Best 20 Real Estate Agents In Toolangi [2025]

Toolangi Suburb Overview

Toolangi is a rural township in Victoria, Australia. At the 2006 Census, Toolangi and the surrounding area had a population of 871.

The township of Toolangi is situated on the edge of the Toolangi State Forest. Not only is this Forest utilised for sustainable timber production, it is very popular with deer hunters, fisherman, bushwalkers, trail bike riders, horse riders, 4

The name Toolangi is an Aboriginal word meaning tall trees. It is believed the area was known as Mt Rose up until the 1890s. Toolangi was first inhabited in the 1860s by paling splitters and then timber cutters, who camped deep in the bush. They were attracted by the huge stands of mountain ash, a tree that splits easily, and the messmate timber, which proved durable as a building material.

Toolangi Post Office opened on 1 August 1900 and closed in 1974.

It was not until the early 1960s that electricity came to Toolangi. Together with the opening of the Melba Highway, this created the impetus for industrial expansion in the area. An early development was the Potato Research Station, which was followed by the Strawberry Certification Scheme.

Victoria was devastated by the worst bushfires in Australia

As you drive through the town of Toolangi, you will see a strangely shaped wooden building surrounded by tall eucalypts. This is the Toolangi Forest Discovery Centre. Open to visitors Monday to Friday, this building is used for forest education, and thousands of primary, secondary and tertiary students visit every year. There are also several local walking tracks, which are detailed in information available at the centre, including the Wirra Willa Rain forest walk through local rainforest, the Yea River Walk opposite the centre, and the Forest Sculpture Trail, which takes in nine works by sculptors of international repute and views both of Melbourne and the district.

Toolangi was the home of one of Australia’s most beloved poets, the late C. J. Dennis, the author of The Songs of a Sentimental Bloke, Jim of the Hills, The Glugs of Gosh, Rose of Spadgers, The Singing Gardens and Ginger Mick, to name a few. Dennis joined artist Hal Waugh on an expedition to Toolangi in 1908. Dennis stayed on after the expedition, attracted by the ambience of the area, he was also a business partner in one of the many sawmills of the area – St Leonards Sawmill. His work captured the feel of the bush and the true Australian characters, both of the bush and the pubs. In 1915, he purchased 3.5 acres for 22 pounds. This included a mill house. Over a period of 10 years, with the help of a local handyman, they converted the mill house to a two-storey house named “Arden”. His house has long since burned down, but his gardens remain in the care of Jan and Vic Williams, where they operate their tea rooms, The Singing Gardens, and are open to the public.

Opposite the gardens is the pottery of David Williams, who creates unique crystalline-glazed ceramics, which have been exhibited in the National Gallery of Victoria.

The Toolangi Tavern, situated at the intersection of Myers Creek and Chum Creek Roads, is a common meeting spot for those living in, and travelling through, Toolangi. The tavern was opened in 2006 and serves lunch and dinner.

The former Toolangi Hotel burned to the ground in 1975. While the building was totally destroyed, the locals saved the beer. For weeks afterwards, they would gather under the trees at the old pub site and assist in depleting the stocks. The former licensee decided not to rebuild the pub and the town remained publess for decades.

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