Halls Gap (

Djab Wurrung The Djab Wurrung, also spelt Djabwurrung, Tjapwurrung, Tjap Wurrung, or Djapwarrung, people are Aboriginal Australians whose country is the volcanic plains of central Victoria from the Mount William Range of Gariwerd in the west to the Pyren ...

Jardwadjali The Jardwadjali (Yartwatjali), also known as the Jaadwa, are an Aboriginal Australian people of the state of Victoria, whose traditional lands occupy the lands in the upper Wimmera River watershed east to Gariwerd ( Grampians) and west to Lake ...

: ''Budja Budja'') is a town in

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. It is located on Grampians Road, adjacent to the

Grampians National Park The Grampians National Park, commonly known as the Grampians, is a national park located in the Grampians region of Victoria, Australia. The Jardwadjali name for the mountain range itself is Gariwerd. The national park is situated between ...

, in the

Shire of Northern Grampians The Shire of Northern Grampians is a local government area in the Wimmera region of Victoria, Australia, located in the western part of the state. It covers an area of and in June 2018 had a population of 11,431, having fallen from 12,087 in 20 ...

local government area. The town is set in the Fyans Valley at the foot of the Wonderland and Mount William ranges. At the 2021 census Halls Gap had a population of 495. The approximate driving time from

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

is 3 hours.

History

The first settler was Charles Browning Hall who set out in search of a suitable grazing run when he found the cattle market at

Port Phillip Port Phillip (Kulin languages, Kulin: ''Narm-Narm'') or Port Phillip Bay is a horsehead-shaped bay#Types, enclosed bay on the central coast of southern Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. The bay opens into the Bass Strait via a short, ...

overstocked in 1841. Establishing a station just east of the Grampians in a spot known as "Mokepilli" to the indigenous inhabitants the Mukjarawaint. Halls Gap was originally located where Lake Bellfield Reservoir now lies. Hall discovered the gap by following Aboriginal tracks. Hall's Gap Post Office opened on 3 February 1893, closed in 1896, and reopened in 1902.

First Nations

The Traditional Owners of the area are the

and the

, who referred to the area as "Mokepilli".

Today

Its chief industry is tourism, due to its location in the

. Australia's longest running Aboriginal cultural centre, Brambuk, is located in the town. The Halls Gap Zoo is located from town. There is now a local chemist in town located at the Stoney Creek shops. Golfers play at the course of the Halls Gap Golf Club on Red Gum Lease Track.

Food and Wine Festival

Halls Gap is home to one of Australia's longest running food and wine festivals, held over the first weekend of May every year. Launched in 1992,

Grampians Grape Escape Grampians Grape Escape is one of the longest running food and wine festivals in Australia and a hallmark event for Victoria. It was launched in 1992. Held in the Grampians National Park at Halls Gap during the first weekend of May every year, the ...

is a hallmark event for Victoria and provides food and wine offerings by more than 100 local artisan producers, live music and family entertainment.

Climate

References

External links

Official Halls Gap Tourism website

Grampians Grape Escape website
{{Authority control Towns in Victoria (state) Wimmera Grampians (region)