Wandiligong and Bright - early autumn

Wandiligong Diggings - Chinese Bridge

View across Bright from Huggin's Lookout

Wandiligong - Diggings Landscape

Bright is a town 350 km NE of Melbourne at the foothills of the Alps.

Abolut 6 km east of Bright is Wandiligong, the site of a small gold rush during the mid-1850s which saw the village's population climb to around 2,000. The whole village is now registered with the National Trust as a classified landscape and features historical buildings such as the Manchester Unity public hall (built in 1874), the general store, several churches and a number of quaint cottages.

The village itself is set in a picturesque valley surrounded by forests and mountain ranges.

Morses Creek runs through Wandiligong and features a walking track which follows the course of the river, extending all the way to the town of Bright.

Wandiligong's gold history can be explored at "The Diggings" which is accessed via Centenary Avenue. "The Diggings" was the site of extensive mining and has been beautified with walking tracks and footbridge across Morses Creek.

We visited Wandiligong on April 26, 2010, on a 3 km hike through the Diggings' Reserve, along the Diggings' Walking Trail and the adjacent Alpine Park.

This took us along Morse's Creek, passing the old Wooden Bridge, the modern Chinese Bridge, and the recently constructed Birdhide.

Sadly, we didn't find any nuggets!

We also visited the Bright Memorial Arboretum, and a visit to the Old Tobacco Sheds Museum which has a vast array of old wares for sale!

Our trip included a short drive to the Huggin's Lookout, south of Bright, which offered nice views to the mountains.

See all of the Photos of our visit!