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Mount Buffalo Chalet

The Mount Buffalo Chalet, referred to affectionately as the 'Grand Old Lady', is located in the spectacular Mount Buffalo National Park, four hours North-East of Melbourne.

The heritage listed 96 guest room Chalet is of architectural, historical and social significance to the State of Victoria and Australia. There is no other building like it in Australia and no other physically similar structure in the world. The Mount Buffalo Chalet is one of a kind.

After initially opening, the Chalet quickly grew in popularity and was soon fully occupied most of the year. The unique layout of the building comes from several additions over the subsequent decades as it accommodated up to 200 guests plus staff.

In 1924, the management of the Chalet was transferred to the Railways Department and the facility was operated in a formal manner, including the issuing of standard railway tickets for all activities and the wearing of railway uniforms by the porters. During the war there was a reduction of both staff and clientelle at the Chalet, and servicemen and women on leave were given priority in bookings. After the war, migrants and displaced persons from Europe, many of them Jewish, found the Chalet to be a comforting reminder of their homelands.

The Chalet became a regular holiday destination for many families for generations. Its interior was known for its beautiful wood paneling throughout the guest areas of the building. Over times different parts of the building began to acquire titles. The front section with larger rooms overlooking the Gorge became known as 'Toorak'. The smaller rooms that were a "good walk" up the long ascending hallway from the front of the Chalet and reportedly often cold were aptly named 'Siberia'.