The Mount Cole State Forest is in western

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

, near the town of Beaufort. The forest is around Mount Cole, which formed 390 million years ago. The

Indigenous Australians Indigenous Australians are people with familial heritage from, or recognised membership of, the various ethnic groups living within the territory of contemporary Australia prior to History of Australia (1788–1850), British colonisation. The ...

, the Beeripmo balug people, called it ''Bereep-bereep'', which means ''wild''. The forest covers an area of 12,150 hectares, including the forest around Mount Lonarch. The forest is on a

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. ...

which is above grassy plains. The plateau is about 760 metres above sea level. High peaks in the forest include Mount Buangor (1,090 metres), Mount Cole (899 metres) and Ben Nevis (877 metres). The main trees in the southern part of the forest are Messmate (

Eucalyptus obliqua ''Eucalyptus obliqua'', commonly known as messmate stringybark or messmate, but also known as brown top, brown top stringbark, stringybark or Tasmanian oak, is a species of tree that is endemic to south-eastern Australia. It has rough, stringy or ...

), Manna Gum (

Eucalyptus viminalis ''Eucalyptus viminalis'', commonly known as the manna gum, white gum or ribbon gum, is a species of small to very tall tree that is endemic to south-eastern Australia. It has smooth bark, sometimes with rough bark near the base, lance-shaped to c ...

), and Blue Gums (

Eucalyptus globulus ''Eucalyptus globulus'', commonly known as southern blue gum or blue gum, is a species of flowering plant in the family Myrtaceae. It is a tall, evergreen tree Endemism, endemic to southeastern Australia. This ''Eucalyptus'' species has most ...

). In the north, which is drier, there are Yellow Box (

Eucalyptus melliodora ''Eucalyptus melliodora'', commonly known as yellow box, honey box or yellow ironbark, is a species of medium-sized to occasionally tall tree that is endemic to south-eastern, continental Australia. It has rough, flaky or fibrous bark on part o ...

), and Red Stringybark (

Eucalyptus macrorhyncha ''Eucalyptus macrorhyncha'', commonly known as the red stringybark, is a species of medium-sized tree that is Endemism, endemic to eastern Australia. It has rough, stringy, grey to brown bark, lance-shaped adult leaves, flower buds in groups of ...

). There is also the rare Mount Cole Grevillea, Grevillea montis-cole. On the high peaks there are groups of Snow Gums (Eucalyptus pauciflora). There have been 130 different birds seen in the forest, including the

Powerful owl The powerful owl (''Ninox strenua''), a species of owl native to south-eastern and eastern Australia, is the largest owl on the continent. It is found in coastal areas and in the Great Dividing Range, rarely more than inland. The IUCN Red List ...

(Ninox strenua). Animals include

kangaroo Kangaroos are marsupials from the family Macropodidae (macropods, meaning "large foot"). In common use, the term is used to describe the largest species from this family, the red kangaroo, as well as the antilopine kangaroo, eastern gre ...

wallabies A wallaby () is a small or middle-sized macropod native to Australia and New Guinea, with introduced populations in New Zealand, Hawaii, the United Kingdom and other countries. They belong to the same taxonomic family as kangaroos and som ...

echidna Echidnas (), sometimes known as spiny anteaters, are quill-covered monotremes (egg-laying mammals) belonging to the Family (biology), family Tachyglossidae , living in Australia and New Guinea. The four Extant taxon, extant species of echidnas ...

koalas The koala (''Phascolarctos cinereus''), sometimes inaccurately called the koala bear, is an arboreal herbivorous marsupial native to Australia. It is the only extant representative of the family '' Phascolarctidae''. Its closest living re ...

and

possums Possum may refer to: Animals * Didelphimorphia, or (o)possums, an order of marsupials native to the Americas ** Didelphis, a genus of marsupials within Didelphimorphia *** Common opossum, native to Central and South America *** Virginia opossum, ...

. In 1954, 160 koalas were set free in the forest to as part of a plan to re-establish the animals in Victorian forests. In the 19th century, deer were introduced and Sambar deer are still living in the wet gullies in the south of the forest. Activities in the forest include camping, walking, four wheel driving, horse riding, and bird watching. The purpose of the forest is to supply good quality hardwood logs for sawmills. The management plan for the forest also protects the water catchments of several creeks which supply water to nearby towns. On 24 June 2021, the Andrews State Government, following an extensive review and recommendation, declerated that the Mt Cole State Forest would be added to the National Park register, providing it with additional protections. The proposed Mt Buangor National Park would be staged over the next 8 years in addition to 60,000 hectares of State forests and parks also to be added.

Mount Buangor State Park

An area of 1,940 hectares, the Mount Buangor State Park, was protected from logging in 1973. This park includes the waterfalls on Middle Creek, and the large rock faces and caves on Cave Hill. Mount Cole State Forest panorama

Climate

As the ranges face into the prevailing westerly storm track, maximum temperatures are particularly cold for the altitude and latitude. Heavy snowfalls occur regularly throughout the year, and sub-freezing daily maximum temperatures have been recorded well into spring at Lookout Hill (965 metres). Cold weather is present even at the height of summer: on 2 February 2005, the daily maximum did not exceed at Lookout Hill. The ranges can be classed as having a cold Mediterranean climate (''Csb''). Winters are extraordinarily cloudy, evident from the afternoon relative humidity readings at Lookout Hill.

References

{{reflist Victoria (state) state forests