Which one is Duncans Pass?

[Allchin09]

The naming of the passes of the Southern end of Narrow Neck, near what is labeled most maps as Duncans Pass and Taros Ladders, seem to get quite muddled up. My understanding is as follows:

There are two routes down to the valley floor from Clear Hill - One down the spikes and another down a ramp.
The route down the current spikes was originally discovered (first use by a bushwalker, though Fred Eden descended Narrow Neck in the 1890s, but the exact route taken is unknown) by Frank Duncan in 1928.
The day after Duncan's route was discovered, a party which included Alan Rigby (who was instrumental in saving Blue Gum Forest), discovered a pass that did not involve descending a rock face.

Famous Historic Walks 1 - The First Decent of Clear Hill.pdf

(129.25 KiB) Downloaded 470 times

The following is an explanation of the information obtained from multiple maps of Narrow Neck over the period 1919 - 1932.

A map of Myles Dunphy's from 1919, shows a portion of what we now call Dunphy's Pass named as "The Wallaby Parade". There were no passes at the end of Clear Hill shown (Named "Clear Head or Clear Hill" at the time).

The Wallaby Parade - 1919

A later map of Dunphy's, from 1930, shows a single pass of Clear Hill beginning on the Western side and snaking around the nose the the Eastern side before turning back and heading South towards Debert Knob (Later changed to Mt Debert). This seems to follow the route of the ramp. I can not determine the name given to the pass as it seems to be crossed out. Any guesses?

Unidentifiable Pass - 1930

Another Dunphy map from 1931 shows two names given to a pass down from Clear Hill. The first is "Rigby Pass" but it appears to be crossed out. The second is listed below it as "Duncans Pass". I can not however determine from the map (a copy of the original stored on a tiny 'aperture card') what route the named pass takes. I assume that it would follow that of Dunphy's previous 1930 map but that may be an incorrect assumption. The crossing out and renaming of the pass seems to indicate a name change. When the name of a feature changed, Dunphy usually crossed out the old one and wrote the new one next to it, so that references to the old feature could still be identified. This indicates that originally the pass (going down the ramp) was called "Rigby Pass" until it was later changed.

Rigby and Duncans Pass - 1931

Finally, a Dunphy map from 1932 depicts a single route down from the end of Narrow Neck, identical to that from 1930, along was named "Kangaroo Parade" on the Western side and "Duncans Pass" on the Eastern side.
From this information, it seems that the route found by the Rigby party (down the ramp) was the one mapped by Dunphy, not Duncans route down the cliff, but it was named Duncans Pass!

Kanagaroo Parade - 1932.jpg (95.03 KiB) Viewed 9901 times

In 1933, a set of two wire ladders were installed down Frank Duncan's rock face pass by Walter Tarr (hence Taro's Ladders), allowing for an easier descent (he described it as being placed "for the convenience of weaklings"!). They were later replaced in 1940 by the current spikes after the ladders were burnt in a 1939 bushfire.

A map of Narrow Neck produced by the Australian Section Imperial General Staff in 1942 (On page 18 of "The Passes of Narrow Neck" by Keats and Fox) depicts the route of Clear Hill completely on the Western side, which is the route that Taros Ladders follow. It is however named Duncans Pass, correctly acknowledging the first bushwalking party to descend the route.

Jim Barrett, a bushwalker/historian who has written many books on the area, suggests in his "Narrow Neck and the Birth of Katoomba" publication that the pass discovered by Rigby was known as the "Wallaby Track". I am yet to find a map that refers to it as such, so I can't confirm Barrett's word. Maybe it was the result a mix up with the nearby Wallaby Parade, shown in the above referenced 1919 map?

He believes that the route of Clear Hill should be referred to as Duncans Pass, which is comprised of two separate passes. They are Taro's Ladder on the Western side and the Wallaby Track on the Eastern. His logic makes sense in that Duncan's party was the first bushwalkers to find a route of Narrow Neck in that area (ignoring the trip made by Fred Eden in the 1890s...), and so claim name to the route. The confusion arises in that some maps such as Dunphy's 1932 and Gangerang, and the current 1:25000 topographic, label the Eastern pass as Duncans Pass.

Michael Keats on the other hand, in his book written with Brian Fox, "The Passes of Narrow Neck", seems to offer a different opinion...
The section on the Clear Head Passes describes Duncans Pass being named after, and rediscovered by, Frank Duncan. The book then goes on to describe the pass being "to the left as you descend, 30 metres back from the Tarros Ladders" and that "no climbing is required". This, according to Duncans report attached above, is incorrect in that he did not rediscover the pass that does not involve climbing.

Further, the book states that this pass was referred to as "Wallaby Parade" (the name given by Dunphy a track beneath Glen Raphael as shown in the above maps) and lists it as an alternate name for Duncans Pass. This just confuses everything even more.

To answer my original question of 'Which one is Duncans Pass' I will say this:

1. The pass which descends Clear Hill on the Western, and now makes use of spikes which replace Taros Ladders, was discovered by a party involving Frank Duncan.
2. It would be logical to refer to is as Duncans Pass.

3. The other pass of Narrow Neck, descending on the East and involves no climbing, named on many maps as Duncans Pass, was discovered by a party involving Alan Rigby.
4. It was not discovered by Frank Duncan.
5. It does not make sense to refer to it as Duncans Pass
6. Another name such as Rigby Pass (crossed out on an above referenced map and my preference), Wallaby Track (suggested by Jim Barrett) or Gundungurra Pass (suggested by Wilf Hilder in a Bushwalking NSW Tracks and Access Report, 17th April 2007, on the passes of Narrow Neck) would be suitable.

I don't believe that the question has been fully answered, and so I will continue with some more research. Maybe Dunphys Journals from the period, as well as the original maps, map share some more light.

If anyone can add any information, it would be much appreciated. It would be interesting to know what names bushwalkers have used for the passes over the years between their discovery and the present day.

[KANANGRABOYD]

I'm sure Tom and Dave will "battle" it out to set you straight!

[DaveNoble]

And discussed on other forums -

http://aus.bushwalking.narkive.com/yo3G ... ncans-pass

Dave

[Grabeach]

Allchin09,

You've certainly got together a comprehensive set of references. Don't think that there is an absolute answer though. I doubt Duncan, Derbert and Austen or Rigby the next day stood there at the time, planted a flag and declared either route XYZ Pass. It was left to various people in the future to make up their minds on a name. Who is to say who got it right and who got it wrong. Even the most recently found Narrow Neck pass had the name given by the finders wrongly allocated to a rock climbing route elsewhere. And the two books mentioned and several other articles perpetuate the error. With regard to any pass, ultimately I suppose whatever the Geographical Names Board decides will be the official name. And everyone will still keep calling it by whatever they have in the past regardless!

While on the subject of passes off Clear Hill (and Clear Hill probably isn't the original name either) we've been incredibly lucky no one's been killed on the spikes. Why someone would install a ladder when there is a nearby walk up route I find odd. That later on others would install spikes I find even sillier. In my view the spikes should be removed immediately. That position would then be a rock climb, wouldn't get used and wouldn't need a name. We would then have only one pass to argue about. And while Wilf was a good mate of mine, if we call this one Gundungaurra Pass, we may as well rename half the passes in the Blue Mountains with the same name.

[tom_brennan]

I think Alex's summary is good. In particular he has found an earlier map with the pass than Michael Keats (1930 vs 1932).

I have dug up a few more references, which I think give a fair summary of why we are where we are. I'm sure there are a few more relevant references from around that time if someone can be bothered going to the State Library.

1. Previous discussion on this group (mostly the same contributors!)
viewtopic.php?f=36&t=13371&p=176307

2. Three references to descents of Clear Hill in the one issue. The first is interesting, as
a) it shows how popular the descent over Clear Hill was at this point (42 people at Easter)
b) there was obviously some dissent in the bushwalking ranks over Taro's ladder

"We set our course for Glen Raphael and arrived in time for dinner. We counted 42 hikers going over Clear Hill, so the hill will soon be worn away. A solitary tent was there and I knew it belonged to the Duke of Clear Hill as everything was square. He was out. After dinner I took my pals over to the edge and explained the country, told them what to do if they got lost and also told them where the gold was and all they had to do was to go back to camp and peel off their clothes and lay on the ground sheet in the sun and dream about all the gold that was in the mountains. Just on dusk the Duke arrived with all his clothes in his pack and only his boots on. Informal greetings were exchanged and he told me that a certain Bushwalker [Frank Duncan?] was annoyed because he was making the bush safe for the Hikers. I wonder who sold this Pommy our bush so he could have it for himself. I think it a splendid action of the Duke to consider other people and let them enjoy the pleasures of his domain. We set off on Good Saturday morning over Clear Hill and down the Duke's ladders and along the ridge until we got thirsty, so we headed down to Carlon's Crossing at Breakfast Creek."

The third is also interesting as:
a) it refers to the foot track as Duncan's Pass - presumably because by this time Dunphy's maps were in circulation with the foot pass to the east marked as Duncan's Pass
b) Taro was obviously putting up his ladder at Easter

"Made a good trip out to Glen Raphael where we saw Taro and after a halt of an hour or so, when we inspected some of his newest gadgets, went on to the end of Clear Hill and had lunch. Taro started to put up his wire ladder down the chimney while we took the longer but safer route by Duncan's Pass under the cliffs."

http://sbw.ozultimate.com/1933/193306.pdf

3. Another reference, this time to "Tarr's ladder". Also, they lowered Phil Roots' baby Daphne down the ladders!

"There was a great job getting the baby down Tarr's Ladders."

http://sbw.ozultimate.com/1934/193406.pdf
Speaking of Tarros Ladder - does anyone know why the GNB added the extra "r" to Taro? It seems like an unnecessary rewrite of history.

4. Another reference:

"Barney and a party spent the weekend on Clear Hill without succumbing to the temptation of going down Duncan's Pass or Taro's Ladders to the Cox."

Which suggests that by this time they were considered separate routes, Duncan's to the east, and Taro's to the west. As noted above, Dunphy's maps would have been in circulation now for quite some time by now.
http://sbw.ozultimate.com/1936/193607.pdf

5. Rae Else-Mitchell's essay on Clear Hill, though I don't think it adds much
http://www.bushwalkermagazine.org/the-a ... nual-s.pdf

6. Now we start to get interesting. From the SBW meeting of July 1939, which again must have been shortly after the fire that damaged the ladders (mentioned by Keats):

"Arising from the Minutes about the dangerous state of the Clear Hill Ladders, an interesting discussion took place. Myles Dunphy pointed out that what is generally called "The Wallaby Track" is actually marked on the map, "Duncan's Pass." Myles was particularly anxious that the correct name should be used as it commemorates the first descent from Clear Hill, which was made by Frank Duncan and party. Jack Debert, who was one of that party, pointed out that Frank Duncan did not use the Wallaby Track but climbed down where the ladders are now. The meeting decided to use the name "Duncan's Pass", and was pleased to learn that the Federation is arranging for a working bee to mark and improve this track. Another thing Myles pointed out was that there is a "Wallaby Parade" along the cliffs from Glen Raphael Head to Glen Raphael Creek and this was explored and named by members of the Mountain Trails Club many years before the route down from Clear Hill was discovered."

http://sbw.ozultimate.com/1939/193908.pdf

7. Another reference, from the Federation minutes. Again, this was not long after the 1939 fires:

"A report on the Clear Hill Ladders was received from the Sub-Committee, which was to inspect again and to erect arrows on that portion of Duncan's Pass known as a wallaby track. This was to be done during August. The ladders may still be repaired."

The two interesting things I noted were:
a) the reference to the "portion of Duncan's Pass", which lends weight to the argument that it referred to the whole pass from top to bottom
b) the underlining of "a", and the lack of capitalisation of wallaby track, which implies it was specifically not "The Wallaby Track" - just part of Duncan's Pass
http://sbw.ozultimate.com/1939/193909.pdf

8. We now jump a year or so. From the Federation notes for November 1940, referring to the weekend of 2-3 November:

"During this same week-end another good job of work was done on Clear Hill. We hear that Rae Else-Mitchell and a party from the Warrigals fixed iron spikes into the rocks where Taro's Ladders used to hang. As the spikes are set in cement, we understand this job will be permanent and walkers will again be able to use the short "Taro's Pass" (as the Warrigals suggest it should be called) when going up or down the mountain instead of the much longer "wallaby track". This working party reports that the wells at Corral Swamp are full, and that Glen Raphael has been burnt out."

http://sbw.ozultimate.com/1940/194012.pdf

9. From the Federation notes for December 1940:

"At the December Council Meeting the question was raised as to whether the new spikes and pitons cemented in the rocks by Warrigal Club members are on "Taro's Pass" or "Duncan's Pass". After some discussion, it was decided to retain the name "Taro's Ladder" for this route, the "wallaby track" for the alternative way on this section, and "Duncan's Pass" for the whole descent from the wallaby parade on Clear Hill to Debert's Knob. Taro has been asked to paint fresh signs for placing at the forking of the routes, both top and bottom."

http://sbw.ozultimate.com/1941/194101.pdf

10.

I can not determine the name given to the pass as it seems to be crossed out. Any guesses?

It looks like "Duncan's Pass" to me.


In short, it looks like Myles Dunphy intended that the whole pass be called Duncan's Pass, but during the '30s, that intention had been lost. The addition of Taro's Ladder probably added to the confusion. It was not until the early 1940s that the naming was agreed upon.

[Allchin09]

Tom - thanks for digging up those references, very interesting.

[DaveNoble]

Very interesting Tom. Well done with your research.

I can remember once talking to Myles Dunphy about the pass - and this seems to fit in with my recollections - that the whole pass be named "Duncans Pass". Col Gibson would have talked a lot more about this to Myles, and he wrote an essay on Narrow Neck that was published in SUBW's VS&M sometime in the 1980's.

Dave

[tom_brennan]

Thanks Alex and Dave. It's nice to be able to string together a narrative that seems to make sense over the period 1928-1941.

With regard to the passes of Clear Hill, mine is actually pretty similar to Jim Barrett's in "Narrow Neck and the Birth of Katoomba". It's likely he discovered many of the same references. The main pity with his book is that the references are not listed, making it difficult to verify the information. While the information in the Keats/Fox book is less accurate (both in general, and in relation to Clear Hill), it does have the advantage that the references can be checked.

[juxtaposer]

For a few years (until c.1932) the foot pass on the eastern side was known to some as Rigby's Pass and the climb-down as Duncan's. The 1931 map that has Rigby's name crossed out above Duncan's might indicate that Myles at first thought to name the whole pass down from Clear Hill after his mate Alan Rigby, perhaps considering Duncan's tricky climb-down not a proper pass(?) But the climb-down was easier to find and Duncan's name was the one that stuck and, after Easter 1933, few people bothered to look for the foot pass and Rigby's name lapsed. Around 1940 there was much debate about what name should go where and in order to simplify things it was decided to refer to the descent, in all its aspects from Clear Hill down, as Duncan's Pass, with Taro's name only on the ladders themselves.

[Allchin09]

Been a while but thought I'd add the below to the thread. It's my notes taken from the Dunphy Papers collection in the State Library.

This extract comes from a document that attempted to provide some background to a list of placenames submitted by Dunphy to the Surveyor General for approval in 1931. Compilation began around the same time, but was finished at a later date, so it's hard to know exactly when this entry was written.

Duncans Pass – “The foot pass from the end of Clear Hill down into Little Cedar Gap, between Clear Hill and Mt Debert. (Not Tarro’s Ladder).

The original descent was made by Frank Duncan, Ernest Austen and Jack Debert in the afternoon of [blank] June, 1928. Next morning it was again descend by the same men with Mrs Jean Austin and Miss Gwen Adams, the last part of this descent was by a climb down a rock fissure or chimney. After the party had descended, on the second day, some remaining members of the Bushwalker and Trailers party, notably Alan Rigby and M.J. Dunphy, found a better deviation from the last stage, by walking down a steep scree slope in timber, on eastern side of the southern point where, about 60 yards back from the point and about 30 feet down, by keeping very close to the shale strata, it was found possible to walk around to the point and Little Cedar Gap, relatively easily and without taking off one’s pack. Later, 1931, this was included under the official name, Duncans Pass.

(Additional note: For the reasons that the rock fissure lower part of the pass was rather dangerous in ascent and descent, and required the use of a rope to raise or lower packs; also because most walkers were unable to locate the alternative scree slope passage, Walter Tarr, one of the oldest of Sydney Bush Walkers, constructed the first Tarro’s Ladder of fencing wire and wood rungs and fastened it to the cliff face, on the western side of the point, with iron spikes grouted in. This lasted several years then, becoming dangerous, it was pulled down after sets of iron pitons were grouted into the cliff face at a spot nearer to the point and still on the western side. This descent also is known as Tarro’s Ladder. Many walkers, who do not like the pitons descent, particularly if carrying heavy packs, prefer to scramble down the short slope on the eastern or Little Cedar Creek side)

[rcaffin]

Moral:
Do not attempt to extract clarity today from what was a confused mess at the time.

Cheers
Roger

[ribuck]

Allchin09,

You have stated that the crossed out writing on Dunphy's 1931 map says "Rigby Pass", but it actually says "Rigby's Pass".

With that in mind, we can look again at Dunphy's 1930 map and see that the crossed out writing says Rigby's Pass. The shape of the final 's', the slope of the 'y', the dot of the 'i', and the descender of the 'g' seem to be identifiable.

Furthermore, the 1930 map also shows the name Duncan's Pass (look under the big zero of the date code to see the 'D' and 'u').

So the 1930 and 1931 maps both show the change from Rigby's Pass to Duncan's Pass, and the 1939 SBW meeting shows clearly that this was done, not because Duncan had discovered Rigby's ramp, but because Duncan had discovered the pass off this head (though not all the variations of it).

So it makes perfect sense to call the pass as a whole Duncans Pass, and to call the climbing aid Taros Ladder.

Alan Rigby seems to miss out. He doesn't get his discovery named after him, but I don't think he ever complained about this.