Ledcourt - Heatherlie Quarry Heritage Site

Heatherlie Quarry Heritage Site is a fascinating reminder of Victoria's early stone quarrying industry, hidden among the forests at the foot of the Mount Difficult Range in Grampians (Gariwerd) National Park.

High-quality sandstone was quarried at Heatherlie from the nineteenth century and used in more than 20 significant buildings in Melbourne and regional Victoria. Two of the best-known examples are Parliament House and Melbourne Town Hall.

The history of quarrying here began in the early 1860s when Stawell stonemason Francis Watkins discovered an outcrop of durable freestone. By the 1880s Heatherlie stone was in considerable demand and a railway line had been constructed between the quarry and Stawell to transport the heavy blocks.

At its peak in 1886-87, more than 100 men worked at Heatherlie. Many lived with their families in simple stone and timber huts near the quarry. The township of Heatherlie was surveyed in 1887 and even had a small school, although the settlement declined when demand for stone fell.

Today visitors can explore an extensive collection of quarrying relics and ruins which help explain how the sandstone was cut, processed and transported.

Features include:

The dramatic quarry face and partly extracted stone blocks
Historic stone workers' cottages
Old quarry machinery and foundations
Boiler setting and stone chimney
Remains of the powder magazine
Sections of railway track, cuttings and embankments
Remains of the quarry railway siding
Information signs explaining the history of the site

Traditional quarrying marks can still be seen on some of the rock faces and partly cut blocks. These provide evidence of techniques such as the wedge-and-feather method once used to split large blocks of sandstone.

Heatherlie Quarry Township Walk

Distance: 2.4 km return
Difficulty: Easy
The walk begins at the car park on Heatherlie Track, off Mount Zero Road, and follows an easy track through open forest to the historic quarry and former township.

Allow plenty of time to wander around the site and read the interpretation signs. Picnic tables are available near the historic area.

Take care around the quarry. There are unstable cliffs, slippery rocks and uneven ground, and falling trees or branches can also be a hazard.