Historic Open Gutters of Maldon
Joseph Jenkins, a Welshman, stayed at Maldon for ten years tending to the gutters which are now a historic feature of our town.
The three Australian faces of Joseph Jenkins: Swagman, rural labourer and man of letters.
“The story of Joseph Jenkins is one of the more curious tales of our history. A meticulous diarist, he comes to Australia from his homeland of Wales in 1868, and spends 25 years here as a swagman, street-sweeper, miner, farmhand and poet.”
Joseph obtained regular employment in 1884 as a cleaner of streets and drains in the town of Maldon, a few miles north from Castlemaine.
He remained here working until he reached the age of 76 and became homesick for Wales. Having saved the fare, he departed Maldon by rail on 23 November 1894, and embarked on the ss Ophir which docked at Tilbury docks on 5 January 1895.
Joseph Jenkins Plaque at Maldon Railway Station
In 1994 a water drinking fountain and a plaque were erected at Maldon railway station to recognise the centenary of Joseph Jenkins’s departure and his unique record of the life of a rural worker in Victoria.