Established in 1892 as a national park, the land remained degraded until 1961, when it was declared a State Game Reserve and an extensive revegetation program was begun.

Tower Hill became Victoria's first national park in 1892,[7][8] but degradation of the landscape and native wildlife habitats continued until it was declared a State Game Reserve in 1961, when a major revegetation program began.

Populations of koalas, grey kangaroos, wallabies, echidnas, brushtail and ringtail possums, sugar gliders and over 160 species of bird were successfully established in the 1980s, and are still there today.

[9] The Tower Hill Visitor Centre, completed in 1969[6] and opened in 1970, located in the central complex of volcanic cones, is an important public building designed by Melbourne architect Robin Boyd.

[11] Boyd was an avid conservationist and designed the building in harmony with nature, with the circular shape and sloping roof mirroring hilltops on the volcanic island.

One source suggests that it arose in the 1840s owing to its resemblance to a castle, while another credits a sailor from Glasgow with "naming the site after Tower Hill in Scotland”.

[15] Since 2002, the Worn Gundidj Aboriginal Cooperative, whose staff includes descendants of the original inhabitants,[16] has managed the Visitor Centre in partnership with Parks Victoria, providing information on the geology, flora, fauna and cultural heritage of the area through displays and guided bushwalking tours.