Eastern Metropolitan 220kV Circuit.
Over a decade ago, citizen detective by the name of Clinton Bailey handed police a dossier of research theorising that there was strong circumstantial evidence that Mr. Cruel may have had some connection to the electrical industry. His research pointed out that electricity substations and 66kv lines appear in close proximity to the Mr. Cruel crime sites indicating that Mr. Cruel may have been employed in the electrical sector at some point. Bailey must be commended for his detailed work and observations of the crime locations, he did not have the benefit of Google Maps and spent his time surveying the crime sites using old Melways and investigating the areas on foot . Using Google Maps we can examine Bailey’s theory from the comfort of home. First, it is important to understand the electrical circuits that cover the areas of interest.
High voltage power distribution from Yallourn to Melbourne commenced in 1924 and continued to expand into the 1960s, initially a 132kV transmission lines to Richmond ( 120km) and Yarraville (160km). There were 590 towers on the Yarraville circuit and 426 to Richmond (Padula). The Templestowe Terminal Station is located on Blackburn Rd, Templestowe was commissioned in 1960s, and has served as the main transmission service connection point for distribution of electricity to communities in the north-eastern Melbourne - from Eltham in the north to Canterbury in the South, and from Donvale in the east to Kew in the west (AusNet). The There are four main lines terminating at the Templestowe Terminal Station:
Line 1 to the Thomastown Terminal Station
Line 2 to the Eltham Terminal Station
Line 3 to the Ringwood Terminal Station
Line 4 to the Rowville Terminal Station
Looking down from above you can view the terminal stations and the giant transmission towers that dot the landscape. Beginning at the Templestowe Terminal Station you can follow the towers all the way back to the Thomastown Terminal Station. Flying overhead, you see the cleared wide pathways made for placement of the huge metal constructions. The towers run alongside the Main Yarra Trail, crossing through Templestowe, over Bonds Rd. This may be quite significant, given that it is assumed the house in Lower Plenty in rape case was situated on Old Eltham Road, near the top of Bonds Road . A smaller line branches off at Westerfolds Reserve and runs through Kew down to the Deepdene sub station situated on the Anniversary Trail. The significance of the Anniversary Trail can be seen in the Lynas case and the fact that Mr. Cruel had selected Chaucer Crescent to park his getaway vehicle which gives many access points to the Anniversary Trail, and again the end of Tennyson St, connects to the Anniversary Trail. There is another line leaving the Templestowe Terminal Station that descends down the Green Gully Linear Park, crosses Serpells Road, running parallel to Church Road, all the way to Ruffey Creek Park, crossing the Ruffey Creek to meet the Doncaster Zone SubStation. The transmission line pathway provides a clear path back the the Templestowe Terminal Station, as well as, access to the Ruffey Creek trail leads that leads back to Main Yarra Trail.
Line1: Templestowe to Thomastown crosses Serpells Rd at the end of Bonds St., then travels through Donvale to Thomastown.
Line 2: the Eltham transmission line pathway is clearly visible from above . The transmission towers cross the Yarra River to eventually run parallel with Main Road, Eltham , crossing over the back of Nyora Rd, that leads on to Pitt Street to the Eltham Telephone Exchange. This is a point of interest. Read more here :
https://www.mrcruel.blog/mr-cruel/mr-cruel-triangle
Line 3: this line travels from Templestowe Terminal Station, criss crossing the Mullum Mullum Trail all the way to the back of the Will’s house at 11 Hillcrest Avenue in Ringwood and connecting to the Ringwood Terminal Station.
Line 4: This line to Rowville is also interesting, pinning the towers from the Rowville terminal station back to the Templestowe Terminal Station there it becomes visible the reason that Mr. Cruel released Sharon at Bayswater Secondary College on church Street. There is access to the Dandenong Creek Trail directly behind the school that runs directly into the giant transmission towers and the pathway back to the Ringwood Terminal Station.
Eastern Metropolitan 220kV Circuit (yellow) and Mr.Cruel crime sites (red)
The Main Yarra trail and connecting trails that can be seen close by to the crime locations run along the same pathway as the Eastern Metropolitan 220kV circuit as shown above. Mr. Cruel most certainly knew these trail paths. If you are familiar with the Transmission line pathways you would also be familiar with the trails that weave their way along the Transmission Lines. After analysing the transmission circuit from above, it becomes very clear that Mr. Cruel was very familiar with the Transmission pathways of the Eastern Metropolitan Circuit, using the tracks as obvious potential routes of escape. While there could be numerous possibilities for his intimate knowledge of these areas, it is possible that he was employed in the electrical industry and had worked on the Eastern Transmission circuit at some point.
The Thomastown Transmission Station which was commissioned in the 1960s. Going back further back, the Melbourne Electric Supply Co. supplied Doncaster, extended to Templestowe in the early 1920’s, by 4000 volt line until the takeover by the State Electricity Commission of Victoria in 1930 who extended the line to Warrandyte in 1935. In 1944 electricity was not available to some parts of the municipality of Bulleen and Doncaster (Manningham). The council at the time were unable to meet the needs of the ratepayers so in 1945 they approached the SECV to assist in the purchasing of materials recommence the change over to a three phase system . The Shire Electrician also obtained council's approval to employ electrical lineman to add to the existing workforce of two. Approval was granted by the Federal Electricity Controller. The conversion involved the requirement of single phase motors at 11 cool stores and a foundry. The work carried on through 1946 and extended to Doncaster town and to West Doncaster in 1947. In 1948 additional conductors were placed along King St, Tuckers Rd and Serpells Rd in preparation of the three phase conversion of Templestowe township. Little progress had been made towards the Templestowe area. In addition to electrical materials being difficult to acquire, the council was unable to attract sufficient linesman and labourers. These positions were advertised on many occasions, however, it was full time employment and limited residential accommodation in or near the municipality. Employment of linesman continued to be difficult and by 1952 the Shire Electrician, Mr. Eliot informed the council that he had not been able to take annual leave for five years due to the workload. The works in Lower Templestowe were completed in 1954. In 1964 part of the eastern portion of the supply system was converted to 22,000 volts. Further changes took place in 1968 when parts of Doncaster West, Bulleen and Templestowe were converted to 11,000 volts. The history of electricity supply to the Manningham municipality allows us to pinpoint a specific time in history that may be of interest. There is another interesting connection to the transmission circuits which is observed at the Presbyterian Ladies College in Burwood, where both Nicola and Karmein attended at the time of their abductions. The Gardiner Creek trail that runs alongside the college continues on to pass the Malvern Terminal Station. Following the trail along is the giant electrical transmission towers leading all the way back to the Richmond Terminal Station. The Eastern Transmission Circuit mirrors the Mr. Cruel Triangle.
It could very well be a possibly that Mr. Cruel was or at some point in his life worked as a linesman . Looking at little closer there were several linesman training facilities in Melbourne that may be significant.
Oakleigh Linesman Facility (SEC) 1919-1993
19-41 Drummond St
situated on Scotchman's Creek Trail that connects to Gardiner Creek Trail that runs along side the Presbyterian Ladies College that both Karmein and Nicola attended at the time of their abductions .
https://www.flickr.com/photos/monlib/49745185661/in/photostream/
Doncaster Linesman Training Facility 1967-
Tram Rd, near the Eastern Freeway . Originally located at Fishermans Bend 1948-1967 prior to moving to Doncaster. The site has since been replaced with a retirement village. Situated on be Kooning Creek Trail which runs through Donvale and connects the Mullum Mullum Trail which connects the end of Hillcrest Ave, Ringwood and near the Ringwood Terminal Station .
