In February, 1853, the Victorian Parliament passed a "legislation entitled "An Act for Making and Improving Roads in the Colony of Victoria." The Act represented the first notable provision for the establishment of local government in the Colony; prior to this there were only two local governing bodies in the whole of Victoria. They were the Co-operation of Melbourne which was created a town in 1842 and became a city under Letters Patent from Queen Victoria in 1847, and Geelong which was created a town by the Government of New South Wales in 1849.
This Act provided for the establishment of a Central Roads Board in Melbourne for the upkeep of main roads in the Colony and the establishment of District Boards for the building and maintenance of Parish and Cross Roads. These Boards could be formed at any public meeting presided over by a Justice of the Peace, they had powers to levy tolls and to administer the funds generally, but had no power to fix rates on property; this had to be done at a special meeting of ratepayers called each year for the purpose.
All funds collected by the Boards had to be paid into the credit of the Colonial Treasury who acted as bankers. The chairman and a member of the Board would sign vouchers drawn on the Treasury for the amounts due to Boards' creditors.
Widespread dissatisfaction was felt at the existing state of the roads around Melbourne and many letters of protest were received by the Press. In August, 1856, the Editor of the Argus commented in a footnote to one of the letters: "If the roads of Bullen are so bad, why don't the residents form a District Roads Board?"
This was probably the first suggestion of the establishment of a Roads Board in the Templestowe district and it appears to have had the required effect, for a few weeks later on September 15th the Templestowe District Roads Board was officially proclaimed in the Victorian Government Gazette. The Proclamation read as follows:
Templestowe District Roads BoardBy His Excellency Major General McArthur, the senior military officer in command of Her Majesty's Land Forces in the Colony of Victoria &c.
Whereas by an Act of the Lieutenant Governor and Legislative Council in the Colony of Victoria, passed in the sixteenth year of Her Present Majesty's reign, entitled 'An act for the making and improving roads in the Colony of Victoria', It was, among other things, enacted that it should be lawful for the Lieutenant Governor from time to time by notice of the Government Gazette, to proclaim and declare any such portion of the said colony as to him, should seem meet, as to be a road district for the purposes in the said act contained, and also to define boundaries of every road district thereby proclaimed and declared, and to give a specific name and designation to every such road district. Now I therefore, I, Major General McArthur, the senior military officer administrating the Government of Victoria, in pursuance of the powers so vested in me by the said act, and of every other power and authority enabling me in this behalf, do hereby proclaim and declare that the under-mentioned portion of the Colony shall be a road district, and that such road district shall comprise the Parish of Bulleen, and that portion between the said parish and the Deep Creek, bounded as follows viz: A line bearing from the south-east corner of the parish of Bulleen to the Deep Creek, thence by the Deep Creek north-westerly to the western boundary of the above parish, and by the said boundary bearing south to the point of commencement and I do hereby further proclaim and declare that the specific name or designation of such Road District shall be the Templestowe Road District.
Given under my hand and seal of the Colony at Melbourne, this Eighteenth day of September in the year of Our Lord One Thousand Eight Hundred and Fifty Six, and in the twentieth year of Her Majesty's Reign.
Edward MacArthur By His Excellency's Command, G. Fahey, Commissioner of Public Works
God Save the Queen
No. 116. Sept. 19th, 1856—4
(Powlett replied in the Government Gazette):
A curious feature of the proclamation is that the whole of the present Warrandyte Riding was not then in the Templestowe Roads Board. This area comprised part of the Upper Yarra District Roads Board, which later became the Shire of Lilydale. It was proclaimed the same day as the Templestowe Board and met for some years in a tiny office near Mooroolbark.
The next move in the establishment of the Templestowe Board was a petition from the residents of Bulleen to Capt. F. A. Rowlett, Commissioner of Crown Lands for the County of Bourke on November 15th. It read as follows :—
"We, the undersigned landholders and householders residing in the Road District of Templestowe, request that you will convene a meeting of the landholders and householders of our district in order to form a District Roads Board, for the purpose of superintending, providing for, and completing the construction and repair and maintenance of the roads in our road district, and for the carrying out therein the provisions of the act for making and improving roads in the Colony of Victoria.
Signed: Sydney Ricardo, Robert Laidlaw, Thomas Riek, John O'Neill, Bernard McMurray, Edward Bone, James Hewish, James Seemay, William Malcolm and Henry Waterfield. Balloon 15th November, 1886.
"In accordance with the above requisition, and under the authority of the act of Council, 16 Victoria, No. 40, Section 10, I hereby convene a meeting of the landowners and householders in the Templestowe District, for the purpose named in the requisition, to be held at Mrs. Bell's Hotel, Templestowe on Monday the 8th day of December 1886, at 6 o'clock p.m. F. A. Powlett Commissioner of Crown Lands Bourke"A public meeting to inaugurate the Board was accordingly held at the appointed place and time and the following gentleman were successful in the first election :- S. Ricardo, R. Laidlaw, J. Hewish, J. McKindley, J. Mahon, J. Webb and W. Malcolm. At the same meeting it was decided that the rate levied should be a 1/8 in the £1. A further meeting took place the following Monday when Mr. Sidney Ricardo was elected Chairman and it was decided that meetings would be held on the first Monday in every month at 4 p.m. The Chairman was directed to write to the Central Roads Board and enquire what funds could be placed at the Board's disposal immediately as the summer was advanced and it was necessary to proceed with works as far as possible before the wet season set in.
At the meeting of January 5th, 1857, Mr. John Turner was appointed Secretary, Surveyor, Assessor and Collector to the Board at a salary of £150, with the privilege of employing his spare time in any work for his own emolument.
By the February meeting, things were beginning to take shape. Robert Laidlaw was appointed Treasurer and Ricardo was instructed to prepare plans and estimates for improvements to the approaches of the Heidelberg Hunt. Mr. Turner wrote to the Central Board applying for a Government grant and stating that the estimated cost of the construction of the projected Lower Templestowe Road, which included the erection of 2 bridges on Duncan's Flat was £2,600. The cost of removing Mr. Halburnie's home was £20 and £125 was required for compensation to land owners on Unwin's Special Survey. The total assessments of the Board amounted to only £154 and it was doubtful if the total amount would be collected.
It is interesting to note that Mr. Turner, in making the application, made a special request for permission to spend £5 on the hire of a horse and dray as the crossing was in such a state that it would be impossible to keep the road passable without it. At this time the Board did not even possess a wheel-barrow. The estimates also showed an expenditure of £50 on the Doncaster Road and £60 on the Lower Bullace Road to Anderson Creek.
There are no records of any meetings of the Board from May 21st to October 5th, 1857, when the surveyor was instructed to call tenders to clear 36 chains of road near Chiver's Paddock and to employ labour to repair formed portions of the road as soon as weather conditions would permit.
In October Turner wrote to the Central Board :-
"I trust in recommending a grant for 1858 you will not altogether be guided by our present revenue, but that some regard will be paid to the following considerations. What sums have already been expended by the Government on the district; what sums have been received from the sale of Crown Lands. The relation of the district and its roads to give access to important districts such as Anderson Creek and the Upper Yarra."
He also pointed out the value it would be to the district if the roads could be placed such a state of repair so as to justify the erection of a turnpike and the amount which could be earned if a bridge were built across the Yarra at Heidelberg and a toll placed on it.
The financial report for December, 1857, showed the Board's revenue in its first year of operations was :
Assessments £138.16.11
Donations 10. 0. 0
Total £148.16.11
The total expenditure including works done under the Government Grant amounted to £2,127. 7. 9. Though Government assistance in the year 1857 amounted to nearly £2,000, in 1858 they received practically no assistance from that quarter at all, and the Board felt the pinch so severely that Mr. Turner's services had to be terminated the following July and the services of an honorary secretary sought.
There was very little activity during the year; in March it was resolved that £100 would be expended on the Doncaster Road, £50 immediately and £50 when the small Government grant was made available. In April Kent & Company's tender of £100 was accepted for repairs to Laidlaw's Hill and O'Neill's Culvert. The tender of Mr. James Mahon being rejected as not formal as he was a member of the Board. In June Mr. Pickering's motion that half the Board's revenue be expended on the Doncaster Road was defeated. It was also decided, for economy reasons, the meeting place of the Board would be changed from Mrs. Bell's Hotel to Mr. O'Neill's residence. The state of the roads had got so bad that, in July, we find the Board purchasing several loads of ti-tree at 10/- a load in order to fill up the holes in the roads.
The election of office bearers for the year 1859 resulted in S. Ricardo (Chairman, Lacey, Webb, Howish, Laidlaw, White and Mahon. The year was again far from a bright one and the value of the contracts seldom exceeded £20. The only important works during the year was the formation of the road through the township of Templestowe which was largely through the efforts of Mr. Howish.
There was a considerable revival of interest in the early 60s as is shown by an article in the South Bourke Standard which reported the Annual General Meeting of the Board on December 8th, 1861. "The ratepayers," it was "assembled in force at Greot's Upper Yarra Hotel for the purpose of electing a new Board. Sidney Ricardo was unanimously voted to the chair. The room was much too small and a motion was carried that they adjourn to the school room, but, on the chairman remarking that it would be illegal to hold the meeting at any other place than that advertised, the motion was withdrawn. Messrs. Sparkes was appointed returning officer and Murray and Evans Scrutineers. The ratepayers immediately divided into two parties, those interested in the Templestowe Road and those interested in the Doncaster Road; the latter rejoicing in the cognomen of the 'stringy-barkers', but though the polling was carried out in earnest the greatest good humour prevailed between the two parties. About 6 p.m. the chairman announced the results."
The ever popular Sidney Ricardo had again topped the poll for the 8th consecutive year with 81 votes. Robert Waldor Clarke ran second with 76 votes and the other successful candidates were Messrs. Cumming, White, Crooks, Webb and Toy. Three cheers rang out when Mr. Ricardo was elected Chairman and the returning officer reminded the meeting that they had still to strike a rate for the coming year. Three propositions were submitted:- 2/0, 1/0 and 6d., the meeting settling on 1/0, with a 1/0 ap- por on cultivated land, a 1d. on pasture land, ½d. on land leased from the Crown. The Secretary, in reading the annual report, showed that the rate levied by the Levy Board amounted to £190,19. 6 and the sum of £51, 5,11 had not been collected. On the motion of Mr. White the minutes were not confirmed and it was decided that the Board would assemble at the same place the following Wednesday to meet the old Board.
A notable feature of this election was the polling of Mr. David Mitchell, father of the famous mezzo-soprano Dana Nellie Melba, who was placed second last in the 18 candidates with only 13 votes. Things had altered considerably in the next 20 years when he was elected President of the Lilydale Shire.
On July 30th, 1861, Mr. J. H. Sparke was appointed paid Secretary on a part time basis. His stipend being £15 per annum as Secretary, 6d. for each dog registered, 10% on rates collected and 4½% on expenditure of public works. Previously Mr. William Malcolm had acted as Hon. Secretary during the year 1860 and Mr. Ricardo in 1859.
A continued revival of interest was shown in the Board's activities and precautions were taken to hold the next Annual Meeting at the School House and not at the Upper Yarra Hotel. Ricardo, in his address, said that the Board had worked harmoniously together and had done all they could to promote the welfare of the district. The Board, at the commencement of the year, had found that liabilities had exceeded the assets and a portion of last year's salary had had to be paid with this year's revenue. The resignation of Mr. Robert Calder Clarke was accepted with regret.
On January 8th, 1863, the Board held a special meeting to consider the agenda sent to them in relation to the proposed Local Government Bill. The Board, in their reply, stated that they were of the opinion that:
The financial report for December, 1857, showed the Board's revenue in its first year of operations was :
Assessments £138.16.11
Donations 10. 0. 0
Total £148.16.11
The total expenditure including works done under the Government Grant amounted to £2,127. 7. 9. Though Government assistance in the year 1857 amounted to nearly £2,000, in 1858 they received practically no assistance from that quarter at all, and the Board felt the pinch so severely that Mr. Turner's services had to be terminated the following July and the services of an honorary secretary sought.
There was very little activity during the year; in March it was resolved that £100 would be expended on the Doncaster Road, £50 immediately and £50 when the small Government grant was made available. In April Kent & Company's tender of £100 was accepted for repairs to Laidlaw's Hill and O'Neill's Culvert. The tender of Mr. James Mahon being rejected as not formal as he was a member of the Board. In June Mr. Pickering's motion that half the Board's revenue be expended on the Doncaster Road was defeated. It was also decided, for economy reasons, the meeting place of the Board would be changed from Mrs. Bell's Hotel to Mr. O'Neill's residence. The state of the roads had got so bad that, in July, we find the Board purchasing several loads of ti-tree at 10/- a load in order to fill up the holes in the roads.
The election of office bearers for the year 1859 resulted in S. Ricardo (Chairman, Lacey, Webb, Howish, Laidlaw, White and Mahon. The year was again far from a bright one and the value of the contracts seldom exceeded £20. The only important works during the year was the formation of the road through the township of Templestowe which was largely through the efforts of Mr. Howish.
There was a considerable revival of interest in the early 60s as is shown by an article in the South Bourke Standard which reported the Annual General Meeting of the Board on December 8th, 1861. "The ratepayers," it was "assembled in force at Greot's Upper Yarra Hotel for the purpose of electing a new Board. Sidney Ricardo was unanimously voted to the chair. The room was much too small and a motion was carried that they adjourn to the school room, but, on the chairman remarking that it would be illegal to hold the meeting at any other place than that advertised, the motion was withdrawn. Messrs. Sparkes was appointed returning officer and Murray and Evans Scrutineers. The ratepayers immediately divided into two parties, those interested in the Templestowe Road and those interested in the Doncaster Road; the latter rejoicing in the cognomen of the 'stringy-barkers', but though the polling was carried out in earnest the greatest good humour prevailed between the two parties. About 6 p.m. the chairman announced the results."
The ever popular Sidney Ricardo had again topped the poll for the 8th consecutive year with 81 votes. Robert Waldor Clarke ran second with 76 votes and the other successful candidates were Messrs. Cumming, White, Crooks, Webb and Toy. Three cheers rang out when Mr. Ricardo was elected Chairman and the returning officer reminded the meeting that they had still to strike a rate for the coming year. Three propositions were submitted:- 2/0, 1/0 and 6d., the meeting settling on 1/0, with a 1/0 ap- por on cultivated land, a 1d. on pasture land, ½d. on land leased from the Crown. The Secretary, in reading the annual report, showed that the rate levied by the Levy Board amounted to £190,19. 6 and the sum of £51, 5,11 had not been collected. On the motion of Mr. White the minutes were not confirmed and it was decided that the Board would assemble at the same place the following Wednesday to meet the old Board.
A notable feature of this election was the polling of Mr. David Mitchell, father of the famous mezzo-soprano Dana Nellie Melba, who was placed second last in the 18 candidates with only 13 votes. Things had altered considerably in the next 20 years when he was elected President of the Lilydale Shire.
On July 30th, 1861, Mr. J. H. Sparke was appointed paid Secretary on a part time basis. His stipend being £15 per annum as Secretary, 6d. for each dog registered, 10% on rates collected and 4½% on expenditure of public works. Previously Mr. William Malcolm had acted as Hon. Secretary during the year 1860 and Mr. Ricardo in 1859.
A continued revival of interest was shown in the Board's activities and precautions were taken to hold the next Annual Meeting at the School House and not at the Upper Yarra Hotel. Ricardo, in his address, said that the Board had worked harmoniously together and had done all they could to promote the welfare of the district. The Board, at the commencement of the year, had found that liabilities had exceeded the assets and a portion of last year's salary had had to be paid with this year's revenue. The resignation of Mr. Robert Calder Clarke was accepted with regret.
On January 8th, 1863, the Board held a special meeting to consider the agenda sent to them in relation to the proposed Local Government Bill. The Board, in their reply, stated that they were of the opinion that:
1. there should be both district Boards and Shires but, whether the district was large or small, it should receive the same privileges as a shire, as they could not see that the size of the area made any difference.
2. The districts should be able to use their own discretion in regard to the raising of loan funds.
3. The maximum and minimum rate of assessments should be fixed by the act, but the ratepayers should be allowed to continue fixing the rate of the assessments, which should not exceed 2%.
In July, the South Bourke Roads Board Conference wrote requesting the Board to consider the desirability of uniting with the Nunawading, Heidelberg and Boorondarra Roads Boards to form the Shire of South Bourke. On the motion of Mr. Ricardo it was decided to inform the conference that the Templestowe Board had considered the question of amalgamation and were of the opinion that they would be better off as an original Board.
A further letter was received from a Mr. Gilsby, the man who proposed the name of Box Hill; he requested the Board's opinion on amalgamating the northern portion of Nunawading with Bulleen and Kew and extending eastward to make up the required area for a new shire. The meeting decided to inform Mr. Clisby that they would rather stay as an original Board, but if in the future they felt disposed to amalgamate, his suggestion would receive favourable consideration.
On September 23rd a letter was read from the Hawthorn Council requesting the Board's representatives to attend a combined meeting to discuss the Local Government Bill in relation to the proposed new Shire, after some discussion the Chairman and Mr. Tatham agreed to attend the meeting but also informed the Hawthorn Council that it was only out of courtesy as the Board did not agree with attending meetings for indefinite purposes. The delegates later reported that nothing definite had taken place at the meeting, though a working committee had been appointed for the purpose of introducing the proposals, but the whole idea died a natural death within a few months.
On the 28th January, 1884, the Board decided to purchase their first wheel-barrow for the use of the day labourers. It was stated that it would be a great boon to them as they were having to carry all their earth by shovels, a few weeks later the Central Roads Board wrote advising them of new steam stone cracking machine which had just been marketed which would mean a big saving of time. It was, however, much beyond the Board's financial capacity and they could do no more than write and thank the Central Authority for their information. Day labourers at this time received 6/- per day, but it was reduced later in the sixties to 5/- a day. The hire of a horse and dray with driver was 12/- per day.
In April, the Board purchased an appropriate seal from Mr. Twentyman for the sum of £4. On October 13th, the Chairman announced with regret the death of Mr. John Webb, a foundation member of the Templestowe Roads Board and manager of the Bulleen Farmers' Common for several years. A bye-election to fill the vacancy resulted in the election of Mr. Matthew Henry Hoare who was destined to take a prominent part in the Board's activities for many years.
2. The districts should be able to use their own discretion in regard to the raising of loan funds.
3. The maximum and minimum rate of assessments should be fixed by the act, but the ratepayers should be allowed to continue fixing the rate of the assessments, which should not exceed 2%.
In July, the South Bourke Roads Board Conference wrote requesting the Board to consider the desirability of uniting with the Nunawading, Heidelberg and Boorondarra Roads Boards to form the Shire of South Bourke. On the motion of Mr. Ricardo it was decided to inform the conference that the Templestowe Board had considered the question of amalgamation and were of the opinion that they would be better off as an original Board.
A further letter was received from a Mr. Gilsby, the man who proposed the name of Box Hill; he requested the Board's opinion on amalgamating the northern portion of Nunawading with Bulleen and Kew and extending eastward to make up the required area for a new shire. The meeting decided to inform Mr. Clisby that they would rather stay as an original Board, but if in the future they felt disposed to amalgamate, his suggestion would receive favourable consideration.
On September 23rd a letter was read from the Hawthorn Council requesting the Board's representatives to attend a combined meeting to discuss the Local Government Bill in relation to the proposed new Shire, after some discussion the Chairman and Mr. Tatham agreed to attend the meeting but also informed the Hawthorn Council that it was only out of courtesy as the Board did not agree with attending meetings for indefinite purposes. The delegates later reported that nothing definite had taken place at the meeting, though a working committee had been appointed for the purpose of introducing the proposals, but the whole idea died a natural death within a few months.
On the 28th January, 1884, the Board decided to purchase their first wheel-barrow for the use of the day labourers. It was stated that it would be a great boon to them as they were having to carry all their earth by shovels, a few weeks later the Central Roads Board wrote advising them of new steam stone cracking machine which had just been marketed which would mean a big saving of time. It was, however, much beyond the Board's financial capacity and they could do no more than write and thank the Central Authority for their information. Day labourers at this time received 6/- per day, but it was reduced later in the sixties to 5/- a day. The hire of a horse and dray with driver was 12/- per day.
In April, the Board purchased an appropriate seal from Mr. Twentyman for the sum of £4. On October 13th, the Chairman announced with regret the death of Mr. John Webb, a foundation member of the Templestowe Roads Board and manager of the Bulleen Farmers' Common for several years. A bye-election to fill the vacancy resulted in the election of Mr. Matthew Henry Hoare who was destined to take a prominent part in the Board's activities for many years.
A petition signed by 28 residents from the Waldau settlement in Victoria Street re the terrible state of the road leading to the settlement was read; as the meeting decided to call for tenders for clearing portion of the road its condition must have been pretty bad.
At the adjourned Annual Meeting on November 16th, a letter was read from Mr. Fitzgibbon, Town Clerk of Melbourne and Secretary of the Anti-Transportation League of Victoria, requesting the Board to call a public meeting to protest against the continuance of transportation to any part of Australia. The letter was ordered to lay on the table until the following meeting when Mr. Cummings moved that the clerk be instructed to employ two horsemen to collect signatures in Doncaster and Templestowe. The motion was seconded by Mr. Thompson and carried unanimously. It was also resolved to write a suitable letter to the Anti-Transportation League advising that, owing to the distressed state of the neighbourhood, it was unlikely that many residents would be willing to become members of the league. The presence of large numbers of convicts at Port Arthur and Western Australia was causing considerable concern to the people of Victoria at that time.
On May 4th, 1885, a letter was read from the Clerk of the Edora-darra Roads Board stating that his Board had resolved to erect a toll gate on the Doncaster Road close to Kennedy's Creek and requesting the Templestowe Board's opinion on the subject. After some discussion it was resolved that the clerk would write to the Boorondarra Board stating that they had no objection but would rather that it be placed near the Doncaster School so as to prevent evasion by the Carlton Estate Roads and also what would the Boorondarra Board consider their share of the proceeds to be.
A rather drawn-out discussion took place; the Boorondarra Board agreed on the Templestowe Board receiving half the proceeds but insisted that the Toll Gate be built at Kennedy's Creek and a check gate be placed on the Doncaster Road leading to Templestowe. Messrs. Nathan, Williamson and Thompson were appointed as deputation to meet the Boorondarra Board and inspect all roads in the locality, but still no site could be agreed upon and it was arranged that the full Templestowe Board would meet representatives of the Boorondarra Board at Whitehorse Lane on the 28rd of June and on the 29th it was announced that both Boards had unanimously agreed to the gates being erected at Tully's Corner (now White's Corner) near the Doncaster Common School.
A special meeting of the Templestowe Board took place on July 6th for the purpose of ratifying the agreement to build the gates, when it was moved by Mr. Nathan and seconded by Mr. Cummings "that in the opinion of the Board it was necessary to erect a toll gate on the Doncaster Road and that the clerk be instructed to take the necessary steps to put the same into effect."
Mr. M. E. Hoare moved an amendment that it was inexpedient and premature and that no toll gates be erected by the Board in the next 12 months. Mr. Hoare's amendment was put, but lapsed for the want of a seconder. The motion was then put and carried.
The Boorondarra Board agreed to the expenses of the erection of the Toll Gate being made first charge on the Tool Fund and the necessary advertisements required by Law were placed in the South Bourke Standard. The tender of £84 from Mr. Sutton was accepted for the erection of the Toll Gate.
Toll charges were gazetted as follows: - Sheep, lambs, pigs, goats, 8 a 1d., ox or head of beef cattle - 1d., horse, mare, ass or mule - 1½d., gig, chaise, coach, chariot or other carriage constructed on springs if drawn by one horse or other animal - 5d., if drawn by 2 horses etc. - 6d. and 3d. each additional horse or animal, cart, dray or wagon 6d. and 3d. for each additional horse with tyres not exceeding 6" etc.
Four applications were received for the position of Toll Collector, the successful one being that of Colin Phillips at a salary of 8s/ per week. The Toll Gate was opened for traffic on January 1st, 1866.
Toll Gates were usually picturesque affairs and played an important roll in the early community life of Victoria, but their keepers seldom kept their positions for long. They had to be ready to open the gates day or night for wayside travellers and many regarded the evasion of the toll as good fun. Three or four carts would sometimes rush the gates at once and the keepers would seldom be able to catch more than one. It is interesting to note that certain persons were exempt from paying the toll, viz: those in Government service, Ministers of Religion and residents going to or from a place of worship but, peculiar as it may seem, if you were going to hospital the toll was always insisted on.
Source: We believe from handwritten notes in records that the following text is an unpublished manuscript in 2 volumes (Ch1-11 and Ch12-21) written by Louis Radnor Cranfield (1927- 14 Oct 1992) F.R.HIST.S. (Fellow of the Royal Historical Society). Find a Grave Record. National Library of Australia Record.
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