Koroit

An agricultural town set round historic botanic gardens, Koroit is about 20km west of the southern Victorian coastal resort of Warrnambool.

Settlement on this part of the Southern Ocean coast dates back to the 1830s when whalers began operating in the region and buildings in Koroit's commercial centre and the church precinct have been classified by the National Trust.

The Tower Hill State Game Reserve, which protects volcanic bush area just 3km out of town, contains walking tracks and a Natural History Centre with its own bird hide.

There are spectacular coastal views in this part of Victoria and much of the distinctive scenic beauty can be absorbed from the 22km Mahogany Walking Track which winds from Port Fairy to Warnambool.

Over the years, Koroit has forged a strong bond with Australian literature through three of the nation"s best known novelists. Frank (Power Without Glory) Hardy was born in the nearby village of Southern Cross.

Thomas Alexander Brown (Rolf Boldrewood) assisted the pioneering Bolden brothers in overlanding stock into the district and is said to have modeled his Terrible Hollow in Robbery Under Arms on Koroit"s Tower Hill.

Ethel Robertson might not have thought much of Koroit which she described as "mean and ugly" with "a few mingy shops", but as Henry Handel Richardson she wasn"t averse to using the town as her model for Gymgurra in The Fortunes of Richard Mahoney trilogy.