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‘Big bee’ commemorated

Posted on November 30, 2009, 8:08am

Rook Walk
The fourth annual Rook Walk Day attracted a variety of people to Mount Gambier’s Botanic Park on Friday, as event committee chairwoman Jennifer McCallum had hoped.

Arthur Rook put the original plan into action on November 27, 1918 and the Rook Wall was built alongside Bay Road and the Blue Lake two weeks after the end of hostilities in the First World War.

Mount Gambier, then a town of just over 3000 people, ceased the daily routine for one day as 1100 men and women lifted every stone to the wall with their bare hands from sunrise to sunset.

About 700 onlookers watched the wall take shape from Warren’s Corner to the Gordon Monument, and not one worker went hungry thanks to a huge cook-up by the women.

Many other townsfolk were still returning from the war.

Friday marked 91 years since the historic icon was built by the “lost art” of dry wall construction.

Ms McCallum started the non-profit tribute event four years ago, after discovering not many residents were aware of the town’s proud history surrounding Rook Wall.

She stumbled upon this and other parts of the walking trail including the gardens, Rest House and lookouts built circa 1919, while studying tourism and researched the history as her curiosity grew.

The original gigantic working bee, coordinated with “military precision”, is known as the Big Bee and still holds the record for the biggest community effort in Mount Gambier’s history.

“There hasn’t been such a massive uniting of people since,” Ms McCallum said.

Picture: Volunteer tour guide Bill Towner takes a break on the Rook Wall during Friday’s commemoration.

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Comments

One Response to “‘Big bee’ commemorated”

  1. Jennifer McCallum on December 2nd, 2009 9:22 am 1

    Great story, and great to see Bill Towner as a Volunteer Guide on the Day!

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