Filled with mystique and beauty, the nested maar of Tower Hill State Game Reserve (Tower Hill Reserve) represents a story of healing and restoration. As a former volcano, the unique landscape provides both a scenic and immersive landscape, which ignites a sense of exploration and discovery. This wildlife and game reserve located on Eastern Maar Country, holds great social, cultural and geological significance. It supports a diverse array of bird and terrestrial wildlife, and has become a popular place for domestic and international visitors.

With its proximity to the Great Ocean Road region and other significant cultural sites, such as Budj Bim, World Heritage Site, Tower Hill Reserve is becoming a known stop-off destination for visitors, as part of a broader itinerary within Victoria’s south-west region. Last year more than 295,000 visitors were recorded at the reserve, which demonstrates steady increases in visitation over the past 5 years.

These trends represent both an opportunity and a challenge, in terms of protecting the site and the core reason people are visiting.

In partnership with Regional Development Victoria, Parks Victoria has created a Draft Activation and Linkages Plan (the draft plan). The intent of this project is to explore and evaluate key opportunities to enhance visitor experience and linkages to Tower Hill Reserve.

The draft plan aims to be holistic and balance a variety of considerations to establish a long-term vision for the reserve that supports the anticipated growth in visitation. It identifies a number of initiatives, which support existing operations and assets, while charting new waters to provide further unique experiences that capture the spirit, identity and importance of this place. They are designed to appeal to a wide range of user groups and encourage immersive and engaging experiences, respecting the parks inherent values.

This draft plan was informed by engagement with key stakeholders and community, including a survey on Engage Victoria which was completed by over 200 people. Parks Victoria thanks everyone for their contribution to date.

The draft plan is a strategic document, setting out a vision and recommended direction for the reserve. All initiatives in the plan still requires detailed planning and funding.

The Victorian Government recently announced $11.3 million for upgrades at Tower Hill Wildlife Reserve as part of the $2.7 billion COVID-19 pandemic works stimulus package. This money will be used to achieve some of the initiatives outlined in this draft plan.

You can explore the key initiatives in the plan on the interactive map below, or read the full plan in the document library section on the right.

We welcome feedback on the plan from everyone!

You can give feedback by completing the survey below or by emailing a submission to engage@parks.vic.gov.au.

Parks Victoria will also be holding an online community information session on Thursday 17 September, 5.30 – 7.00pm. At this session people will hear from the project team and be able to ask questions. You can register by clicking on the key dates link on the right.

Parks Victoria is seeking feedback from Wednesday 2 September to Sunday 4 October

All submissions (this includes surveys) are public documents within the scope of the Freedom of Information Act 1982. Please do not include personally identifying information in the body of your submission. If you do not wish your submission to be published or to have content from your submission quoted in the Parks Victoria response to consultation, please select the appropriate tickbox in the survey or contact us at engage@parks.vic.gov.au

Parks Victoria is committed to protecting personal information provided by you. Your personal information and the content of your submission will be dealt with in accordance with the Public Records Act 1973, the Freedom of Information Act 1982 and the Privacy and Data Protection Act 2014 (Vic).

The personal contact information you provide will be kept separate from the body of your submission and used to administer the public consultation process only. Your personal contact information will not be provided to any other organisation unless required by law. Your personal contact information may be used by Parks Victoria to update you on this project . You have the option to opt out at any time.

To access your data or opt-out, please email us at engage@parks.vic.gov.au

For more information read Parks Victoria’s Privacy Policy. Parks Victoria uses Campaign Monitor to distribute project updates, you can read their privacy policy here - www.campaignmonitor.com/policies/#privacy-policy

Those interested in attending community a drop-in session for Tower Hill State Game Reserve Project please see details below:

• Blackwood Centre, 172 Commercial Rd Koroit, Tuesday 8 October 2019, 4:00 – 7:00pm

Collection Notice

All submissions are public documents within the scope of the Freedom of Information Act 1982. Please do not include personally identifying information in the body of your submission. If you do not wish your submission to be published or to have content from your submission quoted in the Parks Victoria response to consultation, please select the appropriate tickbox in the survey or contact us at engage@parks.vic.gov.au.

Parks Victoria is committed to protecting personal information provided by you. Your personal information and the content of your submission will be dealt with in accordance with the Public Records Act 1973, the Freedom of Information Act 1982 and the Privacy and Data Protection Act 2014 (Vic).

The personal contact information you provide will be kept separate from the body of your submission and used to administer the public consultation process only. Your personal contact information will not be provided to any other organisation unless required by law. Your personal contact information may be used by Parks Victoria to update you on this project and/or for other marketing purposes. You have the option to opt out at any time.

To access your data or opt-out, please email us at engage@parks.vic.gov.au

For more information read Parks Victoria’s Privacy Policy.