Enjoy a pleasant outing in a little-known botanic park on the outskirts of Melbourne – one of Melbourne’s hidden treasures! This event is designed to be easily accessible by Metro train.

GRADE | LENGTH | TYPE: Grade 2: Easy approximately 9 km, circuit walk (graded according to the AWTGS: Australian Walking Tracks Grading System), mostly on off-road paths, but with a number of ascents and descents.

ACTIVITY DESCRIPTION: The Wilson Botanic Park is a total gem in the historic town of Berwick, a town that has now been engulfed by metropolitan Melbourne. Not only is the park incredibly photogenic, including views over Melbourne, it is also of significance for its geology and important fossil discoveries.

The area has an interesting geological history starting with ancient sedimentary layers from when the area was covered by the ocean, followed by periods of volcanic activity, with the most recent, and violent, eruption being some 22 million years ago, resulting in large deposits of basalt (bluestone). Fossils discovered here tell us that the region has had both tropical and temperate forests in bygone eras. The fossil discoveries at the park are significant because flowering and coniferous plants, tropical and temperate species, and micro and macro specimens have all been found. It’s the only known fossil site that contains specimens of both Nothofagus and Eucalyptus and is of significant geoheritage importance because it is where the oldest usable Eucalypt fossils have been found in Australia, which has been important for our understanding of the evolution of the modern Australian flora.

In 1859 William Wilson began quarrying bluestone from the site, since it had the highest quality basalt in the vicinity of Melbourne. The quarry operated almost continually up to 1976. In 1973, the Wilsons donated 17 hectares to the City of Casey, and in 1985 the council purchased a further 13.34 hectares, then in 1992 the 39 hectare Wilson Botanic Park was opened.

The City of Casey has sensitively and intelligently developed the park with many points of interest for humans, birds and the local fauna. Our circuit will begin and end at the Berwick Railway Station. We’ll initially walk along leafy Gloucester Avenue to the main street of Berwick, then take a tree-lined path to Wilson Botanic Park. There we’ll initially make a circuit of the two lakes, with optional stops for coffee and toilets. Afterwards we’ll climb to the rim of the park for great views over surrounding suburbs. (Note: the park looks a little like a conventional volcano, but the “crater” was formed more by quarrying than from volcanic activity).

Upon completing our rim circuit, we’ll return to the town via Kramer St and the Pioneers Park. A warming beverage can be had in High Street prior to our return to the train station.