreshments, hot meals and later serving as a venue for dances and parties, The Kiosk also offered accommodation for travellers and holiday-makers.
But more importantly for the residents of Freshwater, The Kiosk also provided a social and cultural centre for residents of the area, as well as operating the Freshwater Bay Postal Receiving Office from 1909.
Lewers also operated a number of camps for working men on his land at Freshwater.
In 1910, Lewers began selling part of his land at Freshwater as the Lewers Sub-division.
But on October 29, 1911, he took his own life in dramatic fashion by blowing his head off with gelignite and it was his daughter Aldwyth who discovered her father’s mutilated body in one the camps.
Lewers was only 56 years old at the time of his suicide.
His wife Maria told the Coroner her late husband had always kept explosives on hand for use in blasting operations.
She said he had been troubled by the pressures of his work at the bank and was always worried about the bank’s customers, leading to insomnia.
An examination of the books of the bank where Lewers worked found everything was in order.
The Coroner returned a verdict of suicide while temporarily insane.
The Kiosk still sits in its prominent position at the southern end of Freshwater Beach and is now the restaurant called Pilu at Freshwater.
Over the years the sides and roof of the tunnel through Queenscliff headland have been worn smooth by the elements, scouring the soft sandstone exposed by the tunnelling.
As the process continues as constant and unending as time itself the tunnel’s height and diameter imperceptibly grows.
And a monument which grows with the passage of time reflects well on those who toiled to create it.
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