The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957)(about) |
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Tuesday 21 December 1909
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TUB GRAMPIANS.
AN IDEAL TOURISTS' RESORT.
By NATÜRAIJST.
The sight of a seal in a swamp one hun tired miles from sea has brought the Gram pians recently conspicuously under notice, -sothing is moio feasible than to suppose that the creature having ascended from the sea by one of the western rivers-Hopkins or Wannon-dui ing the big flood of list August got over the watershed and was borne down the Mount William Creek to its pi-cent location-a splendid swamp margined with noble red gums standing amid broad acres of green meadows by the wav, an ideal spot for picnickers to boil and enjoy their Christmas billy tea
J .eept to a few pioneering photographers the glonous Grampiins ne little known as i splendid resort for tourists consequently the question is frequently asked Where are the Grampians* On the Melbourne Adelnde railway from nbout Stawell to Horsham the traveller can see the seiratcd foi ins of the Grampnns-the Blue Moun tains of A letona-appealing on the west wird honran As yet practically only one spot m them is available to ordinary ton lists and that is Hall s Gap situate about the centre of the main chain and distant nbout 16 miles from the nearest railway sta tion Stawell But from the Gap much of the grandeur of the Grampians can be seen and in easy stages too Tho most delight ful by c.cursions for the half-day or the whole day (as the case may lie) can be mido m every direction Immediately in side the entrance of the Gap (guarded on eilhei hand by a wooded hill crowned with loci y battlements) the main creek-lj m s -bordered with bushes of purple pros tnnthcra and brilliant Bañera, is joined by Stony Creek coming down precipitately from the ranges on tile right On the upper reaches of Stony Creel are alluvial diggings, which are worlcd with profit intermit tcntly and a road cut thereto facilitates sight scenic along the valley which perhaps is one of the best and most varied sights of the mountains The roid passes two of the finest waterfalls locally 1 nown as the Splitters and the Turret tails rcspcctiitlj The bewildering beauties of (he Grand Can jon up the bick of Wonderland Peak he on the left not far from the road and trips furtl cr nfiel 1 to the romantic rocky faces of Mount Rosea (once known by the un euphonious name of Goat Rock but re- named Rosea on account of the rose coloured Piilton_.a found there only) can be undcrtal cn, while Mount l.in_cult and the Wartool Reservoir also make in the direction of the diggings but arc on the right
lhcn in the Gap proper there are the Silvei bind Waterfalls the waterworks
(miles of flume Piping and tunnel) that supi ly Stawell willie following a weft-made roid foi some distance southward up the valley of tie linns (l e the Gap) Mount Redman Mount \\ illiam (3 8"0ft above sea level and the loftiest of «the inugc) and Middleton s Gap are rejehed and from the hist mentioned points magnificent pano ramie views are gained
Hie Grampians offer lillie or no spoit for the shooter or the anglci but from a scenic point of view they are unique Built of ancient sandstone rock the ranges (total length about 90 miles) rise abruptly from the KIHI minding plains in tiers, parallel m places of shnrp peal-s that present wheu vic» ed from t rtam aspects the appearance of teeth of an immc se upturned saw many of the teeth tips as measured by the aneroid being over 2 000ft above the sea while their escapements-tines of chfls and steep precipices-stand out in multi-coloured lock among the short vege- tation, which is in winter weighed down 1 y falls of snow Tall timber is found m the secluded valleys Tile wild Howers arc abundant and in the bpnng and early nimmel ire a veritable glory In no part of A letona does the native heath (rpa ens) grow so hiiunanllv and in such mag nihccnt colours from the purest white to the richest red, as on the Grampians notably on Mount Difficult where the ivcnues between the rou^h-barked Mess matt gums and the amphitheatres among
the grey ind I chen covered rocks contain
acres of the crowded coloured bells. The base of rootling crags bird lune mail ed in I arts the camping places of birds of prey shelter beds of laige white daisies with faces turned toivardf the morning sun while furtbei donn amongst the grass and loosened nil hie for rcores of yards ex tend the vines of sarsaparilla clustered with purple pitches of Howers lhere ire many other handsome species of Howers found in no other j art of the world borne of these phnts especially thryptomene which decoritcs whole ridges with v.hite, besides diffusing an agreeable aroma, and Grevillea oleoides whose dark-green foliage mil se trie Howers flourish amongst the most loe! Y "livironnents have already mule a name as hatdv garden shrubs
Jn the C ram) ians too the ornithologist
has a continual feast amongst over a cen tury of species of birds _ny line day wl en io (mi in hu hammock he maj hear or seo ab ut him nt one time a score of 1 inds hiding the daring black cheeked falcon which fiom the cliff above and like a bolt froi the blue descends to tal c toll from a flocl f pissing porrakccls
]n conclusion it f io Ud he mentioned tint the '''our'st-' \__ociation of Stawell
with the aid of a Government grant has built a subrtantnl shelter-shed within the entrance of the Gip cut several tracks round about-the localttj n beau ideal camping place-near the foot of Cherub Peak The Peal was lecentlj renamed aftci a Al linster of the day At the foot of the hill there stands the evidence of the former name-a headstone dated 1_"0 de noting the spot where a little eountiy cou sin amidst the forest solitudes was gently laid to sleep Wlv alter the historie and pilhetie naming of Cherub Peik'