
TOWER Hill supporters hope the beauty of the crater and surrounding areas will be opened up to visitors with an $11 million funding boost.
Western Victoria MP Gayle Tierney on Monday announced $11.3 million for upgrades at Tower Hill Wildlife Reserve as part of the government's $2.7 billion COVID-19 pandemic works stimulus package.
Upgrades include improvements to the visitor facilities, cultural experiences, lookouts and trails.
Koroit Progress Association president Sam Rudolph said Tower Hill was an important part of the region's indigenous history, which had long been neglected.
"It is the gateway to Koroit," he said.
"I think if it does get the upgrade it will increase interest in Koroit.
"It's a place of beauty. People talk about how there's a lot of energy at the crater.
"It's something that has been neglected probably since European settlement.
"We welcome it happening.
"I think the people of Koroit would be very excited to see something happening."
Mr Rudolph said the progress association would push to see links increased between Tower Hill and Koroit.
"We'd like to see better access, whether that's walking tracks and trails," he said.
Worn Gundidj tourism manager Terry O'Keefe welcomed the funding and said anything that improved the visitor experience was worthwhile.
"The more people that go there the better, up to a point," he said. "The place definitely needs a lot of work, the walking trails, hopefully this will fix it all. It's a very unique place, not only geologically ... It's been restored close to its original condition.
"There aren't that many places where you can get that close to wild animals and go right up to echidnas, koalas, kangaroos and emus."
Parks Victoria is working on a draft management plan for the reserve which is expected to be released for public comment in the coming months. Community consultation on the plan was completed in October last year.