East Ovens River Track 

Harrietville Victoria
Return
Nature Walks
13 km
3.5 to 4 hours
Grade 1: No bushwalking experience required. Flat even surface with no steps or steep sections. Suitable for wheelchair users who have someone to assist them. Walks no greater than 5km.
Grade 2: No bushwalking experience required. The track is hardened or compacted surface and may have a gentle hill section or sections and occasional steps. Walks no greater than 10km.
Grade 3: Suitable for most ages and fitness levels. Some bushwalking experience recommended. Tracks may have short steep hill sections a rough surface and many steps. Walks up to 20km.
Grade 4: Bushwalking experience recommended. Tracks may be long, rough and very steep. Directional signage may be limited.
Grade 5: Very experienced bushwalkers with specialised skills, including navigation and emergency first aid. Tracks are likely to be very rough, very steep and unmarked. Walks may be more than 20km.

Starting at the Tronoh Dredge, the track runs east of the Bon Accord Track along the Ovens River.

Follow the east branch until the end and return the way you came. Please note there are river crossings along the track.

The gate at the beginning of the East Ovens Track is the point where the East Ovens river was diverted by the Tronoh Dredge Company in 1948 to allow the Tronoh Dredge to operate without affecting the quality of the river water.

There are large alluvial workings visible after passing the gate and going upstream, much of which was carried out by Chinese Syndicates. The rock work that is readily seen was stacked there by the miners and was residue that occurred after sluicing the gold bearing gravel from the original river banks. It was stacked so work could continue and used for a number of purposes including chimneys for huts, water channels and retaining walls.

About a kilometre from the gate are the remains of the Bright Star Dredge. Depending on river conditions sections of the pontoon and dredge buckets can sometimes be seen in the River Bed. On the eastern bank are large pieces of metal chutes and other remnants. Also on the bank are the remains of a large chimney from a hut established there in an earlier time.

At the end of the East Ovens Track we have the site of an earlier diversion of the river cut through solid rock on the horse shoe bend of the river. The purpose of this diversion was to drain the original bed so it could be worked for the gold bearing gravel. This was a small river claim possibly dating from the 1880s.

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