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The Big Mallee Root
 Visitors to Ouyen, a tiny Victorian town six hours drive northwest of Melbourne and located at the intersection of the Mallee Highway (Adelaide-Sydney) and the Calder Highway (Melbourne-Mildura), will find themselves virtually in the middle of nowhere.
It was one of the last towns to be settled in Victoria and European settlers faced huge challenges when clearing the area for agricultural production. Their nemesis was the mallee root belonging to drought-resistant eucalypts that proved immensely difficult to uproot and destroy. The dense wood turned out to have some benefits as firewood for homes throughout the state.
Like most early settlement towns, life in Ouyen owes its development to the railway line that came through from Melbourne in 1906. Blocks in the area were sold in 1910 and cleared for sheep, wheat and oats. Today, Ouyen is a transport and service centre for a vast area of agricultural and pastoral properties. Huge convoys come and go weighed down with oats and wheat. Huge grain silos leave no doubt about the economic mainstay of the region.
In town visitors will find three motels, a caravan park and the Victoria Hotel ? a beautifully-preserved two-storey, red-brick country pub with verandah capturing a the atmosphere of a time long past.
Although there might not be a lot to attract visitors to the town itself, the town provides access to several worthwhile national parks including Murray Sunset National Park, Lake Crosbie , Murray-Sunset National Park and Hattah-Kulkyne National Park.
Attractions include the Autumn Art Show held in March or April, the Farmers Festival in November, Pioneer Park featuring an old wagon in the foreground and the new wheat loading facilities in the background and the Local History Research Centre located in the old courthouse on Oke St, which contains a fascinating collection of books and historical records.
Wildflowers bloom every year in the September school holidays. There are tag-along 4WD tours of the Hattah-Kulkyne, Wyperfeld and Murray-Sunset National Parks, self-guided walks, and a wildflower and arts-and-crafts displays.
Fifty five kilometers from Ouyen is an even tiner town of Manangatang (population 500) on the Mallee Highway. Manangatang has a local golf course, hosts an annunal race meeting at the rough bush racecourse in mid-March and mid-October and has a curious local museum containing items highlighting local history. Just a few minutes drive from Manangatang is the Tati-Tati Nature Reserve featuring a salt lake surrounded by natural Mallee vegetation.
Sunset 4WD Tours, at 20 Oke St, runs 4WD tours to the Big Desert, Murray-Sunset, Wyperfeld and Hattah-Kulkyne National Parks, tel: (03) 5092 1079.
Mallee Farm Horse Rides offer trail rides, cart rides and children's rides. There are picnic and barbecue facilities. It is situated 30 km south along the Calder Highway, tel: (03) 5093 1223.
Accommodation options include the Hilltop Motel (03 5092 1410), Mallee View Motel (03 5092 2195), Ouyen Motel (03 5092 1397), Victoria Hotel (03 5092 1550), Ouyen Caravan Park (03 5092 1426).
Restaurants available include Ouyen Club (03 5092 1540) and the Victoria Hotel Restaurant (03 5092 1792)
For more information, contact the Mallee Tourism Association Information Centre
(03 5092 1000).
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