Stawell: Racing Tradition, Culture and Nature

Stawell combines an exceptionally long racing tradition with cultural attractions and opportunities to explore the surrounding area on foot or by bike. The Stawell Gift is particularly significant: this sprint race has been held every year at Easter since 1878. Other attractions include the Stawell Gift Hall of Fame in Central Park, a gallery featuring works by local artists, and natural attractions nearby. This gives you a choice of different focuses for your stay, from sporting history and culture to outdoor activities.

The Stawell Gift and its history

The Stawell Gift is considered Australia’s oldest and richest sprint race. Its long tradition makes it a distinctive part of local life and gives visitors interested in sport and regional history a specific reason to visit. The race takes place at Easter, with exceptions from 1942 to 1945 because of the Second World War and in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. If you mainly associate Stawell with the Gift, you can take this timing into account when planning your trip.

The Stawell Gift Hall of Fame in Central Park showcases memorabilia from the race. The collection includes artefacts, memorabilia, multimedia clips and archives dating back to the Stawell Gift’s origins in 1878. This offers a perspective beyond the competition itself: a range of media and historical materials tell the story of an event that has shaped Stawell for many generations.

Culture, from the gallery to the Heritage Trail

Beyond the race, Stawell also offers cultural attractions for your stay. The Stawell Railway Station Gallery exhibits works by local artists. If you’re interested in art from the area, you can make it a focus alongside the town’s sporting history. The Stawell Cultural Heritage Trail is also one of the interesting attractions in Stawell, adding local history to the town’s cultural offerings. Together, these attractions appeal to different interests that you can weigh up when choosing when to visit and planning your days.

Finding your way around Cato Park

Footpaths from two accessible parking spaces lead to the Stella Young Memorial in Cato Park and to accessible toilets. This practical information may be helpful for visitors planning a visit to the park who want to know where to find parking and toilets. The memorial is also another attraction distinct from the racing and cultural offerings.

Walking and cycling in the surrounding area

Near Stawell, the McCann Dam nature walk is a two-kilometre loop trail. Simple picnic facilities are located just off the Stawell-Deep Lead Road. Knowing the trail’s length can help you plan it as one part of an outing, and the picnic facilities offer another option for a break in the area.

You can also explore Stawell Ironbarks Forest on foot or by bike. This gives you two ways to get around, without limiting your trip to just one kind of outdoor activity. If you have several interests, you can weigh up visiting the Stawell Gift Hall of Fame, the gallery or the Heritage Trail alongside an outing in the surrounding area. When choosing a holiday rental, it therefore helps to first decide whether the race, cultural attractions or outdoor activities will shape your stay.

Discover more destinations

For further travel planning, you can also explore Smiths Beach, Smiths Gully, Chiltern, Balnarring, Port Albert, Penshurst, Toolangi and Castlemaine.

For the main travel overview: Victoria.