As a result of the freak accident the falls were closed to the public.

Thirteen years have passed and the picturesque site still remains off limits.

There is hope that may soon change.

Moorabool Shire Council, which is responsible for the site, hopes to welcome visitors back into the Lal Lal Falls, while minimising the impact on the reserve.

The first step in a long process to have the falls reopened, a recently released management plan, suggests there are opportunities to develop new walks in the reserve, including to nearby Moorabool Falls.

The report also outlines the geological and landform features and vegetation at the site.

However, the council is faced with a number of safety issues before the falls can be reopened.

If the falls are reopened, the council wants to ensure that the natural features and ecological values of the area are preserved.

But the council also wants to discourage visitors from venturing into the dangerous areas at the top and bottom of the gorge with fencing and signage.

Rock climbing and abseiling in the reserve would be prohibited.

The council, however, does want to encourage visitors to enjoy picnics and walks in the area.

A development plan, which will review facilities at the falls, is now being compiled.

Development director for the Moorabool Shire Council, Jack Green, said the council wanted to manage the site sensitively.

"There have been restrictions on the site for some time, and we want to better utilise the area," Mr Green said.

The Lal Lal district is an important part of the region and is an area that is loved by not only visitors, but especially the locals.

Local historian Anne Beggs Sunter, is one Lal Lal resident who would like to see the falls reopened.

With other residents, Ms Beggs Sunter has attended public meetings at the Lal Lal Hall to discuss the management plan.

She said there was a strong feeling in the community that the walking track to the falls should be reopened.

"The (Moorabool Shire) Mayor has expressed concern about the public liability insurance issue and the danger to people at the falls ... but a walking track is not used for abseiling," Ms Beggs Sunter said.

"The Lal Lal Falls has been so central to community recreation from the 1860s, when the first race meeting and picnic were held there."

Ms Beggs Sunter believes that walking tracks to the now inaccessible Moorabool Falls should also be reopened.

Presently, the Lal Lal Falls can be safely viewed from a public viewing platform.

The walking track to the spectacular base of the falls is now out of bounds to the public.

The falls are spectacular all year, but even more so during winter when millions of litres of water cascade over the edge on the way to the Bungal Dam.

Lal Lal Falls and the surrounding areas are steeped in history.

The falls are situated on the Moorabool River tributary.

They drop 34m down a gorge, which was created by the collapse of a lava tunnel into a tranquil pool below.

Local Kooris are said to have believed that Bunjil, their creator, lived at the site.

The name Lal Lal is thought to be Aboriginal for "dashing of waters".

The falls are situated within the traditional country of the Wathaurung people.

They are one of Victoria's most significant indigenous cultural sites.

The New Year's Day race meeting at Lal Lal became an institution with thousands travelling by rail to the course.

Gazetted as a public park in 1865, Lal Lal Falls has been a scenic reserve and picnic destination for more than 140 years.

The Lal Lal Blast Furnace on Iron Mine Rd is also considered an industrial site of great historic significance by the National Trust.

It is the only remaining blast furnace of its kind from the colonial era.

It is also the only 19th century blast furnace in the Southern Hemisphere and, by world standards, is a superb example of a 19th century blast furnace.

An iron ore quarry on the west bank of the Moorabool River and the smelting works were established by the Lal Lal Iron Mining Company in 1874.

At its peak 160 men were employed at these works.

They initially supplied a booming Ballarat with iron for the production of mining machinery and railway locomotives.

The stone and brick blast furnace, which remains, was the third on the site, being built in 1880-81.

It produced 2260 tonnes of pig iron from 4429 tonnes of ore before the venture folded in 1884 due to a fall in prices and declining demand from Ballarat.

Remnants at the site include the furnace, a Cornish flue, a tramway bed, mines, machinery sites, stone quarries and charcoal sites.

These elements are situated in five hand-hewn terraces which were cut into the side of the hill.

The furnace was situated on the lowest level with a steam engine, boiler, pumps and other machinery on the next two strata and stone sheds and stockpiles on the top two levels.

The Lal Lal district has always been a rich source of mineral wealth.

Mining industries have operated there for more than 130 years and continue today with the extraction of high quality kaolin, used in the making of pottery.

The first iron mine in Australia operated in the 1870s and 1880s.

The fence surrounding St Patrick's Cathedral in Ballarat is one known example of the use of Lal Lal iron.

Other minerals mined in the district were gold, brown coal for gas production and clay for brick-making.

The precinct represents one of Central Victoria's most significant industrial and cultural sites.