Acheron Way Warburton Narbethong - Melbourne's Mountain Wonderland No. 3. History Scenery

On and around the Acheron Way; a back-road scenic and historical forest drive from Warburton to Narbethong through the heart of Australia’s Great Dividing Range. The road was constructed in 1929 during a boom in local tourism. It was promoted as one of the most scenic roads in Victoria; or even Australia. The main attraction was the rainforest scenery including cascading streams, tall mountain ash and ancient beech trees. The forest was decimated by wildfire in 1939 and again in 2009, resulting in much of the tall timber being salvaged for sawmilling. Although now 50% bitumen, the road is still similar to what tourists of ninety years ago would have experienced. Today, the few remnants of that forest still present much to be admired in a regrowth landscape. Short and long walks enable visitors to see the forest in intimate detail. The Acheron Way from Cement Creek to Somers Park is a gravel forest road suitable for most cars in dry weather, but it would be best to leave your low-clearance precious sedan at home. From Somers Park to Narbethong, the road is bitumen but narrow. The video ends with an additional mini-slideshow of some images around Narbethong. #acheronway #narbethong #warburton #donnabuang #domdom #acheron #bushfire What to expect: 0:0 Start. 0:11 Map 0:20 Cement Creek. 0:31 Old bush track before the Acheron Way. 0:44 Tourists admiring the scenery from a bridge. 0:56 Former convenience block at Cement Creek. 1:10 As it was. 1:22 Cement Creek road junction, then. 1:46 Cement Creek road junction, now. 1:58 Cement Creek Rainforest Gallery Walk 2:10 Treetop walkway 2:36 Old Myrtle Beech hosting Kangaroo Fern. 3:14 Acheron Way warning signs. 3:50 One more hazard (snake). 4:02 Acheron Way road conditions. 4:14 Daily Acheron Way bus tours 1950s. 4:26 Some bus problems. 4:50 Filtered mountain views. 5:04 Acheron Gap. 5:20 Donna Buang to Dom Dom. 5:57 Donna Buang means 'Body of Mountain'. 6:38 Upper Yarra water catchment gates. 6:50 The Edgar Track to Marysville. 7:08 Road / Track 15. 7:32 Walk to Mount Ritchie Diversion feature 7:54 A magical place - Upper Acheron River 8:18 View of Cathedral Range. 8:42 Fire dam. 8:54 Dugout clearing. 9:06 Dugout. 9:18 Dugout convenience. 9:30 On top of Mount Ritchie. 9:42 Back on the Acheron Way. 9:56 The Splitter’s Camp. 10:06 The Splitter’s Hut. 10:26 The splitter in isolation. 10:38 Splitter’s Falls. 11:14 Water gushes out of the mountain. 11:32 Old myrtle beech tree. 11:44 Inspecting an old myrtle beech. 11:56 Big tree. 12:08 1958 Acheron River bridge. 12:18 Bridge fernery. 12:42 Mount Vinegar Road. 12:54 Somers Park, Acheron Way 13:16 Opening of the Acheron Way. 14:14 The Mystery Man. 14:26 A bush home. 15:12 Abandoned quarry. 15:22 Seven people perished in bushfires. 15:46 Forest regeneration. 15:58 Feiglins Road. 16:30 Pack Track to Woods Point 17:06 A ford on the Acheron River 17:18 Feiglin’s Sawmill 17:38 Old Coach Road to Marysville 18:02 Cobb & Co coach to Marysville 18:12 Easter at Narbethong 18:24 Cambarville sawmill site. 18:36 Narbethong Reserve. 18:49 Narbethong 2009 bushfire Memorial. 18:58 Acheron Way bus leaving Healesville 19:08 Fire resistent Narbethong Hall. 19:14 Mount Dom Dom from Narbethong. 19:22 Mount Strickland from the Old Coach Road. 19:30 Bushwalkers at Narbethong. 19:38 What could possibly go wrong? Music: ‘Great Dividing Range ’ by Marcie Jones.    • The Great Dividing Range   ‘Bush Haven’ – by Dianne Lindsay.    • Bush Haven   ‘Geography’ by Emily Barker.    • Emily Barker - Geography (lyric video)   ‘Mountains to the Sea’ by Shane Howard.    • Mountains to the Sea   ‘Stairway to Heaven’ by Led Zeppelin with water sound added).    • Led Zeppelin - Stairway To Heaven (Officia...      • STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN(LED ZEPPELIN) with RAIN...   Some reference sources: ‘Healesville & District Historical Society. NLA Trove. Also see video comments. *Sawmill History*: Detailed information on Feiglin's and other sawmills can be found in the book 'Wooden Rails & Green Gold' by Peter Evans. https://shop.lrrsa.org.au/product/woo... *Waterfall Information*: Recent photographs and information on access to Splitter's (Acheron) Falls can be found in the book 'Melbourne's Waterfalls Volume 3 Eastern' by Travis Easton. There are images of several levels of the falls to compare with Panton's depiction of Acheron Falls. This slideshow and all unattributed images are © Luke Steenhuis 2023.