VICTORIA'S
GREATEST DRIVING TOURS AND HERITAGE TOWNS
Historic...
MANSFIELD
The marble memorial in Mansfield’s main street
is in the middle of a roundabout, and only if you cross to the
neatly tended circular gardens does its place in Australia’s
folklore become clear: the monument is dedicated to the three
policemen shot in 1878 by the Kelly gang at Stringybark Creek.
Ned and Dan Kelly, and their partners in crime used the Wombat
Hills just north of Mansfield as a main camp. For a time they
were known as the Mansfield Gang.
The days of bushrangers are long past, but this town in the rolling
foothills of the Great Dividing Range has retained its links with
bygone days. Mansfield’s broad High Street is bisected by
an avenue of verdant trees, and edged by old shops and hotels
shaded by broad verandahs. The locals are just as likely to be
one of the living legends of the high country - its skilled mountain
horsemen and women. These days they drive instead of ride to town.
Explorers Hume and Hovell trudged through the region in 1834
during their long journey north, and by 1839 squatters Watson
and Hunter named the district “Devil’s River.”
A decade later the land was surveyed and housing blocks offered
for sale in 1854. By 1860 gold had been discovered, Mansfield
prospered and became a permanent name on the colony’s maps.
The backdrop to town is Mount Stirling, Mount Buller and the
Clear Hills, where scenes for The Man From Snowy River were shot
and Jim Craig’s hut overlooked one of Australia’s most
enchanting mountain panoramas - until it burned down in the 2007 bushfires. The movie’s railway station
scenes were taken at Mansfield’s neat timber station, but
the last train rolled into town in 1978.
The station has been restored, and next door is an information
centre - a worthwhile place to start any exploration of
the High Country beyond Mansfield. If you have the energy, follow
the discovery tour on foot - and,
as you discover the various historical and heritage on the map,
there are a couple of excellent bakeries and cafés for
re-charging the batteries.
Near the town’s centre is the Mansfield Hotel built in
the 1860s, the Court House (with National Trust listing) built
from local bricks in 1879, the Delatite Hotel rebuilt in 1895,
a sundial and millstones brought out from Scotland and used on
the Wappan run from 1840, Botanic Park where Mansfield’s
first horse race meeting was held in 1857.
Some of Victoria’s most popular ski areas, the Buller and
Stirling ski slopes, are about 50km away, and Mansfield is close
to an arm of Lake Eildon. The heritage of the High Country, where
mountain folk learn to handle horses in rugged terrain almost
from birth, is celebrated in November with the Mansfield Mountain
Country Festival. Mansfield Harvest Festival and Anzac Day weekend
in April is the hot-air balloon festival are worth putting on
your calendar. There are scenic drives, trout fishing in mountain
streams, horseback treks in the cool clear mountains, bushwalking
and local wineries to visit.
Mansfield is about 200km from Melbourne via Yea on the Melba
Hwy, 2 ½ hours drive. Alternative return is via Alexandra
on the Maroondah Hwy.
STAY THE WEEKEND AT:
Buttercup Cottages, Merrijig. Excellent self
contained cottages on small vineyard,
Andre's at Buller, a marvellously comfortable,
exclusive B&B atop Mt Buller.
COPYRIGHT 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.
