Bendigo Bush Series, Saturday May 20 – New Map at Inglewood

Bendigo bush event #5 will be held on a new map – ‘Psalm Singing Gully’, which was mapped in 2022 by Neil Barr. Following this event, the map will be embargoed and remain unavailable until 2025. Courses will be open from 12:30 pm to 2:00 pm and will close at 3:00 pm.

Psalm Singing Gully is on the outskirts of Inglewood and for thirty years or more orienteers have driven along the edge of the map on the way to Korong or north Kooyoora. Vegetation edge effects disguised what lay just a little to the north of the Calder Highway.

The area has some of the most detailed reef mining terrain to be found, set in a mallee and broom brush forest that varies from fast and open to “you don’t want to go through there”. In four square kilometres there are over a thousand mapped mining point features. There is also a dense track network as well as a number of useful rides created by brush cutters. These and the varied greens and white on the map form the basis of route choice problems. The low mallee canopy reduces visibility adding to the navigation challenge.

The map is named after the main gully. This probably refers to miners following the Calvinist form of Protestantism which only allowed the singing of psalms in worship.

Entries and more pictures of the terrain are available here.