History: The Bilgoman Well

Photos and descriptions are from February 2018

Bilgoman Well or “Chauncy's Well” was established in March 1846 by surveyor Phillip La Mothe Snell Chauncy as he surveyed the York Road (which in the modern day is Great Eastern Highway) for the State Government.

Dug to a depth of 4.2m, its location was recorded in his field book along with a watering hole named “Bilgomen” and a small encampment. In the 1850s, a convict depot was built nearby to maintain that stretch of York Road. This was believed to have been maintained for several decades until it was mentioned by another surveyor (CD Price, who also worked for the government) in 1881 upon its demolition.

The area was designated a watering reserve from 1882-1899 and afterwards a public park reserve – being a popular picnic area up until the 1940s. There are records from 1929 of ruins of mud huts with 5-foot tall walls, although the site eventually became overgrown with its exact location lost to the scrub.

It wasn’t until the early 1980s that residents rediscovered the ruins and the well. The historical sites were cleared and officially opened on the 26th of January 1988 (as part of bicentennial celebrations) complete with plaques, signs and benches.

The site is quite overgrown again in its current state. The benches are falling apart, and the paths have mostly disappeared. It’s not too hard to find, though, and is found in between Bilgoman Pool and Darlington Road. If you want to visit, I’d recommend driving along the gravel road behind the pool until a cul-de-sac (near the deep end of the pool). If you walk in a straight line from there towards Darlington Road you should find an overgrown path and a sign.

Further towards Darlington Road are the remains of the convict camp. You’d be mistaken for thinking it was just a rock jutting out of the ground, however.