East Gippsland towns toast fresh looks, friendly streets
02/01/2026Bruthen - a picturesque stop on the scenic Great Alpine Road and Buchan — famous for its limestone caves, sit just 50 kilometres apart in the heart of East Gippsland’s high country.
Surrounded by dense bushland, winding rivers and rugged landscapes, both communities have welcomed upgrades to revitalise their town centres, local streets and historic shopfronts.
With our support, the upgrades offer locals more inviting spaces to connect and encourage visitors to spend more time in town — boosting traffic to local traders in both communities.
The works have been made possible with more than $3.8 million from the Victorian and Australian Government’s Local Economic Recovery program, which supports bushfire-affected communities across East Gippsland and the state’s northeast.
Both Buchan and Bruthen were impacted by the 2019–20 Black Summer bushfires, affecting residents, homes, businesses and services, and destroying much of the Buchan Caves Reserve.
Upgrades in Buchan supported around 20 direct and indirect jobs and created new shared footpaths to the Buchan Caves campsite to make it easier for people to move between the popular tourist destination and the town centre.
The redesign of Buchan’s main road and surrounding service roads has made parking easier, safer and created a more walkable and welcoming environment for locals and visitors.
In Bruthen, unsafe intersections have been removed to improve parking and safe crossing points, while new pedestrian footpaths have been introduced to better connect people with destinations in the town.
New rock seating walls made from locally sourced Bruthen blue sandstone have been placed throughout the town centre, adding a striking, natural feature to the town.
A yarning circle designed and installed by the Gunaikurnai Land and Waters Aboriginal Corporation (GLaWAC) is featured at the western entry to the Bruthen Gardens and celebrates the rich Indigenous culture and care of the area.
The program also delivered small grants to retailers in Buchan and Bruthen to support shopfront upgrades – including fresh paintwork, awning and veranda repairs, and new lighting, windows and doors.
Economic development workshops and training were also delivered to businesses across both towns, providing access to professional services and sessions to increase financial, marketing, and digital capabilities.
The upgrades across both towns were delivered by East Gippsland Shire Council and form part of our ongoing work to make Victoria’s regional cities and towns even better places to live, work, invest, study and experience.