Fiddler's Gully - Warrandyte State Park

Fiddler's Gully was once the centre of frenzied goldmining in the 1850s, in what is now the Warrandyte State Park, 30 km east of the Melbourne CBD.

An interesting 4 km circuit hike starts at the small car park/picnic area on Gold Memorial Rd, ascending Wildcat Gully Track, into Wildcat Link Track, then along public access Webb Rd, and on to Fiddler's Gully Track.

Fiddler's Gully Track descends steeply past old gold mining relics and rejoins Webb Rd, then into Wildcat Link and back to the start.

My hike was on February 25, 2009, a grey and overcast day.

See the full set of Photos of my trip!

Exploring Pound Bend - Warrandyte State Park

Warrandyte, 20 km east of the Melbourne CBD, is the site of Victoria's first gold discovery. The find at Anderson's Creek by Louis Michel, in 1851, marked the start of the Victorian gold rush and an influx of people into the area. The approximate location of the site is marked by a cairn on Fourth Hill in the Warrandyte State Park.

Another major location of gold in Warrandyte and Melbourne was the Yarra River. All through Warrandyte the river shows signs of being exploited, a classic example is the tunnel at Pound Bend.

The Pound Bend Tunnel was created in 1870 by a goldmining company in order to divert the course of the Yarra River, thereby enabling the exploitation of the old riverbed. It is now a popular swimming spot.

The river was partially dammed at Pound Bend near Norman's Reserve at its eastern entrance and near Bob's wetlands at its western exit. Miners then blasted a 300m long tunnel through solid rock. The river was then fully dammed at the entrance and exit to the tunnel and water was diverted through 300m and out the other side leaving an astonishing 3.85 km of riverbed around Pound Bend exposed to the sun and the miners picks.

The Pound Bend Reserve is popular in summer. There are grassy areas for picnicking, a walking track along the river which supplies access to koalas and a variety of flora, toilets (including disabled facilities), information boards, canoeing, swimming and horseriding opportunities and a nature walk.

I visited this interesting historical place on February 12, 2009. This included a 4 km return hike along the main Walking Track next to the river along the river bank.

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Whipstick Gully - Warrandyte State Park

Whipstick Gully is in the Warrandyte State Park, 25 km east of the Melbourne CBD.

It is at the end of Whipstick Gully Rd, from the turn-off at Yarra Rd.

It contains many historical artifacts, relics, old mine shafts, and remains of the gold diggings of the 1800s.

Interpretative signs inform visitors of the main features.Walking tracks radiate from the main entrance, some of which are quite steep and stony.

I visited this interesting historical place on January 18, 2009, exploring about 3 km of the tracks.

See my full set of Photos of this trip

White Box Walking Track, Chiltern-Mt Pilot National Park

The White Box Walking Track, an 8.5 km circuit, is in the Chiltern-Mt Pilot National Park, 275 km NE of Melbourne, just south of the small town of Chiltern.

This large Park is 21,565 ha, and protects a vast forest which contains a diverse range of natural and historic landscapes.

It's a remnant of of a forest type (Box-Ironbark) which was once much more widespread in Victoria. It is made up of Grey Box, White Box, Red Box and Mugga Ironbark, as well as Red Stringybark and Blakeley's Redgum.

This forest originally consisted of large well-spaced trees and a grassy floor. The discovery of gold in 1858 resulted in destruction of many of the trees to supply timber for the mines and firewood for local people. Now, the vegetation is mainly regrowth and the trees are mostly young - less than 60 years old, straight and relatively close together.

There is an extraordinary diversity of birds in the Park, with well over 200 species having been recorded.

Animals inhabiting the Park include Tree Goannas, Lizards, Skinks, Possums, Kangaroos and Wallabies.

Early mining was destructive on the environment, resulting in erosion in later years. The forest has repaired itself to some extent, but the scars on the creek walls are still present.

There are many old mine shafts in the area adjacent to the Track.

We hiked the complete White Box Walking Track on December 14, 2008, starting at the Honeyeater Picnic area.
The highest point reached is known as "Hill View", 340 m.

Numbered marker posts along the Track correspond to features described in the Notes published by Parks Victoria, which are available from the Track Notes box at the Information Board at the Park entrance off Lancashire Gap Rd.

See the full set of Photos of our trip!

White Box Walking Track, Chiltern-Mt Pilot National Park

The White Box Walking Track, an 8.5 km circuit, is in the Chiltern-Mt Pilot National Park, 275 km NE of Melbourne, just south of the small town of Chiltern.

This large Park is 21,565 ha, and protects a vast forest which contains a diverse range of natural and historic landscapes.

It's a remnant of of a forest type (Box-Ironbark) which was once much more widespread in Victoria. It is made up of Grey Box, White Box, Red Box and Mugga Ironbark, as well as Red Stringybark and Blakeley's Redgum.

This forest originally consisted of large well-spaced trees and a grassy floor. The discovery of gold in 1858 resulted in destruction of many of the trees to supply timber for the mines and firewood for local people. Now, the vegetation is mainly regrowth and the trees are mostly young - less than 60 years old, straight and relatively close together.

There is an extraordinary diversity of birds in the Park, with well over 200 species having been recorded.

Animals inhabiting the Park include Tree Goannas, Lizards, Skinks, Possums, Kangaroos and Wallabies.

Early mining was destructive on the environment, resulting in erosion in later years. The forest has repaired itself to some extent, but the scars on the creek walls are still present.

There are many old mine shafts in the area adjacent to the Track.

We hiked the complete White Box Walking Track on December 14, 2008, starting at the Honeyeater Picnic area.
The highest point reached is known as "Hill View", 340 m.

Numbered marker posts along the Track correspond to features described in the Notes published by Parks Victoria, which are available from the Track Notes box at the Information Board at the Park entrance off Lancashire Gap Rd.

See the full set of Photos of our trip!

White Box Walking Track, Chiltern-Mt Pilot National Park

The White Box Walking Track, an 8.5 km circuit, is in the Chiltern-Mt Pilot National Park, 275 km NE of Melbourne, just south of the small town of Chiltern.

This large Park is 21,565 ha, and protects a vast forest which contains a diverse range of natural and historic landscapes.

It's a remnant of of a forest type (Box-Ironbark) which was once much more widespread in Victoria. It is made up of Grey Box, White Box, Red Box and Mugga Ironbark, as well as Red Stringybark and Blakeley's Redgum.

This forest originally consisted of large well-spaced trees and a grassy floor. The discovery of gold in 1858 resulted in destruction of many of the trees to supply timber for the mines and firewood for local people. Now, the vegetation is mainly regrowth and the trees are mostly young - less than 60 years old, straight and relatively close together.

There is an extraordinary diversity of birds in the Park, with well over 200 species having been recorded.

Animals inhabiting the Park include Tree Goannas, Lizards, Skinks, Possums, Kangaroos and Wallabies.

Early mining was destructive on the environment, resulting in erosion in later years. The forest has repaired itself to some extent, but the scars on the creek walls are still present.

There are many old mine shafts in the area adjacent to the Track.

We hiked the complete White Box Walking Track on December 14, 2008, starting at the Honeyeater Picnic area.
The highest point reached is known as "Hill View", 340 m.

Numbered marker posts along the Track correspond to features described in the Notes published by Parks Victoria, which are available from the Track Notes box at the Information Board at the Park entrance off Lancashire Gap Rd.

See the full set of Photos of our trip!

Boomers Bushland - Panton Hill

Boomers Bushland Reserve is a 90 hectare region of preserved forest, in the Panton Hill district, 35 km NE of Melbourne.

It is adjacent to the Kangaroo Ground-Kinglake Rd, with several access points, including some off Blue House Rd, and is within the recently created Warrandyte-Kinglake Nature Conservation Zone.

Many old gold mining shafts are scattered throughout the Reserve, dating back to the gold-rush era of the 1850s.

It is managed by Parks Victoria, and there are several interesting walking tracks, which I explored on November 29, 2008 on a 3 km circuit walk.

The Boomers Creek Gully forms part of the Reserve.

The land immediately surrounding the Creek has now been signed as an unsafe environment, and access is prohibited.

The Creek was dry on my visit, due to the continuing drought. A good view across the Reserve is from the main road, about 200 m towards Melbourne.

The southern boundary adjoins the Yanggai Reserve, which extends to the Wimbii Reserve.

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River Walk in Warrandyte

The River Walk alongside the Yarra River at Warrandyte is one of my favourite treks!

About 4 km return, it passes some interesting features such as the flying fox, the old weir, information boards describing the work of local artists, rapids, rock formations, terraced beaches, and viewing areas.

The River is always a nice place to meet the many ducks who live there - white, brown, multi-colored!

Manningham Council, which has managfement responsibility for the area, is undertaking an eco-revegetation program with the planting of hundreds of saplings on both sides of the formed pathway.

I explored this interesting walk on November 7, 2008, in the rain!

See all of the Photos of my trip

Exploring the Warrandyte Gold Mines at FourthHill

On October 24, 2008, I visited the old gold diggings area in the Warrandyte State Park, 20 km east of the Melbourne CBD.

The area has a rich gold history. It is thought that it is the site of the first Gold Rush in Victoria, 1851, and remnants remain at Fourth Hill.

Fourth Hill is the highest peak, overlooking the settlement of Warrandyte, and has many walking tracks, well signposted.

My 4 km circuit hike started at the junction of Gold Memorial Rd and Anderson's Creek, then up Gold Heritage Track, to the summit of Fourth Hill, then back to the start, passing several old mines, now fenced off.

Interpretative boards and maps along the Track provide interesting information about the history of the Fourth Hill mines.

There were some nice views towards the Dandenong Ranges from the high point near Fourth Hill summit.

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Black Flat Goldfields,Warrandyte State Park

Black Flat Reserve is in the Warrandyte Sate Park, 20 km east of the Melbourne CBD.

It is the site of alluvial gold mining of the 1880s - the only relics are the overgrown diggings.

The Black Flat Circuit Track is a 4 km loop, taking the visitor through the former diggings, along the Nature Trail, and passing the Yarra River. Part of the Track follows the Jumping Creek to Black Flat Walking Track.

It is reached from a small car park off Tills Rd.

I walked the Black Flat Track on September 9, 2008.

Full set of Photos

Smith's Gullly Gold Heritage Trail

The historically important Smiths Gully to St. Andrews Heritage Trail is located about 50 km northeast of Melbourne, near the Kinglake National Park.

The Trail is 3 km (return) following the Old Caledonia Creek Gully, a former gold mining region.

It is reached from the Kangaroo Ground-Kinglake Rd, turn-off at Clinton's Rd, then into Smith's Gully Rd, in the district of Smith's Creek. The main entrance to the Trail is at the Peter Franke Reserve, opposite the historical Queenstown Cemetery, closed in 1981. Queenstown was the original name for the town of St Andrews.

Interpretative signs describe the various artifacts, botanical, geographical and historical features along the Trail, with fascinating explanations of how the gold was mined, using alluvial and reef extractions.

The first gold was discovered in 1854, and alluvial mining occurred until the early 1900s and was revived during the depression. Quartz reef mining started in the 1900s, and the State Battery and Weir were constructed in 1919. The Weir is now used for fire management purposes by the Country Fire Authority and as an emergency water supply for nearby towns.

The vegetation seen today is regrowth from the extensive bushfire of 1962, even though most old forest growth prior to then had been cleared for mining and timber for Melbourne.

The gully is an important link in the wildlife corridor between Watson's Creek and the Kinglake National Park, and the diversity of fauna and flora includes several rare and endangered species.

The Trail was developed in 1995 by a team of local unmemployed youth and the Kangan Institute College of TAFE.

Relics of the mining era seen on the Trail include the water race, sluicing channels, creek diversion, the foundations of the Battery and remains of the cyanide vat.

My trip was on September 7, 2008.

Full set of Photos