Mount Buninyong
A rare snowfall in the crater on Mt Buninyong.
Photo by Barry Grewcock, 8th July 2008
Mount Buninyong, an extinct volcanic mountain 719 metres above sea level, is a great landmark of the district. Standing out from the vast Western Plains next to its sister Mt Warrenheip, it is visible from the Grampians, the Otways and the sea-cliffs at Barwon Heads, providing a sure sign of home to countless generations of local people.
Walks through the crater and up to the lookout tower are a popular recreation and if snow falls in the district it will always be best on the Mount.
The Mt Buninyong Walk is covered in detail on the excellent map of the Wallaby Track (Mt Buninyong-Daylesford) section of the Great Dividing Trail published by the Great Dividing Trail Association. This map and others showing the road to the summit and walking tracks on the Mount are available from the Buninyong Information Centre
Mt Buninyong seen from the distance (taken from the Ballarat-Melbourne train)
History of Mt Buninyong Reserve:
From its summit in 1837 a party of seven men were the first white people to view the country to the west and north-west. Mt Buninyong Reserve, an area of 90 hectares (217 acres) was set aside as a Public Park in 1866. The road to the top was completed in 1926. There have been three lookouts, the most recent was completed in 1979.
In the 19th century the area was a very popular scenic attraction. Walks meandered from the foothills up through the crater to the summit and a simple wooden lookout platform. Later additions included a rotunda-style shelter, toilets and barbecue facilities.
General information (historical)
| 1837 | First exploration by white settlers |
| 1866 | 217 acres reserved for Public Park with early settlers having grazing rights.At this time the only access was by rough tracks, nevertheless the Mount was always a popular picnic and viewing site, New Year's Day having the special appeal of witnessing the sun rise for another year. |
| 1884 | Celebrations for the proposed extension of the railway line to Buninyong. Construction of a carriage drive to the crater, zigzag path to the summit, and the Mount levelled to provide picnic and camp sites. |
| 1926 | Road to the summit completed and a low platform lookout built. |
| 1932 | Bell Memorial Tower (an old mine poppet head) replaces platform lookout. Picnic rotunda built. (Bell was a prominent local figure and State politician.) |
| 1980 | Present Mount Buninyong Tower opened. |
| 1982 | New works include: Information board, painting the rotunda and water tower. Erection of picnic seats and barbecuesFormation of nature tracksNew parking area (lower). Erection of bollards and gateway (upper) |
| 1983 | Scoria path to lookout towerPicnic seats at various view pointsTree planting (unsuccessful) on bare north face. |
| 1988 | Bicentennial obelisk constructed. Bicentennial Flare display to tie in with the Bicentennial Beacons Project. |
Information on the history of Mount Buninyong Reserve was supplied by Derick Leather,
Buninyong & District Historical Society.