POREPUNKAH
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Porepunkah is located near the confluence of the Buckland and Ovens River, and is a popular place at all times of the year. As an ’off-mountain’ dormitory for Mount Buffalo it gets very busy in the ski season, and even busier during the warmer parts of the year.
The Murray to Mountains Rail Trail passes through the town centre, and Mount Buffalo is not too far away, making Porepunkah a favoured stop-over, as well as a convenient ’base camp’.
Accommodation options include motels, a hotel, cabins and several excellent riverside caravan parks; the town also has a hotel (the noted Punka Pub - see link below), a produce store and cafe (Great Alpine Produce), a fuel outlet and the Rail Trail Cafe.
The Porepunkah area, and the Buckland Valley, were first documented by explorers Hamilton Hume and William Hovell in 1824. Major Mitchell also passed this way, and once back in Sydney, gave glowing reports of the area. This paved the way for European settlement, and in the early 1840s, Thomas Buckland arrived in the area, taking up the Junction Run, at the confluence of two significant rivers at what became known as Porepunkah. However, as well as pastoral interests, gold soon became a hot topic of conversation.
Gold was first discovered in the Buckland Valley in 1853, and this lead to an influx of about 6 000 hopeful miners. Typical of many mining communities, there was a wide mix of ethnicity on the goldfields, and racial tensions boiled over on July 4, 1857, when the Buckland Riot erupted, largely targeting Chinese people. Traditional gold mining continued in the area until about 1900, when alluvial (dredge) mining took over, lasting until about 1920.
The Ovens Valley Railway (Wangaratta to Bright) came to town in 1890, and this drove a rapid expansion of the town’s tourism infrastructure, particularly the ability to service the newly constructed Mount Buffalo Chalet (see link below). This ultimately set the scene for much of the economic activity that drives the town today - tourism.
Things to see and do around town include spending at least one day at Mount Buffalo, as well as taking an easy (albeit gravel based) tour up the scenic Buckland Valley.
Closer to home, there are several short walks, in and around, town that provide a nice glimpse into the town’s history; for example,
The Telford Historic Walk starts on the Bright side of the township, and leads past several historic sites, and buildings. Allow about 30 minutes for this walk. Detailed notes on this, and the following walk, can be found in a brochure entitled Short Walks around Bright and District, available in the Bright and Porepunkah areas.
The River Circuit loops around the Ovens River for about two kilometres, passing over a swing bridge before returning to town via a stretch of the Alpine Rail Trail. Allow 45-60 minutes for this relaxing walk.
If you are travelling on a hot day, there are some nice swimming holes near the township, the most popular of which is just upstream of the Great Alpine Road Bridge.
BRIGHT (includes Canyon Walk and Mount Porepunkah)
GREAT ALPINE ROAD (Wangaratta, Bright, Mount Hotham, Omeo, Bairnsdale)
MURRAY to MOUNTAINS RAIL TRAIL
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Bright Visitor Information Centre
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