Maldon - Mount Tarrengower Lookout Tower
Panoramic views of the surrounding region are best seen from the peak of Mount Tarrengower where there is a poppet-head lookout tower.
Mount Tarrengower rises to a height of 570 metres a few kilometres west of Maldon, and was the centre of gold diggings in the area during the 1850s.
The drive to the summit is about 3 km from the centre of Maldon. Drive along High Street, turn left after the brown sign into Franklin Street to begin the drive up the mountain.
As you make the ascent up the mountain you will observe the Butts Reserve - a clear space to the right and left of the road, with amenities on the left and stunning rock formation on the right.
The annual Hill Climb is held on the mountain. Beginning at Butts Reserve and continuing up and down the mountain, it is one of the oldest surviving Hill Climbs in Australia and the longest - being 1.5km long. The first climb was held in 1928 and up until 1956 was organised by the RACV. It fell into decline and was revived in 1964-1965 by the Vintage Sports Car Club of Australia. These two climbs were run on the new sealed road to the summit alongside the original rough track, some of which can still be seen today. It lapsed again until 1974 until the same club organised another round of the Victoria Hill Climb Championship.
Since 1974 the climb has been an annual event catering for vintage, historic, sports and racing car enthusiasts. Motor cycles were reintroduced in 2001. More detailed information can be obtained from the Vintage Sports Car Club of Vic and the Bendigo Car Club Inc.
The views as you continue your ascent are clear and extensive. There are stopping points along the way which can provide a view all the way to the Grampians.
At the top of the climb you will find ample place to park and tables and chairs are available for a picnic or a quiet sit. The 360 degree view from the ground is impressive, but the view from the tower is panoramic and stunning.
The Mount, The Lookout, and The Tower
By the end of the 1920s gold mining in Maldon had almost ceased and the town was in decline. In 1923 the Advance Maldon Association, seeking an attraction to bring visitors to the town, conceived the idea of erecting a lookout tower.
A suitable tower was identified in Bendigo. This was dismantled and its poppet legs brought to Maldon by rail in 80ft (24m) lengths. These sections were hauled up the mountain on a timber jinker drawn by a large team of horses. A track had to be cut from the Butts to the summit with a gradient that the horses could climb - the original rough track.
The top level of the tower is now used for fire spotting, but the lower levels are open to the public. From these levels neighbouring peaks are visible, including Mt. Alexander near Harcourt, Mt Korong near Wedderburn, Mt Franklin near Daylesford, Mt Beckwith near Clunes, Pyramid Hill, Mt Buninyong south of Ballarat, and Mt Macedon.
To the west in the middle distance Cairn Curran Reservoir can be seen, a major irrigation and water storage facility on the Loddon River, and used in less dry times for fishing, boating and water skiing.
Beyond that can be seen the white mounds of spoil from the deep lead mines that worked deposits of alluvial gold in buried riverbeds. Lights of far off townships are visible at night.
MORNING THOUGHTS by Daisy Cooper
Rising from a rugged base
Grand and bold and towering high
The mountain of our native place
Stands out against the azure sky
The zephyrs of a gentle morn
Steal through the wooded clefts and rocks
And as we talk the sounds are borne
From hill to vale where echoes mock
The rising sun, whose joyous beams
Scatter the darkness of the night
Tips all the hills and valleys seem
To sing a song of glad delight
The summit then we reach at last
And scan the landscapes all around
Dwelling on memories of the past
When natives free roamed o'er the ground
Yes, on this mount in days gone by
The chieftains of a fading race
Have gleaned the news of dangers nigh
And made these rocks a hiding place
And as we gaze, a dreamy sense
Of all the beauties that we see
Makes us pause and wonder whence
The Author of these works can be
Oh, Nature how divinely sweet
Are all thy works enriched by man
For O'er thee broods a spirit deep
And through they whole a God-like plan.
Published in The Tarrangower Times December, 1884.
Some children believe the Easter Bunny lives there..... on the Mount.
Each year, during the Maldon Easter Fair, the tower is illuminated. Prior to electricity being available it was lit up with loo makeshift lanterns, using stone ginger beer bottles, hemp wicks and kerosene, attached by fencing wire. The number that remained alight depended on the prevailing winds. The lanterns were hidden in a disused mine shaft during the year to save carrying them up and down the mount. The Fire Brigade had to be called one year when one of the lanterns set the tower alight.
Now the strings of light globes can be seen from distances up to 50kms away. The tower 'alight' is still a delight to all at Easter.
About The Nuggetty Ranges
Maldon is enclosed on two sides with Mt Tarrangower to the west and the Nuggetty Ranges to the north. Both areas are public land and are covered by open eucalypt forest with displays of wildflowers in spring. A number of roads and walking tracks run from the town up into the forest.
Location
Mount Tarrengower Road, Maldon 3463 Map
Web Links
→ Mt Tarrengower Historic Hill Climb on Facebook
