Warrandyte State Park
People have lived on the banks of the Yarra River for tens of thousands of years, but in the past 175 years changes in its landscape have been profound. The river's upper catchment is protected in Yarra Ranges National Park, but the river is dammed by the Upper Yarra Reservoir, and downstream it is an altered environment with few areas of bushland. Warrandyte State Park is the most significant of these.
|
|
Park history
The 686 ha park extends about 20 km in a narrow, patchy strip along one or at times both sides of the Yarra River.
The first reservation of 135 ha was in 1975, with additions since then. Stane Brae and Yarra Brae were purchased in 1982 and added in 1987; Mt Lofty was bought from Melbourne Water and added in 1997.
The name 'Warrandyte' is of Woiwurrung derivation. In 1845 James Dawson gave the name to his station and it was adopted by surveyor Robert Hoddle as the name for the parish. It became the name for the township and the park.
The Yarra River offers great fun for boating enthusiasts. |
The park is important for wildlife. |
Visiting the park
Overall, the park provides for a range of activities - walking, bird watching, horse riding, canoeing, cycling, fishing, swimming, abseiling by permit at the Whipstick Gully quarry and prospecting in the bed of Andersons Creek.
The site of Victoria's first official gold discovery (June 1851) lies within the park and is marked by a cairn on Andersons Creek at Fourth Hill, an area of disturbed ground with shafts and tunnels and a maze of signposted tracks.
At Whipstick Gully is the Victory Mine tunnel, an interpretive display and a replica poppet head.
Black Flat is another old mining area. It is the site of the Caledonia mine, which collapsed, literally and financially, in 1912. At 600 feet it is the deepest in the area.
From here there is a riverside path upstream to Jumping Creek and on to Blue Tongue Bend, from which you can return along a management track.
Mt Lofty, off Homestead Road, is former cleared grazing country. The surrounding bush is regenerating, particularly in fenced enclosures.
Along the river from Wittons Reserve at the end of Reserve Road and up to the peak is a well graded, surfaced path.
Downstream from here is a conservation zone on the south bank including Yarra Brae, Stane Brae and Blue Tongue Bend.
Flora and fauna
The park is valuable as one of the most important remaining areas with remnant indigenous flora and fauna in the north-east of Greater Melbourne. It has habitat diversity and many threatened species.
Facilities
There is no camping in the park, but there are two adjacent Scout camps - Clifford Park Activity Centre and Cresco Park adjoining Pound Bend - and a Parks Victoria site at the Longridge Camping Area.
There are two main visitor areas in the park. One is at Pound Bend, a 5km loop in the river. This was briefly an Aboriginal Reserve and a stock pound in the 1850s. In 1870 a 145m tunnel was cut under the neck to divert the river so the bed could be dredged for gold.
Near the tunnel exit is a picnic area and toilets.
The other picnic area is Jumping Creek, with toilets, fireplaces and an information shelter. A guide sheet is provided for a 2km nature walk.
Volunteering opportunities
The park has always had strong community involvement. One of the volunteer groups, Friends of Warrandyte State Park, operates a successful native nursery at the park depot at Pound Bend.
The group publishes a number of excellent guides about the park, including a planting guide, a guide to Warrandyte's wattles, one for wildflowers, and another for fungi.
They also hold regular working bees in the park. To find out more visit their website fowsp.org.au.
Note: These park notes are an edited version of an article written by Geoff Durham for Park Watch, the VNPA's quarterly magazine.
For a detailed map and current visitor information, visit www.parkweb.vic.gov.au or phone Parks Victoria on 13 1963. |
