Wallan

The small town of Wallan sits at the southern end of the large and diverse shire of Mitchell which extends from the northern fringes of Melbourne into the farming country of north-central Victoria and the lower Goulburn Valley. The fastest growing town in the shire, Wallan, in fact, is a convenient link between the city and the rural charms of such towns as Kilmore, Broadford and Seymour. The township flanks the Northern Highway and is set against the backdrop of the Great Dividing Range. A short drive north takes you to Hidden Valley where the late business entrepreneur Robert Holmes a Court's dream equine nursery has been redeveloped as an all-embracing residential estate. Kilmore and its fine old buildings - including Whitburgh Cottage - is just 13km to the north and, a few kilometres on, the turnoff to Strath Creek leads to the stunningly scenic drive through the Valley of a Thousand Hills. One of the shire's more interesting enterprises is the development of the so-called multi-purpose trail project which links several Goulburn River locations with a Lions Park in Seymour. The trail follows some of the most picturesque Goulburn River stretches for about five kilometres.