Kooyoora State Park
Kooyoora State Park is a state park in Victoria, Australia located northwest of Melbourne, and west of Inglewood. It is a reserve comprising box-ironbark forest and rocky granite outcrops, including the Melville Caves. Popular activities include bird watching, horse riding, camping, caving, rock climbing, fossicking, and bush walking. Facilities include walking tracks, lookouts, a campground, toilets, and a picnic ground complete a covered shelter featuring a stone fireplace with chimney.
Kooyoora State Park was proclaimed in 1985. The original inhabitants of the area were the Jaara people who used the rock caves and shelters for protection from the weather. European settlers moved into the area in the 1840s and gold mining commenced in the late 1850s. The bushranger, Captain Melville is believed to have used the area as a hideout.
The native grasslands provide a food source for kangaroos and wallabies.
Key tree species include Blakely's Red Gum, Yellow and Grey Box and Red Ironbark.
