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Buchan Caves Reserve

Location

BUCHAN VIC 3885 - Property No G13038

File Number

G13038

Level

State

Statement of Significance

The Buchan Caves Reserve, part if the outstanding Buchan-Murrindal cave system, set aside in 1901 for public purposes and the protection of natural features and landscaped in the 1930s, is of State cultural significance - - as an example of an early tourist attraction in Victoria based on natural themes; the ongoing use of the caves for tourist purposes is an important aspect of this significance, as is the tradition of guiding and transmission of oral history; early attributes of the reserve include the caves and their entries, caretaker's residence and the landscaping of the 1930's; - aesthetically and scientifically, for the spectacular caves and geological formations which comprise the underground features of the reserve; these natural features have been exploited by human intervention, especially the use of light and the use of barriers to protect formations; this last attribute is part of the careful work of Frederick Wilson from 1907 onwards and is now rare on a national and even international basis; - as a mature example of the landscape work of Hugh Linaker, a pioneering designer of public landscapes; the 1930s landscaping at Buchan has been carefully tended and sympathetically augmented in subsequent years and is exemplified by the mature trees in the reserve, the high proportion of deciduous exotic species, the road layout and small rustic rotunda; - for the manner in which the reserve demonstrates the influence of contemporary 1930s National Parks landscape ideals; here represented by the incorporation of recreational facilities such as the swimming pool and tennis courts and the use of a self consciously rugged design idiom ( such as the bold log structures at the entry gateway, the rugged stone construciton of ther kitchen and the log construction of the kiosk); -for its high aesthetic values, including the exploitation of seasonal contrast by the use of deciduous trees, the contrast between exotic trees with the surrounding landscape, the manner in which the roadway winds up the Spring Creek valley, and for views within and out of the reserve; -for the manner in which in the Caves Reserve and Buchan township demonstrate the development of tourism within Gippsland, and the demands of that tourism on the natural environment.

Classified: 23/11/1994

Group