HAWKESBURY HISTORY
with Michelle Nichols & Jonathan Auld
Surveyor Scrivener and Mount Irvine
Not far from picturesque Mount Wilson lies Mount Irvine . Known for its rugged beauty and surrounding scenery , it forms part of the World Heritage Blue Mountains .
Located on a basalt plateau , the area now known as Mount Irvine and the adjoining Mount Wilson was originally surveyed by William Govett in 1832 , who described the surrounding vegetation on his map as ‘ almost impenetrable scrub ’. In the 1860s , George Bartley Bowen explored the area which led to the eventual settlement of Mount Wilson .
The settlement of Mount Irvine came later when Charles Scrivener , a surveyor with the Lands Department , was examining the site of a road , north west of Mount Tomah in the 1890s .
Who was Scrivener and how did he help shape Mount Irvine ?
Charles Robert Scrivener was born in 1855 in Windsor , the son of Charles Ambrose Scrivener , a bookbinder , and Jane nee Passefield , both from London . By 1874 he was recorded as a draughtsman , and the following year , he entered the Department of Lands . From 1877 he was an apprentice surveyor . Scrivener qualified as a licensed surveyor in 1880 with a perfect score . Over the years , he was employed at Webbs Creek , Maitland , Wagga Wagga and Hay , and was acknowledged as a capable bushman .
Scrivener was requested to conduct a survey for a road on the outskirts of Mount Wilson in 1897 . He was working in the area around Bowens Creek to Bells Line of Road , looking for access from Mt Wilson . Impressed with the rugged surroundings , he made a suggestion for the area to be proclaimed as a national park . This didn ’ t happen so the land was released for settlement but some land was set aside as
‘ Taihoa ’ Mount Irvine [ Scrivener family photographic collection ] Courtesy National Archives of Australia . a reserve .
In mid-1897 , Scrivener was accompanied by his son Charles and two friends , Basil Knight-Brown and Harold Morley . They left Bilpin and set up a camp inside a cave . By clearing the almost impenetrable bush , they were successful in surveying and applying for a conditional pardon of 1000 acres . The young men returned in 1898 , following their graduation in 1897 from Hawkesbury Agricultural College at Richmond , now Western Sydney University .
It was reported in the local newspaper , that six selectors had taken up land at Mount Irvine , and the land was described with “ surpassing beauty and fruitfulness ” but the “ means of access difficult .” It appears that while Mount Wilson was established as a place of sanctuary and relaxation , Mount Irvine commenced as an agricultural community .
The holdings ranged between six to one hundred and twenty hectares , covered with volcanic soil with dense forest and a good water supply . The first landholders cleared their land , constructed basic shelter and planted crops and some orchards . Basil Knight- Brown ’ s mother Lucy was recorded as the first European woman to reside at Mount Irvine , she arrived in 1898 .
Access remained a big issue , and for many years the Mount Irvine landholders worked on the road four weeks each year . In 1898 the State Government approved a special £ 50 grant for additional improvements to the road .
As the years went by , and roadways improved , more people settled at Mount Irvine , but it was only ever a small village . To process the timber resources in this remote area , the Anderson Brothers set up a sawmill in 1904 . A few years later , it was destroyed in a bushfire , but later rebuilt . A Progress Association started in 1905 and
( L ) Portrait of Charles Robert Scrivener ; ( R ) Charles sitting by a steam engine , Mount Irvine sawmill 1920s . Photos courtesy of the National Library of Australia .
Edward Knight-Brown , Basil ’ s father , was elected as the first president .
A weekly postal service started in 1906 with an official postal building opening in the 1920s . The first election for Colo Shire Council was in 1906 with Mount Irvine originally coming under their umbrella . When the Local Government boundaries altered in 1960 , it was transferred to Blue Mountains Council .
Like Mount Wilson , there were few public buildings . Regular church services were held in Mount Irvine from 1918 in local homes then later in the school building . Classes were conducted from the early 20th century and Scrivener donated £ 200 for the building of a school . His son provided one acre of land and the school opened around 1920 with twelve students . It operated until the early 1930s .
A telephone exchange opened in the 1920s , a vital service for the residents of the area . A CWA Branch started in 1929 in conjunction with Mount Wilson and meetings were held in alternating localities . In 1962 electricity arrived to Mount Irvine . The following year the hall was established on the old school site .
Charles Robert Scrivener is better known for his involvement of establishing the nation ’ s capital . Following Federation in 1901 , there was much discussion about where a capital would be built . Scrivener was appointed as the surveyor to locate the best sites .
He suggested the location in 1909 with Canberra named in 1913 . The Scrivener Dam in the ACT was named in his memory . In 1910 , Scrivener became the first director of Commonwealth lands and surveys but following disputes about the layout of Canberra , he retired five years later .
After his retirement , Charles settled at Mt Irvine where he was involved with a timber mill and conducted some surveying for local councils . He built ‘ Taihoa ’ in Mount Irvine , which had hexagonal shaped rooms and planted avenues of chestnut and walnut trees . Charles died in 1923 in Killara and was buried in the Northern Suburbs cemetery .
Charles married three times . His first wife was Eugenie Rogers who he married in 1878 and they had three children . Eugenie died in 1883 . In 1885 Charles married Mary Harding who died twelve months later , only days after giving birth to son Robert . His third marriage was in 1889 to Margaret Pike and together they had five children .
Scrivener ’ s son Charles , died in 1934 and he is one of the earliest burials commemorated in the Mount Irvine cemetery . Descendants of the Scrivener family are still associated with Mount Irvine .
Today Mount Irvine remains a secluded community with only a handful of people living in about forty properties .
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10 ISSUE 166 // MARCH 2024 theindependentmagazine . com . au THE HAWKESBURY INDEPENDENT