Historic Omeo Post Office

Great Alpine Road near Omeo

Mitta Mitta River

Countryside near Benambra

Oriental Claims

Cassilis Historical Area

Located in the heart of the Victorian Alps, Omeo is a service town for the area and a stopping place on the main road from the Mount Hotham, Dinner Plain and Bogong High Plains in the High Country to East Gippsland.

Where is it?: Victoria: High Country. Omeo is 48 km north east of Melbourne and 643 metres above sea level.

Things to see and do:

Omeo Historical Park and Justice Precinct is lovingly maintained by the historical society and something not to be missed. Five heritage listed buildings make up the Justice Precinct, with the collection housed in and around the Historic Park. The police cookhouse and stables were built in 1883 and the original courthouse, now a Museum, built in 1862.

Surrounding area:

The Oriental Claims are a former gold mining operation, or claim, so named in reference to The Oriental Company which mined in the area from 1876 to 1904, and also in memory of the many Chinese miners ('Orientals') that worked the area for over 50 years. The Oriental Claims are currently preserved as a Parks Victoria Historic Area. In its day the Oriental Claims was one of the largest gold-sluicing operations in the world. Today many of the mining remnants, caves and mining sites can be viewed along the short walks around the Claims. More >>

Dinner Plain (44km) and Mount Hotham (55km) are the closest alpine ski resort villages to Omeo. High on the Great Dividing Range, Dinner Plain village has been built to a unique architecture style and is nestled in magnificent snow gums trees. Mt Hotham is regarded as one of Australia's premier ski resorts. Alpine National Park right next door.

Alpine National Park (20km north) at 646,000 hectares is the State's largest and protects our highest mountains and varied alpine environments. Extensive snowfields are the primary winter attraction; the warmer months bring stunning wildflower displays and opportunities for bushwalks and four wheel driving. Access is via the Great Alpine Road. More >>

Like most villages in the High Country, Benambra (22km north) is idylically set in beautiful mountain scenery, with crystal clear trout fishing streams, and an assortment of picturesque bush walking trails, including those of the Alpine National Park. Benambra, on the Omeo Plains, is on the shores of Lake Omeo which, when holding sufficient water, has hosted sailing, and, later, speed boat races. More >>

In the late 19th century, at the peak of the gold boom, Cassilis (85km north) was a thriving mining centre. By the First World War, most of the available gold was depleted, and both mines closed down. Now Cassilis lies as a ghost town, with no commercial buildings in operation. Set in the 3,600-hectare Cassilis Historical Area, the mines are now a local tourist attraction with many relics of the gold mining era. More >>