Moroka.
The valley in the sky.

The name Moroka is of aboriginal derivation, and means sky. The area lies forty eight kilometres north of Maffra, in the high country, at an elevation of over one thousand metres, hence the perception of a valley in the sky. The Moroka River rises on the Wellington Plains, and runs roughly eastwards before swinging round to head northwest, and then northeast, through the Moroka Glen, to join the Wonnangatta River.
The area is rich in history, with figures such as the great botanist Ferdinand von Mueller, Alfred Howitt, and Angus McMillan closely associated with it. Mt. Wellington was named by McMillan in 1840, while on one of his exploration trips through Gippsland, but it was possibly von Mueller who made the first European ascent of the mountain, in 1854, collecting plants in the alpine area. Von Mueller used the same Purgatory Spur approach as Henry Miller, (see Local history) in later times, and would undoubtedly have collected in the headwaters of the Moroka.
In 1860 Alfred Howitt led a government gold prospecting party,  into the Wonnangatta - Crooked River area. Successful in their search, they also travelled up the Moroka River, and explored  the Moroka Gorge. Howitt took the visiting artist Eugene von Guerard to a high point which he named de Guerard's Range, and from there they looked across to the  valley of the Moroka, where von Guerard later painted the Gorge. Then, in 1864, Angus McMillan took on a government contract to cut a track from the gold town Omeo, to the diggings at Jericho on the Jordan River, with a branch to the Crooked River. Part of this track followed the Moroka River, and that section of the track between Mt. Useful and Crooked River became known as the Moroka track.
 In 1983 the Ben Cruachan Walking Club began the challenging task of relocating, mapping, and marking the original route taken by McMillan's party. This project has been largely accomplished, with some fine tuning still going on.

In approximately 1955 I first visited the Moroka with two mates, riding geared down motor bikes up the first jeep track into the Moroka hut. The track was the northern end of what was then called the Moroka Road. It was a rugged ride, the track had steep rough pinches, and our bikes were mainly pre war, solid frame, girder fork machines.

On the left is the Moroka hut as it was in 1955, and at right, the bikes we used on one trip, from left, 500 cc Velocette, 500 cc Triumph, 500 cc Levis. From here we used to ride up on to the slopes of Mt. Wellington, and from there walk to Tarli Karng. The hut was built in 1946,  by Andy Estoppey and  Bill Gillio, helped by Arch Timbs and Eric Bateson, and is of log construction. Bill, a W.W.1 veteran, was a man of great physical strength, and also a renowned axeman, and the hut is an example of his skill. The original roof was Malthoid, since covered with iron, and the chimney has also been replaced several times. Andy and Bill ran cattle in the area, and also conducted the Skyline Tours, taking people into the mountains on horseback, with packhorses to carry their supplies. The hut has been used by visitors of many persuasions over the years, and at present is in good condition.

The Moroka, especially the Gorge, and nearby Snowy Bluff, were something of a Shangri-la to bushwalkers, with access quite difficult, until the network of timber tracks was put in. The Gorge can now be explored in a comfortable two day hike from the Horseyard. The hut is only five hundred metres from the logging road and can be reached via Licola by ordinary cars, or the Marathon road by 4wd, the climb up Bleak Hill being too much for 2wd vehicles. Birding along this beautiful stretch of the Moroka is excellent, with the highlight being Satin Flycatchers in abundance in spring and summer, when they are breeding. The track into the hut is also a reliable place to see Red-browed Treecreepers.  Scarlet, Flame, and Yellow Robin, Wrens, Thornbills, Pardalotes, E. Shriketit, Rufous, Golden, and Olive Whistler, various Honeyeaters, Cuckoos, Rufous Fantail, E. Whipbird,  etc etc, could also be on your list. If approaching via the Marathon Rd., keep a lookout as you climb Bleak Hill, and you will see the Kybean Ash Mallee growing along the track. Bleak Hill is largely covered with it, and there is another patch of it on the Gillio track, which leads to Tarli Karng. The Gorge area is very interesting botanically, which is mentioned in Bits and Pieces. Below are some thumbnails of the Moroka country, click to see the full size images. The top row are current views, and the bottom four are taken from slides taken at some time in the late sixties.

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