About Us
Small timber town noted for the interesting caves which are located nearby
Located 355 km east of Melbourne via the Princes Highway Buchan lies at the centre of a sheep, cattle, and timber area on the Buchan River. Its major attraction is a group of spectacular limestone caves called, unsurprisingly, the Buchan Caves. The limestone rich area has enormous natural beauty.
Buckan-Mungie
No one knows how the town got its name. Some people argue that the name derives from either the Aboriginal term "buchan buchan", meaning "smoke signal expert", or "bukkan munjie", meaning "the place of the grass bag"or "place of rocks with holes in them". The word "Buchan" is an aboriginal word but anglicised due to most of the early station owners being Scots.
East Gippsland explorer, Wilkinson, began the Buchan station and Edward Bayliss started the Gelentipy Station in the late 1830s. The area was first settled around 1840 but no detailed survey or exploration was carried out until 1899 or 1900. The land in the area was reserved by the State Government because there had been considerable vandalism of the area's caves.
Whilst Buchan is best known for its famous spectacular underground caves toured by generations of visitors, its history as one of the oldest townships in Victoria goes back much further than the discovery of the caves.
Landscapes in this unique corner of Victoria today remain largely unchanged since our European pioneers first settled in the area on their journey from the Monaro tablelands.
The vast wilderness areas that surround Buchan are now preserved and protected as the Alpine and Snowy River National Parks. Snow covered high country during winter, followed by a profusion of wildflowers in spring, tall mountain forests, open woodlands, rainforest, sheer gorges, waterfalls and limestone caves comprise this ruggedly beautiful region.
Of the many mammals, birds and reptiles found in the park, the rare Brush-tailed Rock Wallaby, the Tiger Quoll and the Alpine Water Skink are the most noteworthy.
For the more adventurous, skilled experienced guides can lead you to a multitude of picturesque areas. Guided 'wildcaving' tours through undeveloped caves can be challenging.
At only 100 metres above sea-level, Buchan enjoys a reasonably mild climate for most activities to be enjoyed all year round. Buchan and district offers a diverse range of quality accommodation and a choice of exciting adventure activities.