Brenanah - Kooyoora State Park
With magnificent views and a rich variety of plants and animals, Kooryoora State Park is an ideal place for picnics, sightseeing, rock climbing, orienteering and nature study. Visit the Melville Caves, huge granite boulders thought to have been once used as a hideout for the bushranger 'Captain Melville'.
Kooyoora State Park was extended to 11,646ha in October 2002 to enhance what remains of Victoria's Box‐Ironbark forests and woodlands.
Enjoying the Park:
Scenic Driving
Tour the road network throughout the park from Wehla block through Melville Caves to Sunday Morning Hills to take in the diversity of landscapes and enjoy the magnificent view from Mt Brenanah
Walking
Exploring the walking tracks and road networks is a great way to see the park. Breathtaking views of the surrounding countryside from Melville Caves summit and Mt Kooyoora make for a worthwhile walk.
Melville Caves Walking Track - 1 hour loop, 1km
Start on the opposite side of the Melville Caves Picnic Area and climb between boulders, passing Seal Rock. The track continues to the summit (steep grades in places) and Melville Caves Lookout. Return to the picnic area via the steep walking track that leads off from the summit or via the road past the Melville Caves car park.
Eastern walking track - 2.5 hour loop, 4.5km
The Eastern Walking Track is a loop track leading off Back Road and is currently isolated from the main visitor nodes. About 700m along the track there is a rock lookout with a good view of the valley. Continue past a long rock down to the fenced bush paddock. The track crosses a creek then heads down through more rock formations before climbing out of the valley and returning to the car park.
Melville Caves Lookout - 15mins, 300m
This is a short walk commencing from the Melville Caves carpark. A directional disc on top of the boulders at the Lookout points out surrounding features and landmarks.
Southern Lookout Walking Track - 1.5 hours, 1.8km
Start from the Melville Caves Picnic Area and follow the track to the Southern Lookout. Enjoy some of the best views from the park. Return to the picnic area via the same track.
Long Rock Walking Track - 2-3 hours, 5.3km
Start from either the picnic area or the campground. From the picnic area head to the Southern Lookout, then backtrack 200m to rejoin the track heading north. Walk in a clockwise direction to McLeod's Lookout with magnificent views. The track continues south through remarkable rock formations and rock pools. From the campground, follow the walking track to McLeod's Lookout and continue south to the Rock Pool and the picnic area. Return to the campground via the Southern Lookout walking track (turning north at the sign).
Melville Caves Lookout
Melville Caves Lookout walk - 15mins, 300m
This is a short walk commencing from the Melville Caves car park. A directional disc on top of the boulders at the Lookout points out surrounding features and landmarks.
Southern Lookout
Southern Lookout Walking Track - 1.5 hours, 1.8km
Start from the Melville Caves Picnic Area and follow the track to the Southern Lookout. Enjoy some of the best views from the park. Return to the picnic area via the same track.
Horse riding
The park is an attractive setting for riding. Horses may only be ridden on formed roads open for public use and must not be taken on walking tracks.
Camping
For short stays camp at the Melville Caves Camping Area, one kilometre past the main Melville Caves picnic area. Facilities include tables, shelter, toilets and water. Collect only dead wood from the ground, or better still use gas equipment. It is the most popular for enjoying the natural features of the park.
Access for Dogs:
Dogs and other pets are only permitted on Melville Caves Road and the Melville Caves Picnic Ground and must be kept on a leash at all times.
History
Remnants of history - The Jaara Jaara Aboriginal people of the Kooyoora area depended on natural springs and wells for their water as the area lacks permanent streams. Many large, yet shallow rock wells in the upper surfaces of the granite outcrops supplemented the water supply by storing rainwater.
Rock shelters and caves were used for shelter from the weather and their sandy floors have preserved many stone artefacts. Other remnants of Aboriginal occupation are scars in the bark of trees. Bark was used to make bark dishes and shields.
The golden days - European settlement of the area began in the 1840s and mining for alluvial gold had begun by the late 1850s. Substantial finds in the late 1860s began a gold rush that lasted for several years.
The gold rush in the Kooyoora area followed soon after the discovery of gold in the Wedderburn district. One of the most famous finds of the Kingower goldfields was the 1857 discovery of the "Blanche Barkley" weighing some 49.5kg.
Mining excavations are scattered throughout the park, left behind by the retreating miners who moved on to other fields.
Blind Creek Chilean Mill
This is the site of a historic commercial ochre mine. The site has a rare and unusual relic, a Chilean mill, which was used for crushing at the ochre mine. The mill is constructed of bricks and probably dates from the early part of the 20th century.
The mill is in the bush south of Blind Creek. It can be accessed by a 250m walk heading north from Kirwans Road or a 350m walk heading west from Kingower-Brenanah Road (see red dot on map below). Please be careful when walking in the bush due to mine shafts.
How to get there
Kooyoora State Park is about 220km north west of Melbourne, just west of the Calder Highway between Inglewood and Wedderburn.
Note: Photos from Parks Victoria
Location
Melvilles Caves Road, Brenanah 3517 Map
Web Links
→ Kooyoora State Park (Parks Victoria)
→ Map - Kooyoora State Park (PDF)
→ Park note - Kooyoora State Park (PDF)
→ Heritage Story - Kooyoora Robin Hood, or Savage?
→ Friends of Kooyoora
→ Chilean mill (Wikipedia)
→ Blind Creek Ochre Mine & Processing Site (Victorian Heritage Database)
