GRAMPIANS NATIONAL PARK
The rocks that form the Grampians were originally sand, mud and silt deposited on an ancient coastline 430 million years ago. They were compressed then forced upwards by collisions of continental plates, with erosion shaping the dramatic landscape we see today. Indigenous people have had an association with the Grampians for at least 30,000 years. After the last Ice Age the Djab Wurrung and Jardwadjali people made their home here, hunting and exploring in the mountains they called “Gariwerd” which means, simply, “the mountain range”.
European settlers arrived after explorer Major Thomas Mitchell climbed Mount William on July 14, 1836 and named the Grampians after a range in his native Scotland. Over the next 150 years the mountains were harvested for stone and timber, and the surrounding plains were cleared for farming. There was even a gold rush in 1900 (you can see the remains of diggings on a short walk at Mafeking).
The natural appeal of the mountains led to a growing tourism industry and a conservation movement that resulted in the declaration in 1984 of one of Victoria’s great national parks.
CULTURAL HERITAGE
Grampians National Park has the highest concentration of indigenous rock art sites in southern Australia. There are 60 in and around the national park including five open to
