Mr Hulme explained the need for a natural gas pipeline to run from Bittern to Dromana, to reinforce gas supply to the southern Mornington Peninsula. Martin Wettenhall politely advised that the property he was managing did not welcome visitors because of the risks they pose to the horse stud, cattle fattening and vineyard enterprises being undertaken on the property.

Some weeks later, on a very stormy Peninsula night, about 150 members of the Mornington Peninsula Landowners Association gathered at the Balnarring Hall to hear Gas & Fuel Corporation (GFC) representatives explain what the proposed pipeline meant to the landowners. Upon entering the hall, a row of suited gentlemen could be seen.

“Little did these men realise what they were in for” says Martin. “The Landowners Association had been formed to address the dictatorial requirements arising from the Western Port Planning Authority’s scheme, and its members were from the wealthy side of society with plenty of political and business clout. There was nothing they relished more than a fight with bureaucracy.”

Martin says that a member or two of the suited gentlemen took to the lectern and read from uncirculated notes. Each time a representative from the landowners group asked a question, the response was vague and evasive.

“Whilst the storm had started to subside outside the hall, there was certainly another brewing on the inside. In the end, the lack of proper detail and information was too much for me, and I rose to my feet and berated the GFC men for having the gaul to call the landowners out on a filthy night and fail to provide material of substance to enlighten the landowners on the GFC’s intentions.”

He requested that a few of them return in a week’s time with illustrations, brochures and sample documentation. Material that could be scrutinised, analysed and challenged if necessary. The attendees rose as one cheering and waving the GFC men out of the hall into the cold night.

Martin’s next brush with the pipeline industry was with two fresh-faced engineers undertaking route selection for the Bittern to Dromana pipeline. The three bundled into a Dihatsu 4WD and bumped across the Wallaces Road property, firstly along an alignment which Martin’s principals preferred and then on the alternative alignment, which came too close to a homestead and involved a very long and precipitous drop into Dunn’s Creek. Placing the nose of the 4WD over the edge, there being nothing but grey sky out the front window, both engineers quickly agreed that they had seen enough. At the time, neither Martin, Cameron Foster nor Mark Bumpstead realised that this was not going to be last time they would met.

Part of the Wallaces Road property was a former training ground for Southern Plant Hire grader and excavator operators. Under Martin’s management, pasture renovation works of a 100 acre paddock was completed during the route selection phase of the pipeline to Dromana. Mr Hulme had noted the condition of the paddock on his earlier visits to the property and passed comment on the change following renovation. Whilst he did not say it at the time, he recognised the similarities of the earthmoving training ground and a poorly restored pipeline easement. Mr Hulme questioned Martin on his agricultural qualifications and within a matter of a few weeks, Martin had joined the other side.

“I quickly appreciated that most of the GFC men and women were dedicated, underrated, hard-working individuals,” says Martin.

Martin’s first pipeline project was the duplication of the Mt. Franklin to Bendigo pipeline under the management of Vin Pollock with assistance from Peter Wheelwright and Mark Trotto, having it out with Bob Beck of PBM. At the same time, the Mt Franklin to Kyneton pipeline was being constructed with Mark Bumpstead’s direction.

“The GFC crew had the Castle Motel in Castlemaine fully booked for over a year with notables such as John Barr, Bob Fraser, surveyors Val Fabian and John Tra on the team. Barry Wood would drop into the site office to run off the latest edition of his pipeline newsletter, to be eagerly received by the spread crews,” says Martin.

Bryan Phillips taught Martin the value in careful record keeping and Martin made numerous changes to the construction specifications so that it reflected the reality of the pipeline location, as much of the agricultural specification had simply been transferred from the GFC’s Gippsland projects without the recognition of totally different requirements.

Martin recalls within his first month on the spread receiving a radio call to attend at Lazar’s property because of damage from rifle shots to the grey jacket pipe coating. As he walked between the rows of vines, a survey peg a few metres away was split as it was hit by a .22 bullet fired from the top of a nearby winery. Undeterred Martin approached the young man requesting that he put the rifle down and resist from shooting the pipe as he was causing hundreds of dollars in damage and delaying construction progress. Knowing how the man felt about having his peace interrupted by a pipeline, Martin was able to resolve the matter without having to go through the complications of calling the police.

Martin recalled when the environment promoter Harry Butler visited the site. Word spread around quickly and it was not long before toy bears were strapped in trees, plastic snakes placed under rocks, and Harry was asked to identify them.

“In those days, pipeliners were a hard lot and many a visitor from Head Office would turn up for a night and stupidly think that they could keep pace with the pipeline crew around the snooker table. Harry Butler was no exemption to the rule and put a different meaning to going green, the next morning. One who did however buck the norm was pipeline design engineer Brian Webb, who had accompanied Harry on the trip and played snooker all night. When Brian failed to front for breakfast, the crew all thought that he was suffering from the night before. Imagine the surprise when he jogged in to the site office for breakfast having just run about 20 km to Faraday and back!

“We all like to think that because conditions were tough, with no air conditioning, incredible dust and heat which rapidly turned to mud and snow during winter, that those who tackled the conditions were equally tough.”

Martin says that the gentler side of the pipeliners manifested itself when in the middle of the Kyneton project, work ceased earlier than usual and the crew all piled into John Barr’s motel room so that they would not miss out on Prince Charles and Diana’s wedding.

Martin’s early years in the pipeline industry coincided with GFC’s consolidation and expansion. These years saw the development of Victoria’s Otway Basin on and offshore gas resources. Martin had early involvement in seismic survey work, dip-and-strike surveys, tenure for exploration wells and the management of the acquisition of numerous easements in the area, with the assistance of Greg Horne, Col Mason, Alan Clynick, Bob Freestone, Bill Pugh, David Lee, Vic Richards, Marjorie Crompton, Brenda Lee and John Skinner to name a few – all whose names can go up on the Allansford, Portland, Hamilton, Cobden, Colac and numerous gathering lines' honour boards.

Martin’s career progressed with securing the role of Principal Easement Officer for the GFC, responsible for all Victorian and Albury Gas Company transmission and distribution easements from a tenure perspective, working closely with operational personnel.

While the Otway Basin was being opened up, the 750 mm diameter Pakenham to Wollert pipeline was under construction. This pipeline presented an array of challenges ranging from technical – having to cross numerous major infrastructure obstacles – environmental issues, landowner issues and terrain ranging from boggy Yarra River flats to basalt country near Wollert.

For Martin, perhaps the most challenging pipeline he had involvement in was the Carisbrook to Horsham pipeline. “This pipeline was the first to be constructed following disaggregation of the GFC, and hence had an initial degree of secrecy about it. It also had several Native Title claimants and 180 km of pipeline across some very unstable countryside. Phil Stevenson and I will never forget walking into a Native Title holders meeting at Mirimbiak to face a very angry mob of Indigenous folk who were upset over alleged breaches of a cultural heritage agreement,” says Martin.

Following privatisation of the gas utility, Martin joined with Mike George, Bill Morton and Bill Wallace in GCI Consulting, which later became JP Kenny Melbourne. Over the years, with the exception of the Bass Gas Pipeline and the Mortlake Pipeline, Martin has had involvement in every natural gas transmission pipeline in Victoria, whether from a direct easement acquisition approvals role or completing due diligence for sale or purchase purposes.

Martin says “In the early 2000s, a combination of poor political advice and judgment, vexatious landowners and pipeline companies, created a climate of conflict and mistrust between the pipeline industry and landowners, resulting in poor publicity for the pipeline industry.”

In Martin’s pursuit of securing easement rights he says that he has always adopted the principle that the pipeline company was the uninvited guest and has tried to treat landowners with respect and courtesy. This concept was instilled into all his staff over the years and was the basis of successful negotiation. The situation that had developed between APIA and the Victorian Farmers Federation (VFF) provided Martin with the opportunity he was looking for.

By some careful manoeuvring among the pipeline fraternity including Greg Westman, Roger Allan and Craig Bonar, he found himself representing APIA on a panel composed of APIA, the VFF, and government departments with the aim of resolving the impasse which had developed between the VFF and APIA.

With support from former Chief Executive of APIA Dr Alan Beasley and APA GasNet’s Col Mason, and willingness to compromise from Alex Arbunoth of the VFF, the APIA-VFF guidelines on landowner consultation were negotiated. In recognition of Martin’s efforts he was nominated for and presented with the 2004 Marcus Oldham-Rural Press Graduate of Excellence Award for services to the rural and pipeline industries.

The pipeline industry is often described as a family affair. The Australian Pipeliner recently ran an article on various pipeliner dynasties and the Wettenhall family also fits this tradition. Martin’s father Hugh Wettenhall was the International Relations Manager for Humes Pipes. Will Wettenhall, Martin’s son, is an environmental consultant with Coffey International and has been seen undertaking pre-construction surveys for the PNG LNG Project in Papua New Guinea and George, Martin’s nephew, is the Victorian Sales Manager for PPI Corporation.

Martin considers that perhaps it is this family approach that makes the pipeline industry unique. “I have been on numerous committees within the community and they all seem to have their politics, their prima-donnas, members with hidden agendas, and those with a vested interest. None seem to function as smoothly and with the same level of commitment of purpose as the pipeline industry, notwithstanding that there are various levels of competition and commercial sensitivities within its participants. Perhaps it will be the pipeline industry which ultimately properly unifies Australia. Here is hoping I’m correct.”