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The ford proved ideal for the passage of horse, cart and wagon across the Avon River. If, however, the river was in flood, any crossing of the river would have been too dangerous to attempt. Nevertheless, unlike other purposely built fords, there appear to have been no reports of damage to the ford,
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remained a mystery. It is not marked on any early survey map. In addition, the building of the West
Toodyay Bridge in 1902 negated its use and details of its existence were lost. However, research carried out and published in 2010 revealed that the ford crossing was, and still is, a natural feature
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of the Avon River. A wide rocky shelf spans the river immediately upstream from the West
Toodyay Bridge. It would have facilitated an easy crossing. In addition, the approaches on either side are relatively protected from erosion during times of flood.
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On the upstream side of the ford lay a long pool. The pool was fed by a permanently running spring that entered the river bed from the north side of the Avon River. Thus, throughout the heat of summer, the pool was ever present. The
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also stood upstream from the ford crossing on the left hand bank of the river. The ford crossing proved to be of paramount importance to the early inhabitants of the town of
Toodyay as well as those in the valley beyond.
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It is highly probable that the rocky ford crossing was part of a long established trail used by the local indigenous
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even in times of severe flooding, nor of any repairs having been carried out to its approaches.
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The
History of the Toodyay Convict Depot: A Tale of the Convict Era of Western Australia
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132: This article incorporates text by Alison Cromb available under the
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158:. Dianella, Western Australia: Alison Cromb. p. 13.
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86:For many years the whereabouts of the
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221:Avon River (Western Australia)
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216:River crossings in Australia
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34:31.5294°S 116.4193°E
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180:"Noongar Heritage"
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205:Categories
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73:Avon River
22:31°31′46″S
136:licence.
189:11 June
99:Noongar
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191:2017
160:ISBN
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
