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The Grampians National Park, commonly known as the Grampians, is a
national park A national park is a nature park designated for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes because of unparalleled national natural, historic, or cultural significance. It is an area of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that is protecte ...
located in the
Grampians The Grampian Mountains () is one of the three major mountain ranges in Scotland, that together occupy about half of Scotland. The other two ranges are the Northwest Highlands and the Southern Uplands. The Grampian range extends northeast to so ...
region of Victoria, Australia. The Jardwadjali name for the mountain range itself is Gariwerd. The national park is situated between and on the Western Highway and on the Glenelg Highway, west of
Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...
and east of
Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...
. Proclaimed as a national park on 1 July 1984, the park was listed on the
National Heritage List The Australian National Heritage List or National Heritage List (NHL) is a heritage register, a list of National heritage site, national heritage places deemed to be of outstanding heritage significance to Australia, established in 2003. The li ...
on 15 December 2006 for its outstanding natural beauty and being one of the richest Aboriginal
rock art In archaeology, rock arts are human-made markings placed on natural surfaces, typically vertical stone surfaces. A high proportion of surviving historic and prehistoric rock art is found in caves or partly enclosed rock shelters; this type al ...
sites in south-eastern Australia. The Grampians feature a striking series of
mountain range A mountain range or hill range is a series of mountains or hills arranged in a line and connected by high ground. A mountain system or mountain belt is a group of mountain ranges with similarity in form, structure, and alignment that have aris ...
s of
sandstone Sandstone is a Clastic rock#Sedimentary clastic rocks, clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of grain size, sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate mineral, silicate grains, Cementation (geology), cemented together by another mineral. Sand ...
. The Gariwerd area features about 90% of the
rock art In archaeology, rock arts are human-made markings placed on natural surfaces, typically vertical stone surfaces. A high proportion of surviving historic and prehistoric rock art is found in caves or partly enclosed rock shelters; this type al ...
in the state.


Etymology

At the time of European colonisation, the Grampians had a number of indigenous names, one of which was ''Gariwerd'' in the western Kulin
language Language is a structured system of communication that consists of grammar and vocabulary. It is the primary means by which humans convey meaning, both in spoken and signed language, signed forms, and may also be conveyed through writing syste ...
of the Mukjarawaint, Jardwadjali, and
Djab Wurrung The Djab Wurrung, also spelt Djabwurrung, Tjapwurrung, Tjap Wurrung, or Djapwarrung, people are Aboriginal Australians whose country is the volcanic plains of central Victoria from the Mount William Range of Gariwerd in the west to the Pyren ...
people, who lived in the area and who shared 90 per cent of their vocabulary. According to historian Benjamin Wilkie, the name ''Gariwerd'' was first written down in 1841, taken from a Jardwadjali speaker by the
Chief Protector of Aborigines The Australian colonies in the nineteenth century created offices involved in managing the affairs of Indigenous people in their jurisdictions. The role of Protector of Aborigines was first established in South Australia in 1836. The role beca ...
,
George Augustus Robinson George Augustus Robinson (22 March 1791 – 18 October 1866) was an English born builder and self-trained preacher who was employed by the British colonial authorities to conciliate the Indigenous Australians of Van Diemen's Land and the Po ...
, as ''Currewurt''. From speakers of the Djab Wurrung language or Djargurd Wurrung language, to the east, he recorded "Erewurrr, country of the Grampians" – likely a mishearing of ''Gariwerd''. Recorded variations on ''Gariwerd'' include ''Cowa'', ''Gowah'', and ''Gar'' – generic words for a pointed mountain. Dhauwurd Wurrung language speakers from the south-west coast of Victoria called the mountains ''Murraibuggum'', while Wathawurrung (Wathaurong) speakers used the name ''Tolotmutgo''. In 1836, the explorer and
Surveyor General of New South Wales The Surveyor General of New South Wales is the primary government authority responsible for land and mining surveying in New South Wales. The original duties for the Surveyor General was to measure and determine land grants for settlers in New Sou ...
Sir Thomas Mitchell named ''Gariwerd'' after the
Grampian Mountains The Grampian Mountains () is one of the three major mountain ranges in Scotland, that together occupy about half of Scotland. The other two ranges are the Northwest Highlands and the Southern Uplands. The Grampian range extends northeast to so ...
in his native
Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
. According to Wilkie, Mitchell first referred to ''Gariwerd'' as the ''Coast Mountains'' and, in July 1836, called them the ''Gulielmian Mountains'' after
William IV of the United Kingdom William IV (William Henry; 21 August 1765 – 20 June 1837) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from 26 June 1830 until his death in 1837. The third son of George III, William succeeded h ...
(''Gulielmi IV Regis)''. Members of his expedition referred to the mountains as the ''Gulielmean'', ''Gulielman'', and the ''Blue Gulielmean Mountains''. Later in 1836, Mitchell settled on ''Grampians'', and the ''Grampians National Park'' took that name in 1984. After a two-year consultation process, the park was renamed Grampians (Gariwerd) National Park in 1991, but that proved controversial and was reversed after the election of the Kennett government in 1992. The 1998 ''Geographic Place Names Act'' reinstated the dual naming of geographical features, and that has been subsequently adopted in the park, based on Jardwadjali and Djab Wurrung names for
rock art In archaeology, rock arts are human-made markings placed on natural surfaces, typically vertical stone surfaces. A high proportion of surviving historic and prehistoric rock art is found in caves or partly enclosed rock shelters; this type al ...
sites and landscape features, with the
Australian National Heritage List The Australian National Heritage List or National Heritage List (NHL) is a heritage register, a list of National heritage site, national heritage places deemed to be of outstanding heritage significance to Australia, established in 2003. The li ...
referring to "Grampians National Park (Gariwerd)".


Physiography

This area is a distinct physiographic section of the larger Western Victorian Highlands province, which, in turn, is part of the larger East Australian Cordillera physiographic division — commonly known as the Great Dividing Range — a series of
mountain range A mountain range or hill range is a series of mountains or hills arranged in a line and connected by high ground. A mountain system or mountain belt is a group of mountain ranges with similarity in form, structure, and alignment that have aris ...
s,
plateau In geology and physical geography, a plateau (; ; : plateaus or plateaux), also called a high plain or a tableland, is an area of a highland consisting of flat terrain that is raised sharply above the surrounding area on at least one side. ...
s and rolling hills forming out of the Wimmera plains just to the west of the Grampians, staying close to the east Australian coastline and extending 4,000 km (2,500 miles) to the north to Dauan Island in the
Torres Strait The Torres Strait (), also known as Zenadh Kes ( Kalaw Lagaw Ya#Phonology 2, �zen̪ad̪ kes, is a strait between Australia and the Melanesian island of New Guinea. It is wide at its narrowest extent. To the south is Cape York Peninsula, ...
off the northern tip of the
Cape York Peninsula The Cape York Peninsula is a peninsula located in Far North Queensland, Australia. It is the largest wilderness in northern Australia.Mittermeier, R.E. et al. (2002). Wilderness: Earth's last wild places. Mexico City: Agrupación Sierra Madre, ...
.


Geography

The general form that the ranges take is: from the west, a series of low-angled sandstone ridges running roughly north–south. The eastern sides of the ridges, where the sedimentary layers have faulted, are steep and beyond the vertical in place - notably at Hollow Mountain near Dadswells Bridge at the northern end of the ranges.


Geology

The rock material that composes the high peaks is sandstone which was laid down from rivers during the
Devonian The Devonian ( ) is a period (geology), geologic period and system (stratigraphy), system of the Paleozoic era (geology), era during the Phanerozoic eon (geology), eon, spanning 60.3 million years from the end of the preceding Silurian per ...
period 425 - 415 million years ago. This sediment slowly accumulated to a depth of ; this was later raised and tilted for its present form. A number of
stratigraphic Stratigraphy is a branch of geology concerned with the study of rock layers (strata) and layering (stratification). It is primarily used in the study of sedimentary and layered volcanic rocks. Stratigraphy has three related subfields: lithost ...
layers have been identified, such as the Silverband Formation, the Mount Difficult Subgroup and the Red Man Bluff Subgroup. The coarse grain and fine lamination of the Silverstone Formation, along with undulations at the surface, is thought to have been an
estuarine An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environm ...
backwater before becoming preserved around 400 million years ago. The
Southern Ocean The Southern Ocean, also known as the Antarctic Ocean, comprises the southernmost waters of the world ocean, generally taken to be south of 60th parallel south, 60° S latitude and encircling Antarctica. With a size of , it is the seco ...
reached the base of the northern and western edges of the mountain range about 40 million years ago, the deposition from the range forming the sea floor which is now Little Desert National Park. The highest peak is Mount William at . Numerous waterfalls, such as Mackenzie Falls, are found in the park and are easily accessible via a well-developed road network.


Climate

Due to being an exposed peak in the west of Victoria, Mount William features especially cool maximum temperatures throughout the year. Winter cloud cover is profound; with an extraordinary 26 days of precipitation in July, constituting an annual total of 215 days—quite possibly the highest figure of any site in mainland Australia. Snowfalls are both frequent and heavy throughout the year. Daily maximum temperatures can struggle above the single digits even in summer, and on such days the afternoon and mid-day readings can be near to in extreme cases such as in December 2022. The peak can be classed as a cold and moist
Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate ( ), also called a dry summer climate, described by Köppen and Trewartha as ''Cs'', is a temperate climate type that occurs in the lower mid-latitudes (normally 30 to 44 north and south latitude). Such climates typic ...
(
Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...
''Csb'') on account of the low summer rainfall − in February averaging only of rain.


Cultural heritage


Evidence of vertebrate life

The Silverband Formation (see
Geology Geology (). is a branch of natural science concerned with the Earth and other astronomical objects, the rocks of which they are composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Earth ...
above) was the source of sandstone paving slabs used for the construction of a nearby Cobb & Co station in 1873. The surface of one paver contained 23 impressions, the tracks of a four-legged animal around in length, which have been described as the oldest trace of a
vertebrate Vertebrates () are animals with a vertebral column (backbone or spine), and a cranium, or skull. The vertebral column surrounds and protects the spinal cord, while the cranium protects the brain. The vertebrates make up the subphylum Vertebra ...
walking on land.


Aboriginal Australian heritage

To the Jardwadjali and Djab Wurrung peoples, ''Gariwerd'' was central to the dreaming of the creator,
Bunjil Bunjil, also spelt Bundjil, is a creator deity, culture hero and ancestral being, often depicted as a wedge-tailed eagle in Australian Aboriginal mythology of some of the Aboriginal peoples of Victoria. Creation stories In the Kulin nati ...
, and ''buledji Brambimbula'', the two brothers Bram, who were responsible for the creation and naming of many landscape features in western Victoria. Grampians National Park (Gariwerd) is one of the richest Indigenous rock art sites in south-eastern Australia and was listed on the National Heritage List for its natural beauty as well as its past and continuing Aboriginal cultural associations. Motifs painted in numerous caves include depictions of humans, human hands, animal tracks and birds. Notable
rock art In archaeology, rock arts are human-made markings placed on natural surfaces, typically vertical stone surfaces. A high proportion of surviving historic and prehistoric rock art is found in caves or partly enclosed rock shelters; this type al ...
sites include: *Billimina (Glenisla shelter) *Jananginj Njani (Camp of the Emu's Foot) *Manja (Cave of Hands) *Larngibunja (Cave of Fishes) * Ngamadjidj (Cave of Ghosts - the same word as that used for
white people White is a Race (human categorization), racial classification of people generally used for those of predominantly Ethnic groups in Europe, European ancestry. It is also a Human skin color, skin color specifier, although the definition can var ...
) *Gulgurn Manja (Flat Rock) The rock art was created by Jardwadjali and Djab Wurrung peoples, and while Aboriginal communities continue to pass on knowledge and cultural traditions, much Indigenous knowledge has also been lost since European settlement of the area from 1840. The significance of the right hand prints at Gulgurn Manja is now unknown. One of the most significant Aboriginal cultural sites in south-eastern Australia is Bunjil's Shelter, not within the park area, but in Black Range Scenic Reserve near Stawell. It is the only known rock art depiction of
Bunjil Bunjil, also spelt Bundjil, is a creator deity, culture hero and ancestral being, often depicted as a wedge-tailed eagle in Australian Aboriginal mythology of some of the Aboriginal peoples of Victoria. Creation stories In the Kulin nati ...
, the creator-being in Aboriginal Australian mythology. Dual naming of features has been adopted in the park based on Jardwadjali and Djab Wurrung names for rock art sites and landscape features, including: * Grampians / Gariwerd (mountain range) * Mount Zero / Mura Mura (little hill) * Halls Gap / Budja Budja * Mount Stapylton / Gunigalg * Mount Difficult / Gar


Recreation

''Gariwerd'' and the Grampians National Park has been a popular destination for recreation and tourism since the middle of the nineteenth century. According to Wilkie, the extension of railways to nearby Stawell, Ararat and Dunkeld were an important factor in the mountains' increasing popularity in the early twentieth century; growing car ownership and the construction of tourist roads in the ranges during the 1920s were also significant.


Gliding

Mount William is known within the gliding community for the "Grampians Wave", a weather phenomenon that sometimes enables glider pilots to reach extreme altitudes of the order of . This predominantly occurs during the months of May, June, September and October when strong westerly winds flow at right angles to the ridge, and produce a large-scale
standing wave In physics, a standing wave, also known as a stationary wave, is a wave that oscillates in time but whose peak amplitude profile does not move in space. The peak amplitude of the wave oscillations at any point in space is constant with respect t ...
.


Rock climbing

The Grampians is a famous
rock climbing Rock climbing is a climbing sports discipline that involves ascending climbing routes, routes consisting of natural rock in an outdoor environment, or on artificial resin climbing walls in a mostly indoor environment. Routes are documented in c ...
destination, with the first routes being established in the 1960s. Notable routes include '' The Wheel of Life'' (V15 / 35) and ''Groove Train'' (33) which attract world class climbers. Australian adventurer Jon Muir regards the Grampians, along with the Arapiles, as near perfect in their combination of access, climate and type of rock. In March 2019, 30% of climbing areas were closed by
Parks Victoria Parks Victoria is a government agency of the state of Victoria, Australia. Parks Victoria was established in December 1996 as a statutory authority, reporting to the Victorian Minister for Environment. The ''Parks Victoria Act 2018'' updates ...
due to cultural and ecological concerns, namely bolting, chalk marks, and making access paths through vegetation. It closed 70% of bouldering routes, and 50% of sport climbing. Parks Victoria were accused by climbers of exaggerating damage and acting heavy handedly by pitting them against
traditional owners Native title is the set of rights, recognised by Australian law, held by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander groups or individuals to land that derive from their maintenance of their traditional laws and customs. These Aboriginal title rig ...
, of whom they are "natural allies". Jon Muir and renowned Australian mountaineer
Tim Macartney-Snape Tim Macartney-Snape (born 5 January 1956) is an Australian mountaineer and author. On 3 October 1984 Macartney-Snape and Greg Mortimer were the first Australians to reach the summit of Mount Everest. They reached the summit, climbing without ...
have criticised Parks Victoria’s handling of the situation, with Muir saying, “The climbers haven’t really been taken into the equation”, and Macartney-Snape saying, “It’s really the way it has been managed. It’s a blight on Australian administration of natural land.”


Bushwalking

In 2015 Parks Victoria started building the 164 km Grampians Peaks Trail.The Grampians: world’s next epic trek a peak attraction
/ref> The trail, which takes inspiration from popular Tasmanian trails, is designed to take 13 days to walk and crosses the length of the park. It was officially opened on 12 November 2021. The most popular walking area for day trippers is the Wonderland area near Halls Gap. In summer the ranges can get very hot and dry. Winter and spring are the best times for walking. The Wonderland area is also host to "The Grand Canyon" on the "Wonderland Loop" on one of the tracks to the "Pinnacle". In spring, the Grampians wildflowers are an attraction. Colloquially known as the ‘garden of Victoria’, the Grampians is home to 975 native plant species (including more than 75 orchid species), representing one third of the total Victorian flora, and many of these species are only found in the Grampians, including the Grampians pincushion lily (Borya mirabilis), one of the rarest native lilies in Australia.


Tourist centres

Halls Gap / ''Budja Budja'' is the largest service town in the area and is located at a point roughly equidistant between the towns of Ararat and Stawell. The town is located towards the eastern side of the park and offers accommodation to the many tourists who visit the area. The ''Brambuk National Park and Cultural Centre'' in Halls Gap is owned and managed by Jardwadjali and Djab Wurrung people from five Aboriginal communities with historic links to the Gariwerd-Grampians ranges and the surrounding plains.


Food and Wine Festival

Grampians National Park is home to one of Australia's longest running food and wine festivals, Grampians Grape Escape, held over the first weekend of May in Halls Gap every year. Launched in 1992, the Grampians Grape Escape is a hallmark event for Victoria and provides food and wine offerings by more than 100 local artisan producers, live music and family entertainment.


Natural disasters

Lightning caused a major
bushfire A wildfire, forest fire, or a bushfire is an unplanned and uncontrolled fire in an area of Combustibility and flammability, combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire may be more specifically identified as a ...
that burned out about 127,000 ha (47%) of the Grampians National Park in January 2006. Soon afterwards the first signs of regeneration were already visible with, for example, regrowth of the
eucalyptus ''Eucalyptus'' () is a genus of more than 700 species of flowering plants in the family Myrtaceae. Most species of ''Eucalyptus'' are trees, often Mallee (habit), mallees, and a few are shrubs. Along with several other genera in the tribe Eucalyp ...
trees. Many trees exhibit epicormic growth, where a mass of young shoots re-sprout along the whole length of the trunk to the base of the tree. Major flooding followed 5 years later in January 2011, forcing the closure of some parts of the Grampians National Park for several months. Furthermore since 2006, the Grampians National Park has experienced another two large-scale fires, both caused by lightning. These fires have impacted roughly 85% of the Grampians National Park. In the 2024-2025 summer, 2 bushfires burnt an estimated 136,329 hectares of the park and surrounding private land.


Further reading


Wilkie, Benjamin (2020). ''Gariwerd: An Environmental History of the Grampians''. Melbourne: CSIRO Publishing
*Wettenhall, Gib and Pouliot, A. (2007). ''Gariwerd: Reflecting on the Grampians''. Ballarat: Empress. *Wettenhall, Gib (1999). ''The People of Gariwerd: The Grampians' Aboriginal Heritage''. Melbourne: Aboriginal Affairs Victoria. *Calder, Jane (1987). ''The Grampians: A Noble Range''. Melbourne: Victorian National Parks Association.
Paton, Alistair & Paton, Bruce (2004). ''Discovering Grampians-Gariwerd : a visitor's guide to Grampians National Park''. Carlton, Vic.: Victorian National Parks Association


See also

*
Protected areas of Victoria Victoria is the smallest mainland state in Australia. it contained separate protected areas with a total land area of (17.64% of the state's area). The parks are managed by Parks Victoria, a state government agency. There are also many sma ...
* List of national parks of Australia


References

* Thomas, Tyrone. ''50 Walks in the Grampians''. 5. Melbourne: Hill of Content, 1995.


External links


Parks Victoria: Grampians National Park page

Official Grampians Tourism website

Grampians Grape Escape website


* ttps://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=6C8D10B8ACFD9B61 Visit Grampians Youtube Videos
Heritage Victoria - Grampians National Park
{{Authority control Parks of Barwon South West (region) Parks of Grampians (region) National parks of Victoria (state) Grampians (national park) Physiographic sections Protected areas established in 1984 Climbing areas of Australia Australian National Heritage List Rock art in Australia 1984 establishments in Australia Southeast Australia temperate forests Australian Aboriginal mythology