Library Patchly Gold
Library Patchly Gold

Leases & access · Victoria

Victoria Protected Areas

Victoria Reference and Wilderness Areas, plus heritage rivers and catchments.

What it shows

The statutory overlays that sit on top of Victorian public land, from the state open-data service. The two that matter most for prospecting are Reference Areas, declared under the Reference Areas Act 1978, and Wilderness Areas under the National Parks Act 1975: both appear in the government's own list of places prospecting is not permitted. They are easy to break the rules in by accident, because they are small, scattered, rarely signposted and shown on almost no other map. Heritage rivers, essentially natural catchments and remote and natural areas are drawn as well. Each area carries its name and the kind of overlay it is. Much of this ground is also inside the restricted Crown land layer, so the two outline it together, but that layer records the mining restriction rather than the declaration: it names no wilderness zone and no remote and natural area at all. Those are here and nowhere else.

Before you rely on it

Prospecting is not permitted in Reference Areas (Reference Areas Act 1978) or Wilderness Areas (National Parks Act 1975). Both are small and rarely signposted. Heritage rivers, natural catchments and remote and natural areas are drawn here too, and have their own rules. Check an area's type before you dig.

Putting this on your map

Taking a layer from the Library onto a stack, and tuning how it draws, is a short guided tour on your own map.

How do I add map layers to Patchly?

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