Lake Cooper’s quiet allure

Some persons state that this is owing to the modest and unobtrusive disposition of the inhabitants.

Others more cynical state that the Coropites have yielded to the temptation common to all discoverers, and having found a good thing are determined to enjoy the monopoly as long as they can.

Should the latter explanation be the correct one, the writer of those lines will hardly be thanked by the residents for breaking in upon the scene, and through the columns of The Bendigo Independent reveal to the world at large the natural wealth and beauty embraced within the district of Corop.

Rochester being the nearest railway station the visitor to Corop terminates the railway journey at that place, and for the remaining ten miles, has the choice of two modes of conveyance.

He can borrow a saddle borne, or a horse and buggy.

The hired saddle horse has two faults.

He either goes very poorly just when the journey is properly commenced, or he concludes it in cross-country style, and his rider is very poorly for a few weeks after wards, The hired buggy, with its common failings, viz., heated axles, loose nuts, broken springs, to say nothing of the eccentricities of the horse attached to it, is to be preferred on account of the intermediate gear between the horse and the passenger to the direct action too often experienced by the inexperienced horseman in the saddle.

For the first five miles of the drive to Corop from Rochester, the country is level and uninteresting.

After the “five mile post” is passed the scene changes rapidly, and undulating country, lightly timbered and apparently auriferous, is traversed for about two miles.

After this the road leads up a formidable hill, from the summit of which a good view of the surrounding landscape is obtainable.

On the slopes of the neighbouring hills are situated comfortable-looking farms.

The homesteads, with their well-kept gardens and thriving orchards, indicate comfort and prosperity, while the rich chocolate colour of the paddocks under fallow and the heavy stubble on the wheat fields recently stripped, reveal at once the capabilities of the soil.

Looking south, away in the distance can be seen standing out in bold outline against the clear sky a high range of hills of a deep blue colour.

Distant about two miles, a portion of Lake Cooper peeps round the slope of an adjoining hill.

As the visitor continues the journey, the road gradually descends to the township of Corop, which is situated on the northern extremity of Lake Cooper.

The lake being one of the main attractions in the district, the visitor invariably visits and drives along its shores before even paying his respects to the influential residents of Corop.”