Harrow (including Douglas and Balmoral)
Small town in the Wimmera
Harrow is a small and picturesque hamlet of 150 people on the banks of the Glenelg River in Victoria's Wimmera district. Surrounded by mountains it is located 376 km north-west of Melbourne via Coleraine. Part of the town is situated on a hill overlooking the Glenelg River Valley. A steep and scenic road leads down to the main street which has a number of historic buildings.

Claiming to be the oldest inland town in Victoria the first business enterprise was established here c. 1840 on the boundary of three large properties. As the properties grew so did the business centre. At its peak the town had two hotels, three general stores, a blacksmith's, a saddlery, a drapery store, a shoemaker, a baker, flour mills, a brickworks and Chinese market gardens.

Recently people have drifted to the larger towns to the detriment of local farms. The National Bush Billy Cart Championships are held here in November of each year.

Things to see:  

Major Mitchell Monument
By the banks of the Glenelg River, where Blair St (the main road) intersects with the road to Coleraine, there is a monument which marks the spot where Major Mitchell crossed the river on his surveying journey to Australia Felix. Adjacent are a working blacksmith's and the old police station, built in 1886. The original station was built in 1853. Nearby, on Whittaker St, is 'The Hut' where a local woodturner can be seen practising his craft.

Gaol and Kalang
Opposite the blacksmith's is the town's old vernacular gaol, built in 1859, probably by the labour of local prisoners. It is constructed of rough-hewn logs stacked 14 high, crossed and notched at the corners, with a log ceiling and a hipped and gabled roof.

Behind it is 'Kalang', a restored cottage built in 1876 in the Connewirricoo area and moved to Harrow in 1988. It has a shingle roof and pit-sawn weatherboards and has been furnished with period items.

Swanson St-Hamilton St
Opposite the gaol, at the corner of Blair and Swanson Sts, is the Uniting (originally Presbyterian) Church, built of handmade bricks in 1879. Further down Swanson St is the Anglican church (1933). If you follow this road it becomes Hamilton St and winds its way southward past the old town school, established in 1878.

Motor Museum
Just along Blair St is the Harrow Motor Museum which features a range of superannuated vehicles. Adjacent is Kelly's garage where you can obtain petrol and information seven days a week. The large old building on the other side of the museum is the old CBC Bank building (1874). Next door is the town's local history museum. This was built in 1868 for the Road Construction Authority and was later used as the first office of the Kowree Shire Council.

Hermitage Hotel and Harrow By Night
Over the road is the Hermitage Hotel, built either in 1848 or 1854 depending on your source. Renovated in the 1890s, it has become the site of Harrow By Night in which the local townsfolk dress up and play the parts of 19th-century figures associated with the town, such as Johnny Mullagh and Pauline Sutherland's ghost. The night starts with an amusing dinner at the hotel and proceeds from there. An award-winning project, it unfolds once a week. Groups of 20 or more are preferred though individuals can be accommodated. The show costs $35 with dinner, tel: (03) 5588 1209. Adjacent is an old barn (1850).

More Blair St Heritage Buildings
Adjacent the museum is Calico & Candles, a pottery, craft and gift shop housed in a late 19th-century building. Next door is the original post office (1885) and the RSL building was built in 1877 as the town courthouse.

Further along Blair St, on the other side of the road, is Kolmar House, built in 1881. Today it is a licensed store. The stables next door were originally used by the mounted police.

Johnny Mullagh Park
Over the road is Johnny Mullagh Park which, together with a memorial in the reserve, commemorates Johnny Mullagh, the star of the first Australian cricket team to tour England in 1868. This all-Aboriginal squad trained at Edenhope prior to their departure. Upon their return, Mullagh continued to play cricket for Harrow.

There are powered sites, a toilet and shower block and fishing in the river.

The Horse Hole and Walking Track
A walking track starts here and follows the river for 1.5 km. There is plenty of birdlife about. At the other end of the track is The Horse Hole, a local swimming spot which was formerly used as a watering hole for the horses of the mounted police. You can access The Horse Hole and the other end of the track from the end of Whittaker St.

Canoe Tree
If you return to the Mitchell monument and head in the opposite direction to the hotel, Blair St becomes the Edenhope Rd. You will very shortly come to the Douglas Rd which heads off to the right. At this intersection is an old canoe tree. The missing section of bark was removed by Aborigines to make a canoe some time prior to the town's establishment.

Kout Norien
If you head out of town on the Douglas Rd, a private driveway on the left leads to Kout Norien which was built in 1854 of brick and stone around the earlier stone house (c.1845). The property was taken up in 1840 and there are some historically significant outbuildings, a slab hut and a slab woolshed. The fine garden is open for viewing by appointment, tel: (03) 5588 1203.

Other old homesteads in the area are 'Pine Hills' (c.1858), 'Clunies' (c.1864) on Glenferrie Rd and 'Mullagh' (1864-66) where Johnny Mullagh was born and worked. It is located on the Harrow-Natimuk Rd. They are privately owned.

Douglas
At Douglas, 21 km north-east, you will find the Red Hill Museum which features vintage machinery, horse gear, buggies etc. It is open by appointment, tel: (03) 5588 6245. Just out of town, along the road to Balmoral, is White Lake, recently declared a wetlands area. It is an ideal spot for birdwatching.

Rocklands Reservoir and Black Range
The wool town of Balmoral is 30 km south-east of Harrow. A bitumen road heads east from here to Rocklands Reservoir, a part of the Wimmera-Mallee irrigation system and a good spot for boating, waterskiing, sailing, swimming and fishing (for redfin and trout). About 12 km from Balmoral you will come to an intersection. The short gravel road to the Rocklands Spillway Caravan and Camping Park is clearly signposted, tel: (03) 5570 1438.

Just north of here is Black Range State Park which is part of the Grampians. It boasts masses of wildflowers, Aboriginal rock art and fine views.

	Hotels
	Hermitage Hotel Blair St Harrow VIC 3317 Telephone: (03) 5588 1209
	Cottages & Cabins
	Nerrinyerie Cottage Edenhope Rd Edenhope 3318 Harrow VIC 3317 Telephone: (03) 5588 1216 Rating: ***