Walhalla is a tiny Australian town that became a Nepalese village
Once famous for its gold, this quaint spot in the Victorian countryside found itself thrust into the spotlight again with its surprising role in a Hollywood action movie.
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In January 2024, Hollywood came to the small West Gippsland town of Walhalla.
The producers of Ice Road: Vengeance decided it could double for a Nepalese village. Walhalla’s main street was duly transformed: prayer flags hoisted, gravel poured over bitumen, the band rotunda turned into a stupa.
Today, as I wander past Walhalla’s post office, the only evidence of the town’s Himalayan makeover is a photo board of the film sets and locals posing with star Liam Neeson.
But this isn’t the first time Walhalla has undergone such a radical change of identity. In the mid-19th century, the town didn’t even exist. The discovery of alluvial gold in 1862 quickly changed that. Hordes of prospectors descended. In their wake came the big mining companies and a township blossomed.
Shafts were sunk. The earth was honeycombed with tunnels. Forest was destroyed, timber feeding the voracious furnaces of the steam-driven mining machinery. Forty tonnes of gold were extracted (worth roughly $4 billion today) before the mining companies packed up. Buildings were dismantled. The land was left ugly and bare.
At its peak in 1895, Walhalla’s population had been close to 3000. Now few remain. But Walhalla never quite became a ghost town.
The town I’m visiting on a daytrip from Melbourne has always been greatly admired for its scenery, even dubbed “the Switzerland of Australia”. In the early decades of the 20th century, a tourism industry was born. Hikers visited, crossing the Baw Baw Plateau from Warburton. Trains delivered sightseers until 1944. The forest returned.
Tourism changed the face of the old mining town. Today, Walhalla remains proud of its gold heritage, and is bidding for World Heritage status. The town sees visitors touring West Gippsland – day-trippers from Melbourne; drivers making an inland detour; and hikers, here to set off on (or complete) the 650km Alpine Track.
Perhaps the town’s most popular attraction is the Walhalla Goldfields Railway. Largely operated by volunteers, the diesel locomotive and its three carriages run along a line that once transported timber to the mines.
The 20-minute meandering ride to the Thomson River follows Stringers Creek through dense regrowth forest of mountain ash and tree ferns, crossing historic trestle bridges along the way. I’m invited to ride in the driver’s cab, proudly tooting the train’s horn as we leave the platform.
Later I’m met by Rob Ashworth, president of the Walhalla Heritage League, who accompanies me on a stroll through town. Only a 10th of Walhalla’s original buildings remain, but structures like the Star Hotel, the Mechanics Institute and the local fire station have been sensitively restored. One original building still standing is the former Walhalla Post Office, which opened in 1886. Inside I find elaborate timber detailing and the well-preserved postmaster’s residence, replete with late-Victorian-era wallpaper hung over hessian lining.
After lunch at the busy Witchery Cafe, we wander north past the rusting dinosaurs of long-disused mining machinery to the Long Tunnel Extended Mine. I say goodbye to Rob as a whistle blares and for 30 of us, hair-netted and hard-hatted, it’s the signal to assemble at the mine entrance for our tour.
We enter single file. Inside, the tunnel is level underfoot with no stooping required. It’s a chilly 10 degrees. Richard, our guide, paints a grim picture of life as a miner: eight-hour shifts without meals or toilet breaks, often standing knee-deep in freezing water, feet clad in fat-soaked rags (leather boots would rot). It was gruelling work and life expectancy was poor: constant exposure to the swirling dust meant an 18-year-old miner would be dead a decade later.
Following the tour, I head back down Walhalla’s main street as the afternoon shadows lengthen. Behind the pale-yellow façade of the Star Hotel, I can see the bright-red tops of the maple trees. It’s like their green foliage has been dipped in paint.
The maples are a harbinger of Walhalla’s annual explosion of autumnal hues: reds, auburns, bronze and yes, gold. Once again, this beautiful town is changing. But for Walhalla, change is nothing new.
The writer travelled as a guest of Destination Gippsland.
How to get to Walhalla
Walhalla is 185km from Melbourne. Mount Baw Baw is a further hour’s drive. No public transport services the town.
Where to stay in Walhalla
The Star Hotel is the best bet for accommodation. Rates include a two-course dinner and continental buffet breakfast.
Tours to take in Walhalla
The Walhalla Goldfields Railway departs Walhalla for Thomson three times daily. The round-trip takes an hour and costs $40 for adults return.
Long Tunnel Extended Mine Tours are daily at 1.30pm. Extra tours run weekends, Wednesdays and during holidays. Tickets $25 for adults.
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