Gembrook
Gembrook is a small town of about 500 people located 12 km east of Emerald, on the Puffing Billy railway line. It was named after the Gembrook Mining Company which extracted gemstones from the area during the mid-19th century. Gembrook became associated with scouting in the 1920s and Italian settlers arrived from 1935, becoming involved in vegetable cultivation. Today Gembrook is largely a commuter area.
Bunyip State Park (16 600 ha): just to the east of the town, the park features a diversity of flora and fauna and high landscape values, it is ideal for bushwalking, picnicking, horseriding, mountain bike riding, camping, 4WD and trail bike riding (seasonal closures of the relevant trails occur from mid-June to the end of October). Four Brothers Rocks are a group of granite rocks offering sweeping views across the park. Camping sites are varied and dispersed throughout the Park. Facilities at the designated camping/picnic areas include tent sites (non-powered), drinking water, toilets, fireplaces and picnic tables. However, camping at picnic grounds will be slowly phased out. Bush camping is permitted at more remote locations although there are no facilities at these sites.
Kurth Kiln Park (3500 ha): lies to the north and north-east of Gembrook. It contains a range of plant communities from mountain ash and other forest types to swampy heathland which supports a plenitude of flora including the rare long pink-bell. Wombats, echidnas, marsupial mice, bush rats and swamp wallabies can be seen while the possums and various gliders (which can glide for up to 100 m from tree to tree) are nocturnal. There are also plenty of birds including lyrebirds, parrots, kookaburras, honeyeaters, cockatoos, butcherbirds and currawongs. Another attraction of the park is the Kurth Kiln which was built during World War II to make charcoal.
Bunyip Byways Tourism Trail: a self-drive tour which takes visitors through a range of attractions in the district, including historic sites and homesteads, natural landmarks, antique stores, golf courses and tea rooms. The trail is delineated by over 300 roadside guidance signs. It follows a circular route from Gembrook through Berwick to Tooradin. For more information, ring City of Casey, Ph (03) 9705 5200.
