After years of planning and construction, the newest rail trail in Victoria, Waranga Rail Trail, opened for users yesterday, Tuesday 1 April.
Its completion provides the local region with a 19km rail trail following the alignment of the decommissioned railway line from Rushworth to Murchison. The trail traverses through beautiful bushland and the scenic Waranga Basin.
The townships at each end – Rushworth and Murchison – both have excellent bakeries, shops, picnic areas and amenities.
Campaspe Council is also developing Waranga Rail Trail signage in conjunction with Greater Shepparton City Council and key Rushworth stakeholder groups, these will be installed in the coming months.
Why visit the Waranga (Murchison – Rushworth) Rail Trail?
- Connects Murchison, on the Goulburn River, with the historic town of Rushworth along with the Waranga Basin.
- This almost level shared path traverses former gold mining and cropping country, plus the unique ecosystem of Doctors Swamp wetland, which has a Parks Victoria picnic area on its western boundary.
- Includes a refurbished, historically significant bridge over the Stuart Murray Canal.
- The Stanhope-Girgarre Rail Trail is in the corridor of a branch line from Rushworth and they’ll may link up in the future
Nearby Attractions
- A small park in Murchison (zoom into map) is dedicated to the impact of the Murchison Meteorite in 1969, which was heard, observed and smelt on one quiet Sunday morning. The meteorite weighed more than 100kg and contained the oldest material found on Earth, silicon carbide particles estimated to be seven billion years old.
- Waranga Basin, the fourth-largest inland waterway in Victoria, is an important off-river storage facility supplying water to many irrigation areas. It features the first major dam built in Australia. Its construction began in 1905 using hand tools and horse-drawn scoops. At the time it was the largest project of its kind in the world.
- Many historic buildings in Rushworth.