Mt Egerton Forest and Lanes - 12 Kms
U3A Hike No 149
Hike Report by Mark B
It promised to be a beautiful Autumn day although there was a fair bit of fog on the way to Mt Egerton. The fog, more or less cleared once we all arrived at the Mt Egerton Reserve. I say all, as we waited, with baited breath, for Tim to arrive. No need to worry, we saw his car crest the hill shortly afterwards.
After a short intro by Andrew, we headed into the forest which was dappled in shade and early morning sun. Looking more closely, the bushes were all covered in masses of spider webs. Up a bit higher there were some perfectly-shaped spider webs in the tree branches.
We came to a lake with a warning sign in front, forbidding fishing and swimming. One wonders how much cyanide forms part of the water content.
After traversing a bare section of ground, we arrived at the Gold Battery Museum. The caretaker met us there and explained some of the history of the Battery. He explained that, at one time, there were 5 of these operating around the town and that the noise was quite spectacular.
We left for a short walk along Walkers Lane, the main road and back into the forest for Morning Tea. The Mt Egerton cemetery was reached after another wander through the forest. Some viewed the headstones while others went looking for a toilet spot in the bush after some had to be convinced that the cemetery had no toilets. There was quite a bit of history gathered from the various grave headstones.
Andrew then informed us, in a rather casual tone, implying Mt Egerton was a bit of a joke to climb up to the summit. Well! The climb eventuated as requiring quite a bit of strenuous effort with quite a steep uphill section.
We nearly got to the top and but then followed a path downhill along a most beautiful section of the forest with many large trees. We then went uphill again to the summit where – someone had placed an exquisite barbed wire sculpture for us all to admire.
Nearly at the end of the walk, we wandered along some roads for 2 km or so back to the Reserve where most of us took out our chairs and with many sighs of contentment, retrieved our lunches and cups of tea.
All in all, it was a very enjoyable walk on a perfect day of sunshine.
Mount Egerton is a historic gold mining town in Victoria. The discovery of gold in 1853 by Alexander Russell and George Grell saw a gold rush in 1854 as mining took place along All Nations Gully and West Gully. A rich reef was found at the hill crest in 1856 and an underground mine was established. The Post Office opened on 1 February 1856. The town population swelled to 600, several companies had established mines including the Black Horse and the town was home to banks and several hotels.
Although sustained mining occurred through the 19th Century, a decline in gold output caused a general decline in the town and it gradually decreased in size while many of the district's buildings and homes were abandoned until mining operations finally ceased in 1910 having produced a total gold output valued at around 2 million pounds.
Photos by Mark B
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