PENSHURST Penshurst is the next town encounted when heading west to Hamilton and Mount Gambier. The town was settled in the 1850s, the Post Office opening on September 1, 1857. Penshurst is the southern gateway town to the Grampians Penshurst is located in an area littered with basalt stones up 2m long from the Mount Rouse volcano. These are known locally as the stony rises. The north east side of Mount Rouse is used as a quarry and crushed for road making scoria. There were instances in the 1970’s where bushfires triggered peat fires beneath the stony rises which burnt for a number on months. A fire watch building is located at the top of Mount Rouse. The Penshurst Volcanoes Discovery Centre is an interpretive centre and tourist information centre located in Martin Street in the old Shire of Mount Rouse offices. It contains an audio/visual display of volcanoes in general, and the eruptions and lava flows of the district in particular. Penshurst is serviced by a fresh water spring located in the town and has many historic buildings. The churches in Penshurst are all century plus buildings. The Old Court House is the museum factor in the town. The hotels in Penshurst are the classic Victorian Hotel. The Penshurst War Memorial is in the centre of the cbd. Penshurst is a nice small town and an extended look over is warranted. Heritage diary