The Wimmera River in Little Desert National Park

Natimuk
Small Wimmera service centre.
Natimuk is a small Wimmera town of some 500 people, located 324 km north-west of Melbourne and 25 km west of Horsham. Although it is essentially a small and sleepy settlement, nearby Mt Arapiles draws a variety of visitors to the area which has given the town a slightly cosmopolitan gloss.

Natimuk's name derives from an Aboriginal word thought to mean 'little lake' - clearly a reference to Lake Natimuk located just to the north of town.

The first European settlers here were the Wilson brothers who established vast sheep properties in this area in 1844. The following year a Major Firebrace took over the lease for the Vectis station. Explorers Robert O'Hara Burke and William Wills agisted their camels on this station for 18 months during their fatal expedition across Australia.

It was an Aboriginal tracker from the Vectis station, King Richard, who found the three lost Duff children in 1864. The family lived in a bark-roofed log hut west of Natimuk. The trio, Jane (aged 7), Isaac (9) and Frank (4) were lost in the bush for nine days. When they were located only Frank was conscious but they were carefully nursed back to health. Their story was immortalised in a popular tale of the era called 'Babes in the Woods'.

The Wilsons had bought back the lease to the Vectis station in 1860. Enthusiastic horse breeders, they built their own racecourse on the property and were instrumental to the founding of the Victoria Amateur Turf Club in 1875.

Closer settlement proceeded when land in the area was taken up by Lutheran selectors from Germany in the 1870s. In flight from religious persecution in their homeland they moved to the Wimmera after initially settling at Mount Gambier and Penola.

Indicatively, half of the students at the town's first state school (1875) were of German parentage. The town's current Lutheran church is a testimony to the solid roots laid down by those settlers.

Natimuk was an important centre before the emergence of Horsham caused the decline of the town.

Things to see:  

The Little Desert National Park

Tourist Information
Enquiries should be directed to the Natimuk Hotel in Main St, tel: (03) 5387 1300.

Courthouse Museum
Situated in Main St, the 1890 courthouse is now operating as a local history museum. It is open on the second Sunday of the month or by appointment, tel: (03) 5387 1482.

Lake Natimuk
Nearly 3 km north of town is Lake Natimuk which is an ideal spot for fishing, waterskiing and other water sports when it is full. The lake is noted for its plentiful yabbies, redfin and trout. However, it can dry up during a drought. Ironically, the accumulation of dry vegetation on the lake bed in the 1967 drought actually presented a fire risk and prompted a major burnoff which presented the spectacle of a lake aflame. There is a caravan park with amenities block, camping and picnicking facilities and several boat ramps.

Mt Arapiles
To the west of town is Mt Arapiles (pronounced 'a-rap-i-leez'). It is referred to as the 'Ayers Rock of the Wimmera'. It is considered by abseiling enthusiasts to be the country's premier abseiling venue because it has a sandstone rock face which rises 356 metres. This has made it something of an international drawcard, thereby explaining the town's slightly cosmopolitan sheen. The surface of the mountain is reliable and there are nearly 2000 routes of varying difficulty. Abseiling courses are run from the summit.

The Djurite Balug clan occupied the area around the mountain (which they called 'Djurite') until forced out by white settlement and there is a good deal of archaeological material to testify to their presence. The first European to climb Mt Arapiles was surveyor Major Mitchell in 1836. He named it after the hills in Spain which were the site of the Battle of Salamanca during the Napoleonic Wars. Some sources claim his brother was killed in that conflict.

At the western end of Natimuk there is a fork in the road. The one on the left heads south-west along the Wimmera Highway and the one on the right veers west along the Goroke Rd. 9 km from town along the Wimmera Highway there is a signposted turnoff on the right which leads into the Mt Arapiles State Park.

As you enter the park there are two roads. The road on the left is Lookout Rd and the sharp right is Centenary Park Rd. The former winds its way up to a carpark and a short track will then take you to the summit of the monolith where there is a scenic lookout, a telecommunications relay station and a firewatching tower. The tower is sometimes manned in summer and, if it is, you may be invited to climb up and partake of the view over the wheat plains and the numerous local lakes. You can also watch the abseilers do their thing.

The area around the monolith has been subject to the incursions of prospectors searching, not for gold, but for the booty of bushranger Captain Melville which is supposed to be stashed hereabouts. Melville used the mountain to watch for potential contributors to his well-being on the Adelaide-Melbourne coach road below. Melville Cave lies along a short side-road which leads off to the right from Lookout Rd.

Just before this turnoff, a track on the left leads to a short nature walk. Near the top of Lookout Rd another side road on the right leads to the Bluff picnic area from whence there are outstanding views.

Centenary Park Rd leads past the foot of the mountain where you will see the camping and picnic area known as Centenary Park which has basic camping facilities and plenty of plant and animal life. The park was created and named in 1936 to celebrate the centenary of Major Mitchell's ascent of the mountain. The shady pines were planted at that time. Two walking trails lead to the summit. The area has plenty of plant and animal life, including fine wildflower displays in spring.

Mitre Rock
Centenary Park Rd continues on past the campsite and reaches a T-intersection at the Natimuk-Goroke Rd. If you turn left it will lead you right by an isolated outcrop on the right-hand side of the road known as Mitre Rock, a sacred Aboriginal site which is surrounded by a small reserve and situated just one kilometre north of Mt Arapiles. The European name refers to the shape of the rock which was thought to resemble a bishop's mitre.

Jane Duff Reserve
Further west on the Goroke Rd (about 20 km west of Natimuk) is the Jane Duff Reserve, a 26-ha roadside reserve with remnant native vegetation. It represents the southernmost occurrence of the mallee. There are picnic facilities and a monument to Jane Duff, one of the three Duff children who got lost in the bush for nine days in 1864. When they were located by an Aboriginal tracker only Frank Duff (aged four) was conscious but all three were carefully nursed back to health. Their story was immortalised in a popular tale of the era called 'Babes in the Woods'.

Nearby are Duffholme Cabins and a museum display relating to the children's story, tel: (03) 5387 4246.

Mott's Dummy Hut
4 km west of town, on the Goroke Rd, is Mott's dummy hut, which is nothing more than a timber room sitting on top of some logs. Built in 1872 it is a memento a moment in Australian land reform. In 1872, in an attempt to open up more land for settlement, the Victorian government introduced the Victorian Selection Act. Under this act settlers had to take up residence on land or they could lose it. This meant that the owners of very large tracts of land (ie the rich landowners) were in danger of losing some of their lands. To get around the new legislation the old landowners provided part of their huge holdings to various family members. Those family members, in order to prove their credentials, built 'dummy' houses which appeared to be residences. In this case the 'residence' was erected by David Mott to extend his father's estate.

Gold Escort Route
About 7 km west of Natimuk along the Goroke Rd, just before the Mt Arapiles turnoff, there is a signposted right-hand turn onto Grass Flat Rd. Near its end is a cairn which marks the site of the gold escort which operated in 1852 and 1853. It was intended to reverse the currency drain from South Australia during the Victorian goldrushes by bringing some of the gold back to Adelaide, a town which had been virtually deserted by hopeful prospectors. In this it was a successful venture as around one million pounds worth of the precious metal passed through this spot during 18 excursions in the years 1852 and 1853.

	Hotels
	National Hotel 65 Main St Natimuk VIC 3409 Telephone: (03) 5387 1300 Rating: *
	Apartments
	National Hotel Holiday Apartments 65 Main St Natimuk VIC 3409 Telephone: (03) 5387 1300 Rating: ***
	Caravan Parks
	Natimuk Lake Caravan Park Lake Rd Natimuk VIC 3409 Telephone: (03) 5387 1553 Rating: **
	Backpackers
	Horsham-Arapalies Backpackers Lodge Asplins Rd Quantong Natimuk VIC 3409 Telephone: 015 340 603
	Restaurants
	National Hotel 65 Main St Natimuk VIC 3409 Telephone: (03) 5387 1300