Tunnel Exploration 22-25 Feb 2023

 I'm beginning to feel like a furniture removalist....yes, we were successful with that couch and 2 matching chairs that I mentioned in the blog last week - so I took them up this time.....

Once again there was traffic- and it took 3 hours to get there....(not happy). So I got there at 6.45pm

I'd organised earlier for Michael to help me take them inside, so I texted when I arrived, and he came over

I had too-ed and fro-ed over coming tonight or first thing in the morning - as Restoration Australia were here again to film the tunnel exploration.  And they wanted to start at 9am.  It was probably a good idea to come up the night before - because who knows what the traffic would have been like on Thursday morning.  Also, I wouldn't have been too confident backing the ute out of the garage in the dark....

Anyway, Mark and Tim the ground Xray guy arrived around 9am - and started setting up

Tim had a type of trolley with a scanner suspended below - and this could be adjusted to show 30cm to 10 metres depth.  Then there was a tablet on the handle above - which he read to see what the conditions were like below.  Basically he was looking for ground disturbance

And the reason that Restoration Australia was there - was that we had told them about this urban myth - that there is a tunnel somewhere between our house and Tivey's old store - which is now the Inglewood Emporium - and we wanted to be able to prove or disprove it   

So we walked up and down the garden - sort of in a diagonal line with the back gate.  Mark wanted me walking beside the guy chatting away/asking questions 

We found a few things - as per below - and he marked them with blue paint.  Actually the below spot turned out to be a new pipe taking roof water to the tanks at the back. (so no great mystery there)

And we found further disturbances which were in a general line leading to the gate.  You might have to squint to see the blue marks in the below photo .....

Anyway, after our garden, we went out onto Storm Lane - but couldn't find anything there really, and then into Steve and Denise's cellar.  By this stage we had been joined by 2 women who had wall scanners

They initially thought they found something in the wall, but then decided that it was probably just showing the different constitutions of the different rocks 

So they went back to the ground scanner

They thought they found something in the back right hand corner - a disturbance which was in line with the outside marks 

Lastly they checked out the actual drain

So in the end - it was positively inconclusive - there had been some disturbance - but they couldn't see any voids.  Maybe there had been a tunnel, but if so, it was probably more of a crawl space, rather than able to be walked through.  Maybe they pulled trolleys through on ropes ie sly grog etc - who knows?

Friday, and it was hot again, but I wanted to do something positive - so set about stripping the paint off the kitchen hearth surround

Put the paint stripper on, and then went and had a coffee with Denise - as it was supposed to stay on for at least an hour

Well, it was easier said than done - the pinky layer came off

And then there was green paint under that, with cream paint under that, and white under the cream....

And it was still very hard to get off....easiest on the flat surfaces.  I had thought it would take me an hour or so, no such luck.....And it was sticky and mucky

I put more paint stripper on, and went and visited Pauline to say hello. Came back and scraped some more.  And then put on more paint stripper, and went and visited Terry.

He was in the middle of pulling up floorboards (as water had got under the house, and some of the joists had rotted) - which was no doubt an even more terrible job than mine. He was glad of the company.  I had also offered to help, but there was not that much that I could do.  

He gave me some of his lovely home grown tomatoes when I left

Anyway, back to the house to do the day's last bit of scraping - and I was heartily sick of it by that stage.

Terry had suggested that we get it dipped/sand blasted, and then powder coated rather than putting stove black on it - as it would be more durable.  

Saturday, and I was off to Kyneton for a CWA lunch.  Had a lovely time - and Rachel came too

But once again there was traffic on the way back - so it took me just under 2 hours to get home - grrr