History

The Bridport Walking Track highlights significant periods of human occupation in the area beginning with the original owners of this country to the current day.  The forest, river and coastal placescapes were preferred living places for the leenerrerter who were once a dynamic and vibrant people.  There are also many plant and animal species significant to Aboriginal culture found in the area of the track.   Pastoralists and timber harvesters moved into the hinterland in the 1830’s.  In the 1920s and 30s Bridport’s roots as a thriving tourist destination, the Mediterranean of the South, began.  The dam and weir system along with the settling pond and water race were built in the 1930’s to supply water to the newly thriving coastal village.  Evidence of this system is found on the River-Forest section.  In the 1970s, new industries developed such as the trout farm and fish processing.  The water race running alongside the river is still used by the fish farm at the entrance to Bridport.  The Bridport Walking Track is as a special place of historical significance.