Geography
At GZ you will not only have some great views of the coast but also
of the inactive Tower Hill Volcano which was formed around 30,000
years ago in a violent volcanic eruption. The initial eruption
created the outer rim of the volcano, and subsequent smaller
eruptions formed the internal hills that can be seen today.
Since then things have calmed down a bit and as time travelled on
the fertile soils of Tower Hill produced a diverse range of
vegetation including Manna Gum, Blackwood, Black Wattle, Swamp Gum
and Drooping Sheoak, prompting the area to be declared
“Victoria’s First National Park” in 1892.
Early settlers cleared much of the area for grazing, cropping and
quarrying, and by the 1930s the hills and islands were bare and
little wildlife remained.
In the 1960’s a revegetation project began, based on species
identified in a highly detailed painting of Tower Hill by Victorian
artist Eugene von Guerard in 1855. A copy is now on display at the
Worn Gundidj Visitor Centre.
Today, Parks Victoria is implementing restoration programs that aim
to reintroduce the indigenous understorey plants, including ferns
and grasses..
History
This site may have also witnessed the down fall of the famed
Mahogany
Ship thought to have been wrecked during the 1500’s.
If this is true and the ship was discovered it would rewrite
Australian history.
People
The Warrnambool and Koroit Gliding club operated from here from
1930 to 1936.
Near this location back on September 21st 1930 Percy J Pratt,
founder of the Geelong Gliding club in 1929, set an Australian
gliding record of 1 hour 35 minutes.
Sir Charles Kingsford Smith had his first glide off the beach south
of here on the 5th of March 1932
And now there is a cache hidden here!
Because this is a revegetation area we have hidden a log only
eclipse tin in an area where you do not have to leave the
path or disturb any vegetation to retrieve it.