380. Mt Egerton Forest & Lanes 10.8km

 U3A Hike No 380


Hike Report by Fiona Deutscher


🥾 Mt Egerton Forest & Lanes Hike Report

Distance: 10.8 km
Date: Thursday, 6 November
Leader: Andrew
Occasion: Sharon Moss’s Birthday 🎉

🏞️ Starting Point & Historical Context

The Hiking Group commenced their walk from the Mt Egerton Recreation Reserve to explore the local area, rich in gold mining history. Mt Egerton was named after Charles Egerton, a pastoral property owner. The town was officially established in 1883 following the discovery of gold, with the reef extending to the summit of Mt Egerton.

During the goldrush peak in 1881, the population soared to over 1,600. The town featured a school, churches, a bank, and a general store. Mining operations were led by Blackhorse and Mt Egerton Mining Companies from 1865 to 1910. A later mining revival was halted in 2005 due to community opposition.

🌸 Eastern Laneways & Summit Views

Our walk took us through rolling hills and wooded laneways on the eastern side of town, leading to the summit of Mt Egerton. Along the way, we identified several wildflowers:

  • Rice flowers
  • Paper daisies
  • Native violets
  • Dillwynia

From the summit, we enjoyed panoramic views of wind turbines in the valley and mountains beyond.

🪦 Mt Egerton Cemetery & Morning Break

We descended the mountain and followed forest paths toward the Mt Egerton Cemetery, gazetted in 1870. It contains historic grave sites and still operates as a public cemetery today.

We paused here for a sunny morning coffee break and celebrated Sharon Moss’s birthday with warm wishes.

🏚️ Western Laneways & Gold Battery Site

Crossing to the western side of Gordon-Egerton Road, we explored more laneways until reaching the Mt Egerton State Gold Battery. Built in 1912, it replaced the earlier Blackhorse operations and featured a restored five-head stamp battery used to crush ore and extract gold.

Some surrounding bushland showed signs of recovery from contaminated mine tailings, while other areas had regenerated well.

🌊 Final Loop & Group Lunch

The final 2 km loop took us past a large lake and old mining diggings adjacent to the Recreation Reserve. We concluded the hike with a shared lunch back at the Reserve.

🙏 Reflections & Thanks
Although the group has completed this walk several times before, it was a refreshing and enjoyable morning rediscovering Mt Egerton’s mining heritage. Special thanks to Andrew for leading the walk and sharing historical insights.


Photos by Andrew Parker






























LINKS

INTERACTIVE MAP

GOOGLE MAPS START/FINISH

DOWNLOAD A GPX FILE

HISTORICAL NOTES 

THIS HIKE IN 2020 (FIRST TIME)

GOLD BATTERY




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