Iron Mine & Mt Doran Forest Circuit Hike 13km




   U3A Hike No 102



Due to the restriction of groups being limited to ten people for outdoor recreation we re-commenced hiking in three groups. 

By Janet McKay, Dick Patterson and Geoff Howard 

Janet: With great excitement and anticipation with the easing of COVID19 restrictions,10 hikers, the first of three separated groups, gathered for our first post COVID19 lockdown hike on a beautiful frosty morning that soon turned into a perfect sunny autumn day. 
Driving to the start of the hike we set off along undulating tracks through tall stringybark forest and large areas of grass trees with glorious displays of heath stretching in all directions.  To the relief of some, we didn’t climb Champion Hill, but skirted around catching glimpses of open country to the east and a few sightings of grey kangaroos bounding away from us. 
Dick: We left the cars and headed south before taking a left turn and heading east. The State floral emblem, the Common Heath, was in full bloom. The more distinguished name, Epacris impressa capture the impressive display of white, pink and coral flowers. On some individual plants all three colours were evident. The State declared this as the floral emblem in 1958 and was the first State to have such an emblem 
Geoff: Group 3, held on Tuesday, proved to be a very happy group of eight.  Although not sunny, we had a mild start to the walk, and all enjoyed the flowering heath along the way as well as the pleasant and varied scenery. 
Janet: After stopping for morning tea we made our way to the Lal Lal Bungal historic area to view the splendid sight of the Lal Lal Blast Furnace and many remnants of the foundations and mountings from the furnace machinery including a Cornish Flue that would have been used to remove smoke and noxious gases from the area  
Dick: The company, the wonderful bush and the sunny day made for a mentally stimulating and invigorating day. It was greatly appreciated that we were able to reduce the impact of cabin fever that resulted from the seven-week lockdown 
Janet: Victoria's only attempt at mining and smelting iron ore took place at Lal Lal in the latter stages of the nineteenth century. In the mid1870s, the Lal Lal Iron Company installed mining machinery, erected a large blast furnace and constructed a tramway to convey ore from the mine. For a brief time in the early 1880s, the Lal Lal Company had over 100 men engaged in mining and smelting the iron ore, gathering limestone (flux) and firewood, and manufacturing charcoal. The company also operated a foundry at Ballarat and in fact the gates around St Patrick’s Cathedral and the Old Ballarat Cemetery were fabricated from Lal Lal iron. 
The Lal Lal Iron Mine and Smelting Works is of historical, archaeological and scientific importance to the State of Victoria. The site is listed on the Register of the National Estate. 
After spending some time exploring the historical site, we made our way through the forest noting another site of iron ore mining and evidence of gold mining that also took place extensively in the area and then down to the Shepherd Daughters Grave, the lonely grave of a 6 year old girl, Mary Paterson, who died in 1863, it is thought from pneumonia. The grave is now maintained and cherished by locals, a poignant and moving reminder of how tough and precarious life was for these early settlers. We left some flowers as our tribute and proceeded to our lunch stop and then back to the cars. We had our post hike coffee at Lal Lal Falls which was a very pleasant alternative to our normal coffee shop. 
How wonderful it felt to be back hiking in the bush again and through this particularly beautiful and fascinating area.  
Many thanks Andrew and Gordon for being so quick to get us back, literally, on track again! 
Dick: At the cars we took out our chairs and sat down for a Covid-safe cup of tea.Thank you Gordon for leading our group. 
Geoff: We shared coffee time at the end of the walk enabling us to feel very thankful that we could get out again, as part of the U3A Hiking Group, and appreciative that Andrew had been prepared to lead for a second time in the week. 

 Click on the first photo for a slide show
Photo's by Dick








Photo's by Andrew









Photo's by Geoff

Leaving home in the morning





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