LAL LAL FALLS

The weather was one of those perfect days you get every now and then, so on Saturday we decided to visit the Lal Lal Falls. The falls are located 20 klms SE of Ballarat or 70 klms NW of Geelong. Very easy to get to from either direction. 

The Lal Lal Falls were first discovered in early 1837.

The above map shows the roads we traveled on from Ballan to the falls. Most of the roads were bitumen, but became gravel once we turned off onto Harris Road. As seen in the following images:

 
The following image shows the falls as they were many years ago.  The top right image is a Hand coloured tinted lithograph by Charles Troedel - circa 1864.  The lower right is a group of women at the the base of the Lal Lal Falls,  circa 1905. The main image on the left is of a group at the base.  30 Sep 1896.  All three images (in the one below) are courtesy of Museum Victoria.

Lal Lal is home to the spectacular Lal Lal Falls - a name meaning ‘dashing of waters', as determined by the original Wuthaurung community inhabitants. The Falls are also significant as the spiritual resting place of the Kulin Peoples.

The township of Lal Lal was originally part of an extensive sheep run established in 1845 but later formed around the discovery and mining of iron ore, lignite, kaolin (clay) and to a lesser degree, gold. The opening of the Lal Lal railway in 1862 cemented the township as an important mining location and site for transportation of minerals.

The town grew with people mostly associated with the local mining industries and with it came development, hotels and a favourite pastime of the era, horseracing.

Lal Lal became a popular tourist destination because of the Falls and its country racing program. The New Year's Day Race Meeting drew crowds from far and wide with over visitors flocking to the event by steam train. A special train line was built to link the railway station with the race course.

image above is at the carpark and picnic area of the falls. There is a small playground, toilets, two BBQ's and under cover seating.  Plenty of grassed area for the children too!  The following images will show you how beautiful the Lal Lal Falls are and certainly worth a visit if you are in the area:

The image showing the seat, is a lovely spot to sit and meditate, there is no noise of traffic or people, just the gentle sound of the waterfall and the birds chirping!



Photos by Leone Fabre

Information on the Lal Lal area from "Growing Moorabool" website.





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Q U I E T !!!!!!!

yes, that's right ....

Q U I E T !!

One of the 'quiet carriages'. Photo: Jason South

V/Line have "quiet carriages"

That means switch mobile devices to silent, turn down electronic devices, and speak quietly. Those annoying ringtones, loud conversations and bleeping video games will be banned from seven country train carriages.

“This is about creating some space that encourages fellow passengers to further respect each other’s journey.”

If you want to have a chat, you can use the rest of the train. But one car will be clearly labelled with signs, both inside and outside, requesting a quiet environment.

Queensland Rail trains have successfully had "quiet carriages' for over two years and hopefully it will be successful here in Victoria too. 

Not everyone is happy with the idea of "quiet carriages", but they still have 4 other carriages to choose from to chatter, use their cell phones, play electronic games etc.... a "quiet carriage" is for those that prefer to read quietly or just relax and enjoy the journey!

V/Line allowed six months to judge whether its customers wanted to embrace the quiet carriages, and they did.

So all lines have a "quiet carriage" now.

VLine says they are simply asking for community co-operation from people who travel on V/Line to co-operate while in the quiet carriage.

Please check the carriage you are in when boarding a VLine train and have respect for your fellow passengers if the carriage you are in is labeled QUIET!
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Road Trip (Mt Egerton to Yendon)

...... continuing on with yesterdays 'road trip' from Ballan to Mt Buninyong, this post being on the section between Mt Egerton and Yendon as seen below:

Fabulous scenery in this area including an historical bluestone bridge that crosses over the Moorabool River on the Yendon-Egerton Road, as seen below:

the following black and white image of that same bridge was taken from the State Library of Victoria's website, here you can see the area underneath....

It is worth making the journey along this section of the road as the scenery is quite diverse with the historical towns of Mt Egerton and Yendon, the many farms, rivers, old buildings, fencing etc along the way ....

when driving on this road, do be cautious as there are some areas where it is quite narrow and steep, in particular if cycling along this section ...

This section of the Yendon-Egerton Road is only 12 klms, so it's not long before you enter the small village of Yendon ...

next blog post will be on the drive around Mt Buninyong!

URL's of interest:

Road Trip (Ballan to Mt Egerton)

Visit Moorabool - Mt Egerton 

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Road Trip (Gordon to Wallace)

We are lucky to live in such a lovely part of Victoria and have the opportunity to view the surrounding countryside.

Last week we drove from Ballan to Ballarat for some shopping and visiting friends. But instead of driving on the M8 we took the back way.

The previous blog post was on the drive from Ballan to Gordon as seen HERE. This posting is the continuation of that post and is from the township of Gordon to Wallace as seen on the following map.

 

 

After we drove through Gordon along The Old Melbourne Road till we reached the intersection of Careys Road where St Patrick's Church is located. 

On 23rd March 1872 Dr Goold laid the foundation stone of St. Patrick’s Church, Gordon. So there is quite a lot of history here, I think next time we drive through Gordon we will stop and explore the area, in particular St Patrick's Church!

We turned right onto Careys Road and followed it till it turned into Chapmans Road, passing some lovely scenery along the way. I think this will be a beautiful drive come springtime!

Once we reached the intersection of Butter Factory Road, we turned left and continued on until we reached the township of Wallace.

Wallace is a small regional town in Victoria with a population of 343 in the 2006 Census.  The town is located in the Shire of Moorabool  99 kilometres (62 mi) north west of the city of Melbourne.

The township was established in the 1880s, the Post Office opening on 22 February 1885. Wallace was the birthplace of Edmond Hogan, twice Victorian Premier in the 1920s.

We had dinner at the Wallace pub last month and highly recommend it. You can read the blog post HERE on our visit to this lovely little pub that is seen in the image below:

Will upload further blog posts on our "road trips" as we begin to explore the Central Highlands and Goldfield area's of Victoria.

Road Trip (Ballan to Gordon)

Just a short journey on our way to Ballarat last weekend when we decided to bypass the M8 (Western Freeway) and travel via the Old Melbourne Road towards the township of Gordon.

Ballan and Gordon are west of the city of Melbourne, on the way to Ballarat as seen on the above map.

The road we took runs parallel to the M8 (Western Freeway) and is called the Old Melbourne Road.The following image was taken at the intersection as you leave the town of Ballan, the signpost points the way to Ballarat via the freeway. Instead of turning right, we continued straight ahead to the town of Gordon.....

Was well worth the extra time, as it was quite pretty as you can see by the following images:

Gold was discovered in the Gordon area in 1858. By 1885 Gordon had developed as the centre of a mining and agricultural district.

Although mining is no longer active in the area the township still retains a post office, police station, store, hotel and is now a peaceful cul-de-sac in a district renown for it's heritage, natural beauty and fly-fishing.

When next you travel via a freeway, check your map to see if there is another road you can follow to your destination. It is often quieter as in less traffic and often the scenery can be quite spectacular.  The bonus being that you arrive at your destination far more relaxed and happy that you got to see something beyond the busy freeway!


stay tuned for our 'next road trip'.