Greendale

Greendale Captain Moonlight’s Church

A popular place for hikers to stop before and after a trek, Greendale offers easy access to both Lerderderg State Park and Wombat State Forest. The state parks offer walks to suit a variety of fitness and experience levels and are a beautiful place to visit for those wanting to get back to nature and experience some fresh air and natural sights.

Get off the beaten track and see the real country Victoria in all its lush beauty! Surrounded by bushland and home to the historic Greendale Hotel and General Store, this small town is quickly becoming a favourite picnic spot amongst both locals and visitors. The town may seem somewhat familiar for those who have seen the 2006 version of Charlotte’s Web with much of the filming taking place in and around the town.

Greendale was also the site of Captain Moonlight’s Church. An Aussie bushranger and lay preacher, Andrew George Scott, AKA Captain Moonlight, stole gold from a bank to pay for the construction of a church. It is believed that Captain Moonlight was in Pentridge Prison serving time for the bank robbery when the church was completed and never actually got to preach there.

Captain Moonlight has also gained infamy in more recent times due to his request to be buried with “his beloved James Nesbitt”, a fellow bushranger at the time of his hanging. The request was denied at the time however LGBTQIA+ activists discovered letters between the couple in the New South Wales archives and successfully had Captain Moonlight reinterred with Nesbitt at Gundagai Cemetery in 1995.