The Warby Ranges is only a 10km drive from central Wangaratta and is officially known as the Warby-Ovens National Park. It offers a variety of spots for family picnics and natural experiences such as Ryan’s Lookout, Briens Gorge Falls, The Forest Camp and Pine Gully. Fishing, Camping, Walking, Bike Riding and Gem Prospecting is also available in some areas.
Paradise Falls is one of those places that is often overlooked by visitors to the King Valley but for those that make the effort they are well rewarded. The short walk from the car park leads you down a series of rocky steps into the ravine below that gets cooler and more welcoming as you approach the falls. Be sure to visit after recent rains as the water flow does dry up in the warmer months There are some very interesting conglomerate rock formations along the path and around the falls. If you are particularly lucky you may even see some of the resident Peregrine Falcons that nest in the cliff tops above the falls. Paradise Falls are a great destination for families but do pack a spare set of clothes as the temptation may be to get a bit wet.
Wangaratta and the surrounding rural communities offer a year full of festivals, celebrations and events that attract people from across the country and in some cases from around the world. Events such as the annual Wangaratta Festival of Jazz and Swap Meet are all centrally located, and across the region there are wine and food events which are hugely popular. Wangaratta also offers an excellent selection of accommodations from which to explore and enjoy some of the many events that are held in nearby communities such as Beechworth, Myrtleford, Bright, Rutherglen and Yarrawonga. Wangaratta is also host to regular markets, youth events, senior citizen events and sporting competitions including Australian Rules Football, netball, squash and swimming.
The King Valley is a wonderful area which is easily reached from Wangaratta. The King Valley is famous for its excellent wineries and a variety of natural attractions. Whitfield is the hub of many of the King Valleys attractions with Paradise Falls, Lake William Hovell and Powers Lookout all within easy reach and each is certainly worth the drive.
One of the great things about Wangaratta is its central location to a number of regional attractions. Whether you are planning on visiting the natural wonders around the Warby Ranges or wineries of the King Valley and Rutherglen Wangaratta is a convenient location. If you are travelling to the snowfields then Bright is a comfortable drive and for a taste of history Glenrowan and Beechworth are close by. Wangaratta’s own Performing Arts Centre hosts regular shows. There are also a number of annual, seasonal and special attractions across the region that attract large numbers of visitors to the region each year. If you are planning on visiting during the holiday season be sure to book your accommodation early as rooms do fill up.
There is a good selection of Wangaratta accommodation available to suit all budgets and needs. Offered within central Wangaratta as well as the surrounding communities travelers will find and excellent variety of motels, hotels, pubs, caravan parks, cottages and guest houses specifically catering for both short and longer stay temporary accommodation. There is plenty of accommodation in the heart of Wangaratta plus the nearby regions of the King Valley, Glenrowan, Milawa, Eldorado and many other also have some excellent accommodation choices. Furthermore, with the region hosting a large number of annual festivals, celebrations and events, accommodation can be scarce. For that reason if you require Wangaratta accommodation be sure to book early.
If you are looking for something unique then one of the many regular Wangaratta and regional markets are a great place to begin your search. Each year residents and visitors alike can enjoy markets such as the Wangaratta Festival of Jazz Market, Oxley Bush Market, Wangaratta Swap Meet as well as those close to Wangaratta in Mansfield, Yarrawonga, Jamieson, Myrtleford, Beechworth, Peechelba, Rutherglen and Benalla. These markets include everything from clothes and popular foods through to unique handcrafts and gourmet local produce and wines. These markets are a great opportunity to stock up the pantry with all your favourites from one convenient location and in many cases by dealing with the producer direct.
David Reid (1820-1906) and Robert Dyce (1829-1900), pastoralists and politicians, were the first and third sons of David Reid, naval surgeon, and his wife Agnes, née Dyce. David was born probably at Plymouth, England, in December 1820. He came to New South Wales on 24 October 1823 in the Mariner with his parents and two sisters. The family settled at Inverary Park, near Bungonia. At first educated at home, he attended J. D. Lang's Australian College from 1831 and The King's School from 1834. Leaving school at 16, he took charge of his father's run in the Maneroo (Monaro) District but after meeting the overlander John Gardiner he decided to look for land south of the Murray River. Equipped by his father with some 500 head of cattle, 2 bullock wagons and teams and 6 assigned servants, he reached the Ovens River on 8 September 1838 the same day as Rev. Joseph Docker.
David settled at Currargarmonge, near Wangaratta, held at first in his father's name and after 1840 as a family partnership; despite an attempted attack by Aboriginals he harvested the first wheat crop in December 1839. At the end of 1843 he took up land near Yackandandah. After his marriage to Mary Romaine Barber on 29 February 1844 at Marulan, New South Wales, he left the partnership and in 1847 took up a section of the family run of which Woorajay (Wooragee) formed a part. He built the first water driven flour-mill in the district on his Yackandandah run in 1845; his woolclip of 1848 was one of the first to be handled by R. Goldsbrough and was claimed to come from sheep descended from stock imported in the 1820s from George III's flock.
In 1852 gold was discovered in the May Day Hills, and the Ovens gold rush settlements of Beechworth, El Dorado, Woolshed, Sebastopol and Reid's Creek developed on Reid family land, ruining its pastoral value. For a time David sold meat to the miners and ran the mill, a store and a gold-buying business, but in 1853 sold his runs and turned profitably to cattle and horse-dealing and general trading between Melbourne and the Riverina and the diggings. In November 1856 he bought the lease of Barnawatha, south of Albury and built the Hermitage but much of the property was resumed for smallholdings. Going into politics, he held the Legislative Assembly seat of Murray from October 1859 to May 1862. At a recount after the 1861 election he was disqualified and did not stand again. In the early 1860s he bought Thelangerin on the Lachlan River, near Hay, financed an expedition to the north of Bourke and took up Delalah on the Paroo River. Foreclosed about 1864 he was forced to sell when land values were at their lowest. Near ruin, he took up his brother Robert's offer of land at Moorwatha near Howlong, New South Wales, and farmed there from 1865.