Top

Heatherlie Quarry Walk

Back

We often go to Heatherlie Quarry and just realised that I had never added it to our walks page, so here it is.  It is an easy walk up to the quarry face where you can stroll amongst old machinery, fallen rock and miners' stone cottages.  It was established in the 1860's and mining finished over 120 years latter in the 1980's.  Stone was used for many important buildings in early Victoria.  The machinery seems very old and is now slowly rusting away.  The stone huts built in the 1930's were restored some 20 years ago and it's interesting to see the hard conditions the miners faced.

To us it's an interesting walk around the old machinery and more importantly we often find orchids there.

 

Walk/Location Map

Back

Car park located just off the Mt Zero Rd. The track up to the quarry face 1.2 km return
Mount Difficult in the background Old School track is a walk through the bush to where the old township was - we have done this section many times in the past.  
    Epacris - Pink Heath
Epacris - Pink Heath    
  Information Board Information Board, close-up
Back on the main track up.    
Quarry face    
     
Rock seat.  See the drill marks for blasting   Old steel scoops
Old Crane Information Sign Old Crane
Old Crane Old Crane Old Crane
Old Crane Old Crane Old Crane
Old Crane Old Crane  
Old Crane Old Crane Old Crane
     
    Quarry face, showing blast drill holes
  Old Crane  
Old Crane Old Crane Blasted rock
    Old Crane
Old Crane   View point
Information Sign   Quarry face, showing blast drill holes
     
     
Boilers, rusting away    
Miners cottages in the distance    
Air compressor    
     
  Old Boilers  
     
     
     
  Old but modern straight 6 petrol engine Stone Miners huts 
     
Bridge built in 1994    Look-out over old machinery below 
     
     
     
  Information Sign Blasted rock 
     
     
     
Powder Magazine   Information Sign Powder Magazine 
     
     
     
  Information Sign Information Sign
     
Concrete pad for a crane     
     
  The old rail line   
     
     
     
End of the rail line  A crane lifted rock onto a rail wagon below   
     
Information Sign Huge chain links, especially the last link!  
     
     
     
    Inside a stone cottage 
     
     
     
Inscription     
     
     
     
The big hut - 2 rooms, dirt floor     
     
    Inscription - Think of the Pioneers 
     
    Interesting way to keep the roof on. 
     
     
     
    Blackened stump from a recent fire 
   
     
     
     
     
The Italian miners - Information Sign   Looking down the path to the car park 
     
Looking down the path to the car park   Back at the start  Car Park 
     
Orchids found :    

   
Pterostylis nutans, the Nodding Greenhood.  Pterostylis smaragdyna, the Emerald-lip Greenhood. Pterostylis smaragdyna, the Emerald-lip Greenhood.

Back   Top