Invergordon - Broken-Boosey State Park
The Broken-Boosey State Park is a unique linear park bordering the Broken, Nine Mile and Boosey Creeks. It is one of the few remaining remnants of high quality Grey Box Woodland on Victoria's northern plains, which have been largely cleared for agriculture.
The Broken-Boosey State Park is a great place to visit with family and friends. Visitors interested in native flora and fauna will enjoy the many plant and animal species that are found here. Enjoy a scenic drive, bushwalking, have a picnic or a quiet fish.
Dip Bridge, where the Boosey and Broken Creeks join, creates a wider and deeper creek system that is popular with fisherman and day visitors. Roads into and through the park are mainly unsealed, but suitable for two-wheel drive vehicles. However, due to the clay base, many of the roads become extremely slippery when wet. Drivers are advised to adhere to formed roads even when wet as the edges can become very soft often resulting in vehicles becoming bogged.
History:
There are many reminders of past Indigenous inhabitants within the park. Cultural surveys to date have recorded numerous Indigenous sites including canoe, shield and coolamon scarred trees along the entire creek line suggesting the creek was used as a pathway on a regular basis by the Yorta Yorta and Bangerang people. The creek was also an important source of food and drinking water.
In 1848, Hamilton Hume settled the Yarrawonga run comprising 85,000 acres including the area now known as Tungamah. By 1850, squatting runs spanned the entire creek system and more than 60,000 sheep and 4,500 cattle grazed along the creeks. The natural creek lines were altered with the construction of weirs, channels and levees. The Tungamah Stock and Domestic Water Supply System has been operating for over 100 years. This was recently replaced with a piped system that will return the creek back to natural flows.
With the establishment of agriculture, many large trees were cleared for fencing and firewood.
The Broken-Boosey State Park was proclaimed, along with several other new Victorian parks, in 2002 to conserve and enhance what remains of the Box-Ironbark forests and woodlands of northern Victoria.
Nearby parks to visit:
There are many swamps in the area with a wide variety of birds and wildlife. Kinnairds Wetland, near Numurkah, has bird hides, signed walks, picnic shelters and carparking.
Barmah National Park, situated on the Murray River flood plain north of Nathalia, comprises the largest River Red Gum forest in Victoria. The complex ecology of the forest is closely linked to the Murray River and its flooding regime, creating a diverse natural habitat for a variety of wildlife, particularly waterbirds.
Warby-Ovens National Park - Extending north from the town of Glenrowan is a steep scarped range known locally as the Warbys. The combination of excellent viewing points along the ridge, pleasant picnic spots and an outstanding variety of birdlife and wildflowers makes a visit well worthwhile.
Reef Hills State Park is an area of 2013ha of mixed eucalypt forest near Benalla. The forest is an important remnant of the original vegetation of the northern plains of Victoria and is valued by naturalists for its wide range of plant and animal life.
Facilities:
Motel, bed and breakfast, camping and caravan park accommodation is available in nearby towns. There are great camping options in the nearby Natural Feature Reserves at Tungamah, Nathalia and Numurkah,and Youarang.
How to get there:
Broken-Boosey State Park is approximately 240km north-east of Melbourne along the Goulburn Valley Highway, past Shepparton on the Benalla-Tocumwal Road. Some roads may be subject to seasonal closure. Vehicles, including motor bikes, may only be used on formed open roads. Drivers must be licensed and vehicles registered and roadworthy.
Location
Cargeeg Road, Invergordon 3636 Map
Web Links
→ Broken-Boosey State Park
→ Broken-Boosey State Park - Park note (PDF)
