VICTORIA'S
GREATEST DRIVING TOURS AND HERITAGE TOWNS
SUNDAY
DRIVE...Yea
WHY GO: beyond the Yarra Valley lies a pretty town
studded with history, located in the scenic foothills of the Great
Dividing Range.
DISTANCE FROM MELBOURNE: 125km via Maroondah Hwy and Melba Hwy
through Yarra Glen; slightly less via the Hume Fwy to Broadford.
TIME: a little under two hours, each way
ROUTE: the nicest route is via Yarra Glen, taking the Melba Highway
past some of the Yarra Valley’s best wineries and over the
scenic hills through Glenburn to Yea. The Hume Fwy is quicker
but boring until the Broadford turnoff when the scenery improves
through Strath Creek and Flowerdale. A small detour via Break
O’ Day and Glenburn is recommended for those travelling
the Melba.
ON THE WAY: once you leave the Maroondah Hwy you enter the realm
of great Yarra Valley wineries that surround Yarra Glen. By all
means stop for tastings (drivers excluded) because weekends are
made for trying new vintages. There’s also a weekend market
in Yarra Glen but unless you’re early it can be mayhem.
The road through the hills is very winding - wine tasters, or
those with tender tummies - be warned.
WHAT TO DO: A broad avenue of shady trees and lawns cut a green
swathe down Yea’s main street. There was a time last century
when the commercial heart of town bustled with gold miners and
pastoralists, but these days a million people - winter skiers
on their way to the slopes of Mount Buller and summer boating
enthusiasts on the way to Lake Eildon - pass through with barely
a glance.
First surveyed in 1855, an imaginative departure from the common
early Victorian grid layout makes Yea’s streets a mystery
tour for visitors. The local heritage walk leaflet, available
at the information centre in the main street, is an excellent
basic guide to the town’s history - and a good street map.
The growing town was treated to the name of Muddy Creek until
1855, when this was changed to honour Lacy Walter Yea, Officer
in Charge of the Regiment. Colonel Yea was killed in action during
the Crimean War, but his portrait still hangs in the Tower of
London collection.
Most prominent amongst the early architecture on High Street
is the impressive Shire Hall, built in 1894. Many old buildings
have been lost to the ravages of neglect, bushfire and modernisation
and those that remain are spread across town.
Yea railway station, on the old Tallarook - Mansfield line, was
built in 1889 and is recorded on the Historical Buildings register
as one of the best remaining examples of Gothic-style stations
in Victoria. Yea cheese factory, originally a butter factory,
and Beaufort Manor built with local bricks in 1876, are also worth
a look.
Close to Yea township are Murrindindi Cascades, river walks,
the unique Cheviot railway tunnel and the Baragwanathia fossil
site - registered on the National Estate – but I never managed
to locate the last.
EATING AND DRINKING: pick up some bakery bread and cheeses in
Yarra Glen and picnic in the park down by the Yea River. Otherwise
you can recharge the batteries at one of Yea’s a fine old
pubs, get good coffee and lunch at one of the newer cafes, the
bakery, or dine at the revamped and popular Purcell’s General
Store (now Marmalades), built in 1887 and listed on the Victorian
Heritage Register.
WEEKENDS AWAY:
Athlone Country Cottages, near Alexandra. Self contained
luxury.
Willowbank at Taggerty. Luxury B&B at Taggerty.
©Peter Robinson 2007
see my images at www.australianplaces.net
For the past
25 years Peter Robinson has travelled far and wide but Australia,
being home, is his first love. As an experienced travel writer
and professional photographer, his wealth of knowledge is revealed
in travel and accommodation reviews that have freelance integrity
and honesty. The main focus of this site is to present brief reviews
of a select group of places to stay for the weekend. Each place
has been visited at least once and evaluated for high standards
before inclusion - and after reviewing over 600 places Peter has
done the hard work so you can enjoy Great
Weekends Away.
