Casterton
Medium sized service centre in the heart of the Western District.
Casterton is a relatively small rural centre of about 2000 people located on the banks of the Glenelg River in a valley surrounded by rolling hills. Situated 352 km west of Melbourne and 63 km west of Hamilton on the Glenelg Highway, it is a service centre to a large pastoral, mixed farming, timber-producing and dairying district near the South Australian border. Casterton has a golf course, a racecourse, a caravan park, a sports and leisure centre and there are numerous sporting facilities in Island Park, off Murray St. There are a number of scenic attractions in the area.

The Kanalgundidj clan (part of the Jardwadjali language group) are thought to have occupied this area prior to white settlement. The first Europeans in the area were the party of surveyor Thomas Mitchell which passed through the area during the Australia Felix expedition of 1836. Mitchell wrote quite extensively of an Aboriginal woman and her child whom he met nearby, bestowing upon her the gift of a tomahawk. He then headed south and encountered the Henty brothers at Portland. His reports of good pasturage encouraged them to move inland in 1837, marking the start of European settlement in the Western district. They took up 28 000 ha of land in the area and an original homestead, 'Muntham', still stands between Casterton and Coleraine.

As was the case throughout Australia, the indigenous people lost access to their lands as a result of white settlement and so occasionally fed upon the sheep which gradually displaced their traditional food sources. In retaliation for what whites saw as 'theft' a massacre of Aborigines occurred at a camping and corroboree site now known as Murdering Flat. They were allegedly shot with bolts, nails and gravel loaded into a cannon. Protector of Aborigines, George Robinson, remarked that the majority of stories about Aboriginal depredations in the area were "grossly fallacious or shamelessly exaggerated". By 1857 James Bonwick observed that "The tribe is nearly extinct" and he reflected upon the degree to which alcoholism had spread through the community as the traditional culture collapsed.

The townsite of Casterton emerged on a crossing place along the Glenelg River. Surveyed in 1840 it was named after a settlement in the north of England. The word 'casteron' is said to derive from a Roman word meaning 'walled city'. This may be coincidental although some sources suggest it is an intentional reference to the way in which the Australian settlement is 'protectively' surrounded by a series of hills.

The Glenelg Inn was established in 1846 and a post office was opened the following year. The following decade saw a range of businesses opening and a racing club was formed. The telegraph arrived in the 1860s and the 1870s saw the establishment of local newspaper the Casterton News.

By 1880 the large squatting runs were being broken up for closer settlement by selectors. The railway arrived in 1884 and Casterton became the western terminus of the state's rail service. A kangaroo skin tannery was established in 1885 and a cheese factory in 1892. That same year the premier of Victoria, William Shiels (after whom part of the main thoroughfare is named), his ministry and about 40 journalists travelled to Casterton by a special train to present his policies in a media event which amounted to the first rural policy launch.

Wheat production declined in the 1890s owing to soil erosion but the dairying and meat industries took up the economic slack. By that time the town had five hotels, five butchers, eleven general storekeepers, two tinsmiths, seven blacksmiths and wheelwrights, three banks, four tailors, three drapers and milliners, six auctioneers and agents and a chemist.

On returning from South America and the 'New Australia' venture in 1902, poet and political radical Dame Mary Gilmore settled on a property at Strathdownie, to the south-west of Casterton. She came to public attention when her life and work were featured in the Bulletin in 1903. She then moved to Casterton in 1907 where her son attended school. There she began a long-standing association with the Australian Worker for whom she regularly contributed a special page for women. She befriended and campaigned for radical poet and Labor member J.K. McDougall and wrote her own poetry. Her first volume of verse was published in 1910. Dame Mary left Casterton in 1912.

Another poet, Adam Lindsay Gordon, also participated in horse races at Casterton. The infamous 19th century literary figure and swindler, George Henry Cochrane (aka 'Grant Hervey' and 'Hervey G. Madison'), was born at Casterton and lived in the town at the same time as Gilmore. Before World War I he moved to Sydney where he became a contributor to the Bulletin. In 1914 Cochrane returned to the town where he managed to perpetrate fraud upon the Casterton News. He was caught and, as some accounts report it, he was tarred and feathered. Certainly he was charged with forgery and uttering and was jailed. After his release he moved on to Mildura where he definitely was tarred and feathered and run out of town.

The Casterton Christmas Carnival sees the townsfolk go all out each December in terms of decorating the town with Christmas lighting. The annual show is held on the second Saturday in November. The Casterton Kelpie Muster attractspeople to the town which is known as the Birthplace of the Kelpie.

Things to see:  

Tourist Information
The local information centre is located in Apex Park adjacent Shiels Terrace (the highway) just to the east of the bridge over the Glenelg River. It is open from 9.00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m. daily (not open on Christmas Day) and can provide exact details on the whereabouts of interesting out-of-town attractions, tel: (03) 5581 2070.

Casterton Historical Society Museum
The Casterton Museum is located in the old railway station at the corner of Jackson St and Clarke St, near the river. It features a display of memorabilia relating to local history. Opening times vary so it is best to ring first, tel: (03) 5575 3294 or (03) 5581 2358.

Mickle Lookout
Mickle Lookout is located on the northern side of town. Head off the highway along Robertson St and turn left into Moodie St. The lookout proffers fine views over the town.

The Castleton Fine Art Gallery
The Castleton Fine Art Gallery is located in Henty St.

Scout Emblem
In 1941 a fleur-de-lis with a circumference of 91 metres was carved into the hill overlooking the town by the Scouts. It was originally illuminated by old rags soaked in kerosene and set alight. Electric lighting has since been installed to maintain the tradition.

Warrock Homestead Complex
The 'Warrock' station was established in 1841 and was taken over, in 1843, by Scottish cabinet-maker George Robertson. By 1860, when he obtained free-hold title to the land, he had erected about 40 buildings which constituted something of a private village. He initially lived in a cottage which he constructed of Tasmanian timber, handmade nails and blackwood shingles.

33 of Robertson's well-preserved buildings remain. Principally designed after mid-19th century pattern book sources, they typically feature Gothic effects such as steeply-pitched roofs with pronounced gables, fretted bargeboards and finials and are spread out over two acres. They include the original cottage, the homestead (built from 1848 to 1853 and retaining the hand-made original timber furniture), the fine woolshed, a smokehouse, a slaughtering shed, the shearer's quarters, a belfry (the bell was used to summon hands to meals), a dairy, a grain store, a baking house, the stables, a blacksmith's and the brick dog compound which housed the canines used to hunt the local dingoes to extinction. It is argued that Robertson bred the first kelpie at Warrock.

The architectural and historical value of these buildings is recognised by the National Trust which considers it the "most important pastoral station complex in Victoria". Robertson's descendants lived on the property until 1991 and there is much in the way of antique equipment and tools (steam engines, treadle lathes, chaff cutters etc). There is a picnic area and it is open daily from 10.00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m. An admission fee is charged.

To get to Warrock homestead you can head east of Casterton along the Glenelg Highway for 6 km and turn left onto the Chetwynd Rd. After 15 km take the signposted left into Warrock Rd and it is several kilometres to the complex. Alternatively, if you are travelling north of Casterton along the Apsley Rd turn right into Warrock Rd 24 km north of Casterton, tel: (03) 5582 4222.

Bilstons Tree
About 10 or 15 km further north along the Chetwynd Rd is a signposted turnoff on the left to Bilstons Tree which is considered to have the largest volume of millable river red gum in the world. It is thought to be 800 years old and stands over 40 m high with a girth of seven metres, consisting of 9100 cubic feet of timber.

Baileys Rocks and Dergholm State Park
Baileys Rocks are a series of enormous and unusual green-coloured granite boulders in a dry creek bed within the northern section of Dergholm State Park. Follow the Apsley Rd (aka the Naracoorte Rd) north-west for about 39 km (about 6 km beyond the settlement of Dergholm) and a signposted turnoff on the right leads to the Baileys Rocks Picnic and Camping Area where there are toilets, fuel barbecues, picnic tables, drinking water and two walking tracks. A short (3230-metre) loop track leads to the boulders while the Rocky Creek Trail (5 km return) starts further upstream. It is clearly marked by blue arrows and is about 5 km return.

There are also driving tracks in the park which features a diversity of vegetation (woodlands, open forests, heath and swamp communities and spectacular spring wildflowers) and fauna (red-tailed black cockatoos, swift parrots, echidnas, koalas, grey kangaroos and a range of reptiles). A spotlight walk at night may afford a glimpse of nocturnal animal life such as sugar gliders.

The park covers 10 400 ha and is divided into two blocks which are separated by the Dergholm-Edenhope Rd. Once occupied by the Kanal gundidj clan (part of the Jardwadjali language group), it was declared a Park in 1992. Ring (03) 5581 2427 for further details.

Carmichael Track
The Carmichael Track is signposted off the Casterton-Penola Rd (the Glenelg Highway), west of Casterton. The main picnic area (which has barbecue and toilet facilities) is readily accessible by car but a 4WD is required to venture further at certain times of the year. The walking track leads through an abundance of wildflowers in season, though it is pleasant at any time of the year.

Longlead Swamp Track
Longlead Swamp Track is further west (about 11 km from Casterton) along the highway (signposted to the right). It is another bush track with wildflowers and barbecue facilities. There are waterbirds, kangaroos and emus.

The Bluff
The Bluff boasts spectacular scenery at 160 metres above sea level. The property also has the original family slab hut, relocated schoolhouse, historical local history records and farm stay accommodation. It is signposted off the Glenelg Highway, about 20km from Casterton towards Mount Gambier.

	Tourist Information
	Casterton Tourist Information Centre Shiels Tce Casterton VIC 3311 Telephone: (03) 5581 2070
	Motels
	Glenelg Inn Motel/Hotel 2 Henty St Casterton VIC 3311 Telephone: (03) 5581 1988
	Hotels
	Albion Hotel/Motel 25 Henty St Casterton VIC 3311 Telephone: (03) 5581 1092 Rating: ***
	Caravan Parks
	Island Park Caravan Park off Henty St Casterton VIC 3311 Telephone: (03) 5581 2070 Rating: **
	Restaurants
	Albion Hotel/Motel 25 Henty St Casterton VIC 3311 Telephone: (03) 5581 1092
	Glenelg Inn Motel/Hotel 2 Henty St Casterton VIC 3311 Telephone: (03) 5581 1988