For years there had been whispers of a wild man living in caves high in the hills. A century later the secrets are revealed.

Discovered at last; the Wild Man caves.

From any high spot along the ramparts of the Grampians in the Western District of Victoria you can look west to another range, distant against the horizon - the Black Range, about 30km away.
Few venture into these hills, they lie in the shadow of the Grampians’ popularity. No plunging waterfalls here, no Wonderland walking tracks, instead there are legends and whisperings about caves and a wild man. Locals from Horsham in the north to Hamilton in the south can give you a few snippets. They’ve heard of the Wild Man Caves but never been there. A bloke hid out from the police for 20 years, they’ll say. No one is quite sure where or when or why. The Black Range hides its secrets well.
And that’s almost certainly the way David Ross liked it. From what we know, Ross was a shearer and apart from the Spring shearing season he lived a lonely life in caves high in the Black Range in the late 1860s. It seems he liked the alternative lifestyle as it was in the then. His particular - some would say romantic - life was the stuff of which novels are written and movies are made. But was David Ross a latter day cave man here in Victoria? We decided to track down the Wild Man Caves and the story of the Wild Man himself.
There are no sign posts to the Wild Man Caves in the Black Range. Forestry Officer Roger Edwards from nearby Cavendish told us that David Ross did indeed live the cave life for around 20 years.
“He lived in two caves and he actually made a few improvements to make them livable - a bed, chairs and things, but access is not easy,” he warned. “The site is quite fragile and the track is very steep in parts with some climbing over boulders needed.”
We left the main road from Horsham and headed south. At the road junction opposite the delightful Cherrypool picnic ground we turned right toward the Black Range. This gravel road skirts the northern arm of Rocklands Reservoir. We threaded our way through giant old gums on bush tracks that led to the base of the range. A gate here blocks entry to all but park management vehicles to the Black Range State Park. The walking track begins as a narrow pad through heathy fringe myrtle flowers. An occasional blue tinsel lily glitters in the grass. Then, quite abruptly you’re clambering upward, scrambling over rock, squeezing through narrow rocky chutes, up and around the side of a 400m towering rocky buttress. And near the top, hidden to one side, we found the first of the two known Wild Man’s caves.
Remarkably, after 140 years, Ross’ caves remain mostly intact, due no doubt, to their inaccessibility. Few, it would appear, have found their way up to this eyrie. It’s possible that he lived here from around 1860 to 1880 - no one is quite sure. His “improvements” are still evident, a neatly built stone wall covers in the natural cave opening. A tiny entrance to one side is the only access. An open slit across the top allows a view of the approaches. Roger Edwards said that the beds and chairs Ross used to furnish these caves are now thought to be preserved at a nearby homestead. The rock walls inside form ledges that make reasonably comfortable seating. There’s evidence of small fireplaces too.
“Smoke never built up inside,” he said. “Somehow Ross designed it so that natural drafts drew the smoke out.”
The second cave is located a further 300m around on the eastern side of the buttress. It’s sited in the wall of a huge, naturally hewn cavern. The beauty of colour and texture in the eroding sandstone create a kind of art gallery. Look up and high on the walls are remnants of Koori art. The acoustics, you discover as you pause here, might have been designed by some audio genius. The views from here are sensational and that, to Ross, was the whole point. Views were important to him. From here he would have had a vast panorama to the south east across the huge Glenisla Station where Samuel Carter had his sheep run. Wild Man Ross must have been able to spy anyone approaching.
In 1875 a fence worker, employed by Carter, discovered the haunts of a wild man. Carter and his men searched the mountains and found a cave blocked by a large boulder. Inside they discovered dried mutton, sheep skins and tins of black sand suggesting that the occupant was into gold prospecting.
Fearing that the dried mutton may have come illegally from his flock, Carter had the police conduct a search. When the police discovered Ross in his cave they pretended to have been lost, hoping to lure him from the cave as a rifle had been seen. Wild Man Ross made a dash for freedom but was arrested and taken to nearby Balmoral, charged with having stolen mutton. It seems that, in their zeal at having a cave man in their lock-up, a further charge of having no visible means of support was added to the accusations.
Locals scoffed at the tale but the “Hamilton Spectator” (9 February 1876) made a meal of the Wild Man story describing the arrest as “sensational”.
“It was nevertheless strictly true…David Ross was brought before the police bench at Balmoral on the 2nd inst. when he was accused of having no lawful visible means of support. The “hermit” who, it will be remembered, was found living in a cave in a remote part of Mr Samuel Carter’s run where he was suspected of evading justice or qualifying himself for canonisation,” the “Spectator” trumpeted.
Ross was able to prove that he had recently earned money and the vagrancy case was dismissed. As for the stolen mutton, Ross was found guilty but a witness, the Balmoral storekeeper Mr Basil Lyon, testified that he had cashed cheques for the accused and he spoke up for the Wild Man, according to the press report.
“He believed (Ross) to be honest, but appearances were against him. Strange to say, he experienced no difficulty in paying the fine,” the paper said. Ross was sentenced to three months’ hard labour or 15 pounds fine.
Ross was then 56 years old, his only possession at the time was a knife, according to police. Sitting on the boulders above his caves today you can speculate that this Scottish labourer just wanted to drop out of the 1860’s rat race and lead a simple life with marvellous views. Here you can gaze down on redgum forests and the Grampians’ Victoria Range beyond. It’s a view that has not changed much since 1875 - certainly the peace remains.
We had uncovered the mystery of the Wild Man and his caves and then, as clouds darkened, it began to rain. Would we seek refuge in Ross’ former home? It was late and modern comforts beckoned from below so we retreated down the water-slicked rocks to the car as the mists closed about this little known scrap of Victorian history.
But for his taste for a bit of illegal mutton we may never have known his story and the Black Range would have concealed the Wild Man’s story forever.