East Gippsland acknowledges the Gunaikurnai, Monero and the Bidawel people as the Traditional Custodians of the land that encompasses East Gippsland Shire. We pay our respects to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people living in East Gippsland, their Elders past and present.
Historic Granite Quarry - Colquhoun State Forest
Land Based Activities
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Turn off the Princes Highway at the "Log Crossing Picnic Area" sign (near Forestech). If you head to the right you will pass the picnic area and you can even walk to the quarry from there, but it is a 7.4km walk! Even though you might not choose to walk the entire 7.4km, it is definitely worth your while to cross the bridge and take a short loop walk at the start of the track. There you will find remnants of the quarry tram line, together with several large granite boulders that were rumoured to have fallen off the very last rail journey because the workmen were in such a hurry to get to the pub before it closed!
I suggest you then drive on to Quarry Road, off Uncles Road and park at: S37 46.906 E147 55.733 - from there the walk is only 120m.
This granite quarry was opened in 1904 to provide rock to reinforce the man-made entrance to the Gippsland Lakes. Two interpretive signs at the quarry site provide details on how the granite was taken from the quarry and then shipped to the entrance. A tram line was built to transport the rock 13km from the quarry site along Mississippi Creek to barges at the head of the North Arm inlet. The barges then took the rock a further 6km to the entrance site.
Once the entrance was completed, granite was later taken to Melbourne for other building purposes. The quarry ceased production in the 1940s.
Description
Turn off the Princes Highway at the "Log Crossing Picnic Area" sign (near Forestech). If you head to the right you will pass the picnic area and you can even walk to the quarry from there, but it is a 7.4km walk! Even though you might not choose to walk the entire 7.4km, it is definitely worth your while to cross the bridge and take a short loop walk at the start of the track. There you will find remnants of the quarry tram line, together with several large granite boulders that were rumoured to have fallen off the very last rail journey because the workmen were in such a hurry to get to the pub before it closed!
I suggest you then drive on to Quarry Road, off Uncles Road and park at: S37 46.906 E147 55.733 - from there the walk is only 120m.
This granite quarry was opened in 1904 to provide rock to reinforce the man-made entrance to the Gippsland Lakes. Two interpretive signs at the quarry site provide details on how the granite was taken from the quarry and then shipped to the entrance. A tram line was built to transport the rock 13km from the quarry site along Mississippi Creek to barges at the head of the North Arm inlet. The barges then took the rock a further 6km to the entrance site.
Once the entrance was completed, granite was later taken to Melbourne for other building purposes. The quarry ceased production in the 1940s.
Map & Directions
Colquhoun State Forest, Lakes Entrance, Victoria
Phone 51 55 1966