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Wonthaggi

Country
Australia
State
Victoria
City
Wonthaggi
Type of Location
Multiple
About Location

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Places to Visit
How to Reach

By car

From Melbourne it can be reached in less than 2 hours via the Bass Highway which turns off the South Gippsland Highway. It is 20 km past the Phillip Island turnoff. From the east it can be approached on the Bass Highway via Inverloch. It can also be reached on route C437 from Korumburra, another coal mining center.

By bus

Catch the V/Line daily Melbourne-Inverloch services.

Key places to visit
State Coal Mine, Wonthaggi State Coal Mine Historic Reserve, Wind farm, Cape Paterson, The Bass Coast Rail Trail


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Places to Visit
  • State Coal Mine, Garden St 10am-4:30pm. Despite its prosaic, Soviet-sounding name, this is actually an interesting historical attraction because of the guided tour 60 meters underground in the coal mine in addition to the above-ground exhibits. The site is part of an historic reserve managed by Parks Victoria. Mining ceased here many years ago and the site reopened as a tourist attraction in the 1980s. Restoration of mining infrastructure is on-going. On entry to the site you are free to wander around the above-ground exhibits which include the main museum room, a powder magazine, lamp room and a locomotive. One-hour underground tours commence at 10:30am, 11:30am, 1pm, 2pm and 3pm. Extra tours are offered during holidays. An introductory film screens in the entrance building 30 minutes prior to tours. For the tours, wear footwear suitable for uneven, damp ground and on warm days take extra clothing as the underground temperature is 16 degrees C. A hard hat is provided. The attraction is enlivened by the presence of a pit pony. Snacks are available from the gift shop and barbecue facilities are available.
  • Wonthaggi State Coal Mine Historic Reserve. In addition to the mine on Garden St, there are 6 other sites in the reserve. Pick up a copy of the Parks Victoria visitor guide to the reserve. It shows walking trails around the remnants of mining activities just to the west of the town. The trails also go into Baxter’s Wetland Reserve.
  • Wind farm, In 2005 the Wonthaggi Wind Farm was built near the town. The Bass Coast Shire Council was opposed to the wind farm along with local residents. Protesters argued the six turbines would taint the view of Cape Patterson on the trip from Kilcunda to Wonthaggi and would affect the "recreational tourism and landscape values of the coastline".[4] By September 2005 the six towers had been built, but the turbines had not commenced operation, but were themselves a tourist attraction. The wind farm, now operational, generates power up to 80% of the time, providing electricity for up to 6000 homes. 
  • Cape Paterson is a cape and town in Gippsland, Victoria (Australia). The cape was named by Lieut. James Grant in 1801, honouring explorer Lieut. Col. William Paterson. At the 2006 census, Cape Paterson had a population of 674.
  • The Bass Coast Rail Trail is a Rail trail located in the Bass Coast Shire of Gippsland, Victoria, Australia.

    The trail has been constructed along a section of the former Wonthaggi line. The trail starts at the former Anderson Station and finishes shortly after the former Wonthaggi Station. The trail is 16 kilometres (9.9 mi) long and travels from Anderson heading towards the coast downhill to Kilcunda, heading along coastal sand dunes into the open farmland surrounding Wonthaggi.
Right Time to Visit

January - March
October - December

Temperature

Information not available


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