| Werribee River - Exford | |
| August 2008 | |
| PLEG ventured briefly into the world of movie making when the ABC decided that the Werribee River at Exford would be a good place to shoot a scene for a mini-series about mining. The confluence of Toolern Creek with the Werribee River became the site for a makeshift mining camp. Two replica mine shafts appeared in the bank above the river and a pumping shed appeared among the trees beside the river. To make the scene look authentic the film crew requested that the tree guards be removed from the site. We arrived beside the river on Friday, but after a day’s constant rain the river had risen dramatically. Toolern Creek was a rushing torrent, gushing through the narrow opening before it reached the river, making it impassable. The river had also risen about half a metre. The high river flow diverted the flow from Toolern Creek, causing it to flow northward, parallel to the river, before flowing into it. The newly erected shed was now surrounded by flowing water. After wading through the cold water we removed the mesh tree guards from the trees planted by Melbourne Water in 2007. The guards on the opposite side of the river also needed to be removed but the river was flowing too fast for a safe crossing to be made. A detour over the Greigs Road Bridge was necessary to reach the other side. Again, it was necessary to wade in the river to remove guards from trees placed beside the river. We took the opportunity to remove rubbish after we had finished removing tree guards here. The following Monday over 30 cars, a dozen trucks, numerous tents and people everywhere transformed the usually quiet Exford reserve into a busy movie set. This is not the first time that Exford has featured in the movies. The Exford roadside featured in a Mad Max movie, and the surrounding houses and buildings would be familiar to those who watched the Blue Heelers TV series. Daryl Akers |
 Peter and the mine shafts |
 Mine pumping station |
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 ABC-TV Movie Set |
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