The Area around Hanging Rock

Woodend, Victoria

Woodend is located 69 km north-west of Melbourne via the Calder Highway. It was literally named 'wood end' because it is where the Black Forest ended and consequently was a place where, in the 1850s and 1860s, prospectors, headed north to the goldfields around Bendigo, could feel that they were out of the reach of bushrangers who hid in the woodlands waiting to prey on them. A township coalesced around inns, shops and services which emerged to cater to the passing trade. Prior to European settlement the area is thought to have been occupied by the Woiwurung people. Today the town is a prosperous rural centre of some 3000 people with a number of interesting old buildings. The highlight of any visit is to climb the small and extinct volcano known as Hanging Rock which was a vital part of Joan Lindsay's hugely successful novel 'Picnic at Hanging Rock'.

If you follow the Woodend-Wallan Road north-east out of town for about 10 km you will come to a signposted turnoff on the left into Coach Road then take the immediate right into South Rock Road. A short distance along here, to the left, is the entry gate to Hanging Rock Reserve which is open from 8.00 a.m. to 6.00 p.m. every day. The dam in the middle of the racecourse is well-stocked with fish (you must bring your own bait and tackle and there is a bag limit of two fish per child). The reserve has tennis courts, two ovals (available for hire), wide expanses of lawn and picnic-barbecue facilities. The Hanging Rock Picnic Cafe, at the base of the rock, sells Devonshire teas, lunches, local crafts and souvenirs. Numerous walking paths criss-cross the reserve.


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