The first thing you’ll fall in love with in Inglewood is the gold era streetscape as you drive up the main drag. Getting out of your car to explore, you’ll quickly find plenty more to capture your heart in this friendly highway town.
The grand historic buildings of Inglewood stand as testament to the wealth that flooded into this area. Today antiques and collectibles stores are clustered amongst the exquisite buildings and historic shopfronts. A key meeting point in town is The Fat Butcher, where you can find a selection of local produce from the provedore and cuts of dry aged meats. Further down, on the edge of town is the Blue Eucy museum with a fully operating Eucalyptus distillery. Looking out into the bushland you will see trees where leaves are still harvested, the same trees used in the 1850s. From the museum shop and café you can purchase the full range of local eucy products.
Nearby Kingower and Rheola are two beautiful old gold rush era villages bordering the Kooyoora State Park. Rheola, once home to 130 stores, retains buildings from these heady days. Gold remains in the region, and fossicking continues to reward. In the 1980s the ‘Hand of Faith’ was found just behind the Kingower school house, then sold to a Las Vegas casino for US $1 million. Kooyoora State Park is home to rare box ironbark forest, spectacular granite outcrops and significant Indigenous sites. The hiding cave of bushranger Captain Melville can be explored in the gullies of the granite.
One highlight of the region is the winding path to the top of Kooyoora State Park for the 360 degree views of the horizon.
