Matthew Hill Grassland Reserve

If you’re looking to take your daily exercise in a new spot, look no further than Matthews Hill Grassland Reserve in Sunshine. If you live near Matthews Street Sunshine, you won’t have to travel far to enjoy the unique grassland reserve right on your doorstep.

Matthews Hill Grassland Reserve is a great open space to cycle and walk through or to stop and enjoy the landscape.

Once entering the grassland beyond the rabbit-proof fence, visitors are greeted with an example of one of the world’s most endangered ecosystems – Natural Temperate Grasslands of the Victorian Volcanic Plain.

Matthews Hill Grassland Reserve provides the community with a snapshot of what the sweeping basalt plains underneath the western suburbs of Melbourne once looked like. This little patch of nature has survived amongst the roads, railways and silos that surround it.

The Matthews Hill Grassland Reserve has been managed by Council’s Conservation Unit for more than a decade. The Conservation Unit, with the help of local volunteers, have been restoring the area to its former glory – a colourful herbfield that supports some of the state’s most interesting and beautiful wildflowers.

Along your daily walk, you’ll come across impressive kangaroo sculptures referencing the natural history of the space. These add an artistic element to help people interact with the grassland in a tangible way.

Although grasslands can be appreciated year-round, the Matthews Hill Grassland is at its best in spring into the early months of summer, when a diverse array of daisies and other wildflowers bloom, and the kangaroo grass changes from green to red.