The current boundaries of the Colac Otway Shire Council partially include land belonging to the tribes of the Gadubanud people and Gulidjan.

Author Lawrence Niewójt (2009)[2] attempted to reconstruct the cultural landscape created by the Gadubanud people prior to their disastrous encounter with Europeans in the late 1840s.

Their vast territory stretching from Painkalac Creek (near Aireys Inlet) in the east to the Gellibrand River that flows west of the mountains is over 100 kilometres and incorporates what is now Forrest.

These lines were used to bring the freshly cut timber to the rail head, and the associated sawmills of which there were four in Forrest and nearby Yaugher.

[6] Consisting of a general store, micro brewery, hotel, bike hire, guesthouse and a variety of accommodation rentals, Forrest is the gateway to the Otway Ranges.

[citation needed] Fauna to be viewed on these drives include Australian king parrots, crimson rosellas, grey swamp wallabies, echidnas.