Hanging Rock Base Walk (1.8km)

Hanging Rock is located near the traditional boundary between three Aboriginal Traditional Owner groups €“ the Woi Wurrung (Wurundjeri), the Djaara and the Taungurung.

Archaeological evidence found at Hanging Rock demonstrates Aboriginal use and occupation of the place for at least 10,000 years. As a prominent, culturally significant landmark near tribal boundaries with a reliable source of water, it is likely to have been used for Ngargee ceremonies (Corroborrees) and other traditional business that involved gatherings.

Whilst each of the Traditional Owner groups assert custodianship of Hanging Rock, the place has important ongoing connections and cultural values to all three groups and there are important shared values and attachments to Country.

Hanging Rock is set in a broader cultural landscape, with important connections to culturally significant places and story lines at Camels Hump on Mt Macedon to the south, to traditional stone sources located at Coliban Dam to the north west, to Brock's Monument and the headwaters of Deep Creek in the east, the Goulburn River to the north and Mt William to the north-east.

Rumoured to have been the haunt of bushranger 'Mad Dog' Morgan, this small volcano or mamelon was formed by an upheaval of lava millions of years ago. It was made famous by the classic Australian novel and later movie Picnic at Hanging Rock, the mythic tale of the Valentine's Day disappearance of a group of schoolgirls and their teacher while visiting Hanging Rock in 1901. The legend endures, and an air of mystery and intrigue still lingers. The mound of massive granite tors is riddled with caves, tunnels and overhanging boulders, its shapes and acoustic echoes enhancing its already spooky reputation.