Located within Kooyoora State Park on the corner of Barry's Rock Road and Melville Caves Road, Barry's Rock is a spectacular boulder sitting atop a couple of smaller stones, leaving an empty space underneath which opens up into a beautiful cavern within the boulder itself which is accessible from the other side. The rock is surrounded by bushland and sweeping slopes of stone.
Barry's Rock is easily overlooked as you ascend on Melville Caves Road to visit the breathtaking Melville Caves
picnic area,
campground, and
caves. It is not easily visible from the road on the way up, so keep an eye out for the sign to "Barrys Rock Rd".
If you are planning a visit to
Melville Caves be sure to take a few minutes to pull in here for a look at this gorgeous rock.
The following text is printed in Parks Victoria's Park Notes for Kooyoora State Park:
The golden days
European settlement of the area began in the 1840s and mining for alluvial gold had begun by the late 1850s. Substantial finds in the late 1860s began a gold rush that lasted for several years.
The gold rush in the Kooyoora area followed soon after the discovery of gold in the Wedderburn district. One of the most famous finds of the Kingower goldfields was the 1857 discovery of the "Blanche Barkley" weighing some 49.5kg.
Mining excavations are scattered throughout the park, left behind by the retreating miners who moved on to other fields. Kooyoora State Park was extended to 11,646ha in October 2002 to enhance what remains of Victoria's Box-Ironbark forests and woodlands.
A haven for plants and wildlife
Most of the major species of flora typical of north-central Victoria are present, including Blakely's Red Gum, Yell and Grey Box and Red Ironbark.
There are many species of rare or vulnerable plants occur, including Williamson's Wattle as well as many species of native orchids. There is also a wide range of animal habitats. The Wehla area, in particular, provides some of the best examples of Box-Ironbark forest large old tree sites. Arboreal mammals and tree-nesting birds live in the open forests. Rainbow Bee-eaters nest in the granite soils and Wedge-tailed Eagles among the granite tors.
Kangaroos and wallabies browse the native grasslands and areas with shrubby understory. Abundant ground litter provides shelter for many ground dwelling animals such as the Yellow-footed Antechinus.
A number of significant or interesting species have been recorded, including the rare Powerful Owl and Tuan and endangered Grey-crowned Babbler.
Melville Caves Campground
BBQ
Brenanah
