Hernes Oak

Hernes Oak is a rural locality and dormitory suburb of Yallourn in the Latrobe Valley, eastern Victoria. It is about midway between Moe and Morwell.

The country between Moe and Morwell was known as the Haunted Hills, reputedly because stock riders believed that cattle were easily alarmed by nocturnal sounds. The change of name to Hernes Oak occurred in or before 1922: in Shakespeare’s play The Merry Wives of Windsor, Herne’s ghost appeared by an oak tree and terrified cattle.