The Mt Buffalo chalet is more than a century old, and an icon of the Victorian mountains. There is nothing else remotely like it, inter twined as it is with the post invasion history of the Buffalo Plateau. The chalet is included in the Victorian Heritage Register for its architectural, historical and social significance.
It was closed in 2007, and has been in deterioration since then.
There have been various attempts to save the Chalet, get it renovated and reopened, but as time goes by, the damage to the building continues to grow, making any plan to re-open the whole building for accommodation ever more unlikely.
There are now plans to lift heritage protections to allow demolition of several sections of the lodge.
The Government wants to re-open the publicly-owned building as a visitor day centre and cafe in a $7.5 million restoration.
There is a good story from Chris McLennan of The Weekly Times about the current state of the Chalet and the plans to demolish part of it and reopen the front section of the building.
'keep it cool. Stop climate change'. Dinner Plain, June 2011
Ben Laycock is a “painter and occasional sculptor” from Castlemaine in Central Victoria. His wonderfully vivid paintings are his interpretation of the essence of the landscapes he visits and works in. He is turning his hand to writing and we will feature some of his work on the site in coming months.
His first installment, ‘greetings from the Wonnangatta’, is now on the site. It involves reflections from a week picking walnuts on the Wonnangatta River near Dargo.
The following are two great community sites from the Strathbogie Ranges, an outlier to the Vic Alps. The more regional sites the better!
Strathbogie Ranges – Nature View
Flora, fauna & natural history of the Strathbogie Ranges, Victoria
This blog is about observations & issues concerning the natural history of the Strathbogie Ranges, Victoria, Australia.
The Strathbogie Ranges are located in north-east Victoria, Australia. The Ranges include several districts (e.g. Strathbogie, Ruffy, Highlands), but support no towns (Strathbogie does have a General Store and Ruffy has the Pantry) and no major through-roads. Towns on the plains surrounding the Ranges include:
* Seymour to the south-west
* Euroa, Violet Town & Benalla to the north
* Yea & Alexandra to the south, and
* Mansfield to the south-east
The Ranges are separated from the main Great Dividing Range by the valleys and floodplains created by the Goulburn and Broken Rivers. Being separate from nearby areas of similar elevation and high rainfall has resulted in some interesting and unique biogeographic and ecological patterns.
If you’d like to add your own observations just leave a comment under the relevant post. If you’d like to contribute your own posts, email me and I’ll sign you up (bertram.lobert@activ8.net.au). You don’t need a photo to contribute, all your nature observations are welcome. This blog is part of a larger project to record biodiversity and natural history information from across the Strathbogies.
It’s a new way for residents and landholders to stay in touch and communicate with each other. We may be a small and scattered community but, with increasing use of computers and email, this site offers the opportunity to keep informed about events, to comment about Tableland issues, to contribute ideas, to catch up with each other, to buy and sell, and to show off our creativity.
FOR THOSE WHO DON’T KNOW THE AREA, the small community of the Strathbogie Tableland is located on an elevated plateau in the Strathbogie Ranges. Two hundred kilometres northeast of Melbourne, it is surrounded by forests, farmland and granite hills.
The environment is beautiful with its native bush, birds and animals. While many people have spent their entire lives on the tableland, others are increasingly choosing to leave city life and move up to live here permanently.
You can find their site here.
Andrew Stanger lives on the Monaro tablelands in south eastern NSW.
As a recent arrival to the region, he is, as he puts it “taking some time to acclimatise” because of the often harse nature of the environment. But equally, “there is something distinctive about this place and the landscape and the people” that has him captivated and intrigued.
You can find his writing on adapting to life on the Monaro here.
Andy Kimber lives on the Warby Ranges near Glenrowan. He has a life long connection with the valleys and mountains of north east Victoria, and has written extensively abut the area, in various forms including songs, as well as helping engender a sense of place for many people in the region, especially students he has taught over the years.
He would be interested in any poems or songs about the mountain valleys of the North East. If you have some, or know where to find some, please email him: andykimber@netc.net.au
And stay tuned for a review of his daughters album ‘Sounds like Thunder’ soon, featuring some fine tracks, including about the Victorian high country.
“I’ve been a few things in my life – teacher, scholar, activist, candidate and Member of Parliament – but like most people I have ended up as a consultant….”
“It might be too late to change the world, but its a way of life for me. At the broad scale, I am pessimistic about the future of our planet and the wellbeing of its creatures, including us”.
“But I am heartened to see small groups of people everywhere making a difference, taking their local futures into their own hands. Groups of people well networked, sharing fun as well as work, whether its in Transition Towns type of movements, Boobook Declarations, producers markets, organic farming or community working bees are what is going to make the difference. Politicians seem pretty disinterested and unaware of rural communities, so they are likely to leave us alone to get on with it!”
W Tree is a small vibrant community of about 85 people in the foothills of the Snowy Mountains in East Gippsland, Victoria, about 80 km from Lakes Entrance and 20 kms north of Buchan.
W Tree is the home of two ecovillages – Mt Murrindal co-op and Sunrise Farm, one Tibetan Buddhist center , a number of different ecosensitive businesses and very creative & entreprenurial people .
It is surrounded by forest, both rainforest areas and State Forest. Rainforest in the area includes such species as Muttonwood, Lilly Pilly, Sassafras and Sweet Pittosporum. The Snowy River National Park and the Alpine National Park are both within an hours drive, the world famous Buchan Caves are 20 minutes away. The Snowy River is popular with both tourists and locals, and rafting and whitewater trips are a fantastic way to see the magnificent gorges.
In 2009 they hosted a spirit of place festival (details here).
For further information on the community, check here.
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