March 30, 2022
On Friday 1 April, six campsites on Crown Land Water Frontage will be opened up for public use. These campsites are the first of hundreds of camping spots that will allow fishers and campers to enjoy camping in our great outdoors. Up to 50 more campsites are expected to be released by the end of April.
The first six designated campsites are along the Goulburn River and can be accessed by foot from designated parking areas around the townships of Seymour, Tallarook, Murchison and Molesworth.
As new campsites are opened on Crown Land, they will be listed on the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DEWLP) website. DELWP will be assessing further sites to be included in the program along the Goulburn, Broken, Ovens, Campaspe, Loddon, and Murray Rivers. Depending on location, future sites may be able to be accessed by vehicles.
VRFish successfully advocated on behalf of Victorian recfishers to achieve this outcome via our ‘Public Access to Public Land’ campaign and strong advocacy efforts. We are thrilled that this has delivered the opportunity for Victorian families to camp alongside our amazing waterways while wetting a line.
Increasing access for camping on Crown Land was a key commitment by the Andrews Labor Government from the 2018 State Election.
To ensure a responsible recreation ethos is practiced while fishing and camping on Crown Land, VRFish have developed a responsible recreation campaign, Naturally Vic, which is a guide to understanding the new regulations that allow camping on certain Victorian Crown water frontages.
“Public land should be available for public use – and what better use for riverside Crown Land than camping and fishing, enabling families and friends to create memories together.”
Rob Loats, VRFish Chair
NATURALLY VIC
Naturally Vic aims to promote responsible recreation and educate recreational users, such as campers, fishers and hikers, on best-practice guidelines to leave our great outdoors how they found it.
In Victoria, there is approximately 30,000 kilometres of Crown water frontage for recreational users to enjoy. Crown water frontages are a public asset and recreational use by the public is permitted. Some Crown water frontages are licenced for riparian management purposes or to allow adjacent landholders to graze livestock on the frontage. Other Crown water frontage is unlicenced.
The Land Act 1958 was recently amended by the Victorian Government to allow camping on certain Victorian river frontages. These changes apply to Crown land where a licence has been granted to the adjoining landowner for grazing. Designated camping sites on licenced areas will be assessed as suitable for camping and opened by the State Government. There are different regulations for camping on licenced and unlicenced Crown water frontage.
Visit the Naturally Vic website.
