Showing posts with label Echo Point. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Echo Point. Show all posts

Friday, April 24, 2009

The Giant Stairway, Echo Point, Katoomba


First Steps
At 540 metres in length, with 911 steps hewn from the cliff face and 32 steel staircases, the aptly named Giant Stairway drops almost 300 metres to the floor of the Jamieson Valley below the Three Sisters. At the official opening in 1932, the Newcastle Morning Herald saw it as a "triumph of nerve and skill", while the Sydney Morning Herald concluded that "patience and courage have had their reward".

Such comments, made in relation to the official opening of both the Giant Stairway and the Projecting Platform at Echo Point on Saturday October 1, 1932, were among many offering tribute to Ranger McKay, the man who almost two decades previously had conceived the idea of a track linking the cliff top at Echo Point with the Federal Pass below.

James Henry McKay was born in Balmain on December 4, 1869 and died in Katoomba on September 12, 1947. He appears to have been the third ranger employed to care for reserves in the Katoomba area, following in the steps of John Smith and Charles Deeves. His appointment as Chief Ranger in 1901 came a year after the opening of the Federal Pass, which traversed the valley floor between Katoomba Falls and Leura Falls, an event representative of a new phase in the leisure use of the Blue Mountains. Gaining full time employment with Katoomba Council may have also helped Jim McKay make up his mind in 1902 to marry Emily Cole, a twenty year old widow and mother of four, and have six more children; William 1903, Letitia 1904, Isabel 1908, Dorothy 1910, Edna 1914 and Laura 1921. Emily’s daughter Ruby Cole, born 1901, was killed in Katoomba in 1910 by a kick from a horse; her father Henry Cole had died in a fall from a horse outside the Katoomba Railway Hotel in 1902. Both were attended by Dr John Spark; Henry and Ruby Cole share an unmarked grave in Katoomba cemetery.

Prior to 1890, the development of the Blue Mountains bushland for the benefit of visitors had been concentrated primarily on the cliff tops - constructing lookout access to the most popular views. The 1890s and early 20th century saw interest moving downwards into the valleys with the emphasis placed now on the active enjoyment of walking. Track-walking remained the primary motive behind the development of the area for leisure until the 1930s, when the motor car, speeding from sight to sight with its cargo of ‘sightseers’, revolutionised tourism and re-directed attention once again to the cliff edge. Indeed, Echo Point, with its Giant Stairway down into the valley and its Projecting Platform looking out over the valley, could be said to represent both the end of one era and the beginning of another.

It was from the Dardanelles track that, in 1914, he conceived his idea of a new pass that would junction with the Three Sisters at Echo Point. Scoffed at initially, his project eventually received Council approval in July 1916 following an all-day inspection of the reserves by the Reserves Committee (Aldermen C.L. Dash, G. James, G. Davies and R.V. Smythe), In their report to Council, they recommended "that it be left in the hands of Chief Ranger McKay to construct a new track from the vicinity of Echo Point to connect with Federal Pass at a point below the Three Sisters". Council adopted the report and the work began under the direction of McKay, his assistant Walter Botting and their team of labourers, which included Reubin Esgate, father of the noted Mountains identity Ben Esgate.

An article in the "Blue Mountain Echo" in 1916 reports that McKay "took to the work from the first" and with a dedication few could match today. On one occasion, the writer asserts, his wages were eight months in arrears and he survived only on large credit accounts with local stores. Before he began work on the Giant Stairway, the Federal Pass had 1,764 steps, 500 of which were in reasonable condition. By 1916, McKay had increased this to 6,464 steps, including a new track from near Bull's Head, which skirted the cliffs and led to the top of the Leura Cascades and he planned and opened the Dardanelles section of the Federal Pass. In 1908 he had led the construction of the Furber Steps, his first great stairway into the Jamison Valley.


Delay... then renewed interest
After proceeding for almost a quarter of the distance, however, the work of hacking the steps from the sheer cliff face was deemed too costly by Council and the project was brought to a halt in August 1918 and in 1922 Council's Chief Engineer estimated that a further 300 steps needed to be cut. The whole idea then lapsed for over a decade.

In the early 1930s, Harry Phillips, the noted Mountains photographer, published a small pamphlet outlining his suggestions for the future tourist development of Katoomba. Among these was the completion of the Giant Stairway which, he argued, "Can be completed at a small outlay; it leads directly into the most prolific and prettiest Fern Glen Forest in the Jamieson Valley, Leura, where magnificent motor tracks and camping areas can and should be, opened up immediately." Following vigorous agitation on the part of Alderman W.C. Soper, a close friend of Phillips, a renewed interest in the scheme was awakened early in 1932. A motion put before Council by Soper was passed and work, again under the control of Chief Ranger McKay, recommenced. This proceeded with sufficient speed for a decision to be made in July to arrange for the official opening to take place on the first weekend of October. An extensive publicity campaign under the direction of the Town Clerk, Mr. F.C. Taylor, was set in motion, circularising the provincial and city press, various radio stations and arranging with Cinesound to make it, as the Katoomba Daily put it, "a boost day for Katoomba".

Official Opening
The official opening duly took place at 3.30 p.m. on the Saturday of the Eight Hour Weekend. Following the speeches of welcome by the Mayor Alderman A.E. Packer, and the local members of Parliament, Hon. J. Jackson, Minister for Local Government and Mr. J.N. Lawson M.H.R., The Premier of New South Wales, the Hon. B.S.B. Stevens, responded and declared both the Giant Stairway and the Projecting Platform open. In his speech, the Premier paid tribute to those who carried out the hard physical work, work that on occasions was so dangerous that they had to be roped to prevent them falling. He praised their skill and courage and assured them that "they will always have the satisfaction of knowing that their initiative and labour will bring pleasure to countless thousands in the years to come", and to "have shaken the hand of Chief Ranger McKay made this a memorable day".

The ceremonies over, the huge crowd witnessed an exciting exhibition of rock-climbing by three members of the Blue Mountaineers Club: Dr. Eric Dark, Mr. Osmar White and Mr. Paddy Ellis.
"These intrepid mountaineers first appeared on the sheer wall of the western precipice about 4.00 p.m. and quickly ascended 500 feet of cliff face to the summit of the Second Sister, where the Australian Flag was flown. The descent proved even more spectacular and although the climbers did not take any unnecessary risks, and were on no occasion in danger of falling, many of the spectators literally held their breaths as they witnessed the amazing ascent of the beetling crags". (Katoomba Daily).
While the motor car was ushering in a new era of leisure activity in the mountains, which reduced somewhat the popularity of walking tracks, the Giant Stairway, though perhaps representative of this earlier phase, has, with its panoramic views and as a companion to the Scenic Railway, survived as a popular tourist attraction for the eight decades since its completion. As a memorial to the work and vision of Chief Ranger Jim McKay, and others like him, its value to the Blue Mountains is even further enhanced.



Photos
Top: Chief Ranger Jim McKay poses on the Stairs with his assistant Walter Botting (Harry Phillips photo).
Second: McKay with workers, showing use of picks, hammers and chisels to cut back rock prior to step making.
Third: The official party, The Premier Sir Bertram Stevens 4th from right, the man in the bowler hat at rear is Percy Wilson, President of Blue Mountains Shire.
Bottom: The crowd at the official opening, Echo Point.



References:
"The Giant Stairway 1932-1982", by John Low, Blue Mountains City Library 1982.
"The Giant Stairway", by Keith Painter, Mountain Mist Books 2005.
"Walking the Federal Pass, the first 100 years", by Jim Smith, Den Fenella Press 2001.

John Low, John Merriman, Local Studies Librarians.
Blue Mountains City Library 2009

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Mr Evans, the Felixman of Echo Point

The Lillas family at Echo Point with the Mountain Devil 1960;
Ron Lillas, son Timothy, Robin Lillas (sister of the donor, Colin Slade)
John and Jim Low with their parents May and Basil, Echo Point, about 1954
Unknown


Jan Koperberg with her mother
Unknown
Unknown


Unknown


Jim and Gladys Ryan on their honeymoon, Nov. 1950
Iris Cammack, Neil and Carol Roberts, Enid Schneider, c.1948
Image courtesy of Carol Roberts
Eileen, age 19 with her parents Elsie May &  Horace Kelly
from Peakhurst, NSW, 1952
Kindly donated by Stephen and Michael Kelly 


Eileen Kelly, 1952
Kindly donated by Stephen and Michael Kelly
Stephen Crawshaw with his cousin, 1952 


Dan Evans at Echo Point, 1950s
Mr Evans, the Felixman of Echo Point

Dan Evans, also called the Felixman, was a widely known local identity at Echo Point, Katoomba from the 1920s to the 1950s, with his Felix the Cat and later Mountain Devil props. Visitors, mainly families with children, would pose for a souvenir photograph which was developed on the spot. A number of these surviving photographs are in the Local Studies collection of the Blue Mountains City Library.

One early photo in the collection is a tintype, the rest are printed on photo paper and mounted in a card frame. Few facts of Dave Evans' life are known; he was apparently Welsh and lived in Darley St Katoomba, within walking distance of Echo Point. His income would have been highly seasonal and dependent on weather and holidays, never large enough to warrant a shop or staff and professional darkroom setup.

One witness says he would be at Echo Point taking pictures 'rain, hail or shine'; so his business address was right there in the open air where his customers were - what a workplace. A little draughty perhaps, but in the absence of customers one always has the view, or the mist, or both.

The early photos from the 1920s and 1930s show the child size Felix the Cat mannequin accompanying one or more children or family groups, some kids needed mother close by as their looks of apprehension suggest. The later images from the 1950s show the large Mountain Devil doll. This may be a response to the commercial success of Felix and concern with copyright.

The majority of his surviving photographs are taken at Echo Point and they cover few other subjects but tourist portraits; although he may possibly have also operated at the Scenic Railway and there is a group portrait of working men at the Hydro Majestic with a Felix figure. He was quite unlike a photographer such as Harry Phillips who took few intimate photographs and published widely and commercially on landscape subjects.

The 1891 Welsh Census shows Dan was born the second of seven siblings about 1883 in Ferndale (Glynrhedynog), Glamorgan, Wales; his father, William, was a miner and his mother was Naomi Owens.  Dan emigrated to Australia about 1927 and is shown as a property owner in council’s rate records from 1937 – 1957, residing in “Cartref” Darley St, Katoomba, occupation - photographer. Records show he married Edith Anne Taylor, her second marriage, in 1932 at the Registrar General in Sydney, their residence was in Liverpool St in the inner City. Dan had been previously married in Wales to a Minnie Griffiths in about 1905. A 1933 commercial directory lists him as D Evans, photographer of Katoomba.

In April 1932 the Blue Mountains Times newspaper reported that Mr Evans, the Felixman at Echo Point, had complained to Katoomba Council of unlicensed persons plying a somewhat similar business without paying a fee. Katoomba shopkeepers were also complaining of the many street musicians collecting from passers by – they had ‘become so common as to be quite a nuisance’. The Great Depression produced many unemployed men who tried their hand at busking for a few coins.


Dan died in Katoomba Hospital in October 1961, aged 78 years and was cremated at Rookwood Crematorium, the informant was his older brother William from Newport in Victoria. In 1962 the ‘late D Evans’ photographic license was transferred to Souvenir Snapshots of Katoomba.

It is likely that Dan retained his Welsh lilt all his life: "Sit you down by your Mam and I will take your photograph, now look you at the dicky bird!"
Links

Ferndale - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferndale,_Rhondda_Cynon_Taf

1932 'Katoomba Council', The Blue Mountains Times (Katoomba, NSW : 1931 - 1937), 8 April, p. 3. , viewed 12 Jan 2017, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article194856771

Thanks to the many people who have donated copies, or originals, of their family photos to the Blue Mountains City Library, Local Studies Collection. Without their kindness, this page would be the poorer. 

Please contact the author if you have more information about Dan Evans The Felixman, or have any of his photos you would like to donate as originals or copies.


© 2009 Blue Mountains City Library, revised 2016.

John Merriman, Local Studies Librarian

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