Australian seascape and landscape photography

The Beauty of Polly McQuinn’s Weir, Strathbogie.

The picturesque Polly McQuinn’s Weir is well sign posted and located a few kilometers south-west of Strathbogie, Victoria, Australia.
The weir features a spillway where water streams over a concrete wall and onto large exposed granite boulders.
The water then continues snaking around more boulders before flowing under a road bridge then traversing a gently sloped granite plateau before reaching a deep pool surrounded by native vegetation.
There are many opportunities here for the keen photographer.

Below – A long exposure of water cascading over the spillway wall and onto granite boulders beneath.
Polly McQuinn's Weir - Strathbogie - the spillway - Jim Worrall

Below – Looking back towards the spillway wall, water flows rapidly over and around granite boulders on it’s way downstream.
Polly McQuinn's Weir - Strathbogie - Jim Worrall

Below – In the days preceding my visit to the weir the area had received heavy rainfall.
I suspect this caused lot of the brown silt present in the water. This caused an interesting effect in the water with the deeper sections of the flow taking on a brownish tinge and the shallow sections appearing bluish during long exposure shots.
Polly McQuinn's Weir - Strathbogie - Jim Worrall

Below – The view from the bottom of the spillway looking downstream.
The silted water runs rapidly under the road bridge.
Polly McQuinn's Weir - the bridge - Strathbogie - Jim Worrall

Below – “Polly’s Overflow” – Looking upstream from the pool, the water traverses a gentle granite plateau then strikes some foreground boulders whipping the water into a frenzy before it finally enters the tranquility of the pool. This image is available to buy as a print at my Zazzle and RedBubble sites.
Polly McQuinn's Weir - Strathbogie - Jim Worrall - Polly's Overflow

Below – “In Search of Polly”
Apparently the weir was named after a young woman called Polly McQuinn who drowned here more than 100 years ago. Legend has it that the ghost of Polly can sometimes be heard calling for help from passer by.
Unfortunately I didn’t hear Polly on the day I was here.
In Search of Polly - Polly McQuinn's weir - Jim Worrall

3 responses

  1. very nice photos got some of that place too, but not as good as those. it realy is a peacefull little spot. mt wombat just near by is also a great spot to get a pamaramic photo it over looks all the near by hills and velleys

    July 12, 2012 at 12:40 am

  2. John Townsend

    The weir was actually named after a young male, nicknamed Polly because he could not grow a beard. Supposedly he tried to cross the river (before the weir and bridge were put in place) during a flood.

    March 1, 2014 at 10:18 pm

    • Interesting story John. You could be right. I just passed on the story I found using a Google search. šŸ˜‰

      March 1, 2014 at 11:33 pm

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