Extract - Ringwood, Place of Many Eagles - Hugh Anderson (1974): William Wedge Darke, from Hereford, England, was a nephew of John Helder Wedge of the Port Phillip Association, who was also a surveyor. William's most important work was probably his survey of the Dividing Range and the country between the Yarra River and Western Port, completed in May 1843, and during which he made a traverse between the Mullum and Dandenong creeks along the higher ground that he labelled the "best line of road from Melbourne". This road was for many years the major route to Gippsland and to the higher country about Alexandra and Mansfield, sometimes known as White Horse Road, and now Maroondah Highway.Surveyor's relief map of features to the east of Melbourne including Yarra Yarra River, Mullum Mullum Creek, Anderson's Creek, Dandenong Creek.Transmitted to the Surveyor General with my letter of 10th May 1843 (signed) Wm Wedge Drake, Assistant Surveyor. Scale: two inches to a mile. Descriptive remarks include upstream area of Yarra River - "impassable, appears to have been formerly a lake", and to the south - "barren and scrubby swamps of the Western Port Country". Marked tracks include "best line of road from Melbourne", "track to Dandenong", "Road to Port Albert may probably be found on this range", "Best line to Upper Yarra". Several huts also marked.

Bromide of surveyor's sketch of the track to Melbourne from Sandridge (Liardet's Beach), 1840. Originals with Lands Department, Melbourne. (possibly the work of William Wedge Darke?)Slight processing stain upper right, '6' on backhotels, piers and wharves, william wedge darke