Avenel heritage and nature trail

Activity • tracks and trails - avenel

Avenel township was first established at Hughes Creek crossing on the Melbourne-Sydney Rd around 1838. With the discovery of gold to the north, traffic increased substantially. The township became a significant way point for travellers. The crossing was bridged and Cobb & Co coaches used the nearby Royal Mail Hotel (1847) as a staging post. This historic building is just one example of many you will visit on your walk.

Explore the Avenel Cemetery where the man who discovered the Coolgardie goldfield, Arthur Bayley who is one of Western Australia’s greatest heroes but is barely known at all in Victoria, is laid to rest. Arthur Bayley’s discovery of gold in 1892 at Coolgardie saw people arriving by bicycle, on horseback  or on foot in the hope of striking it rich.

In Avenel’s historic cemetery many visitors flock to see the grave of Ned Kelly’s father, Red Kelly as they take a tour through Victoria’s Kelly country and visit the towns where our most famous bushranger spent his life.

 A short distance away, an imposing memorial towers over all others, for it is the place of rest of Arthur Bayley. Made of granite blocks the beautiful memorial is certainly worth a look.

The script on the Avenel memorial reads, “Erected to the memory of Arthur Wellesley Bayley, native of Newbridge, Victoria, who died at Avenel, October 29th 1896, aged 31 years. The discoverer of Coolgardie Goldfield and a Pioneer of Murchison and other WA Goldfields. ‘His life was short in years but long in deeds.’