Beechworth

Beechworth sat on the Ovens goldfield, which produced enormous quantities of alluvial gold in the 1850s, and the town spent it on public buildings in the local honey-coloured granite: a courthouse, a gaol, a telegraph station, banks and the Burke Museum, one of the oldest provincial museums in Australia. Ned Kelly and members of his family appeared in the courthouse here, and the gaol held him, which anchors a good deal of the town's tourism. Beyond that history, Beechworth has a strong food reputation for its bakery and brewery, the Gorge Scenic Drive follows granite bluffs and falls, and the rail trail to Bright and Wangaratta passes through.

History

The settler David Reid first grazed the area, also known as Mayday Hills until 1853, and the post office opened on 1 May 1853 as Spring Creek and was renamed Beechworth on 1 January 1854. From 1852 to 1857 it was a rich goldfield and a centre of government: one early party took a pan of gold weighing 6.4 kilograms and another some 23 kilograms in a week, and in the first election campaign of 1855 the candidate Daniel Cameron rode a horse shod in gold, remembered in the town's golden horseshoe emblem. The railway arrived only in September 1876, when gold was already waning, and closed in 1977 (Wikipedia, Beechworth).

What you'll find

• The granite streetscape - courthouse, gaol, banks and shops in local stone.
• The Kelly connections - the courthouse and gaol used during the Kelly years.
• The Burke Museum - a provincial museum with an 1850s streetscape display.
• The Gorge Scenic Drive - granite bluffs, falls and the powder magazine.

When to go

March to November; autumn colour is strong in April and May, and the town is cold with frost in winter. Summer is hot with fire risk in the surrounding bush. Weekends are busy with visitors from Melbourne.

Practical notes

The Kelly story is heavily marketed and several attractions charge separately for parts of it. The gaol has had periods of restricted access as its use has changed. The town is small, and midweek in winter many businesses close early.

Nearby

Bright and the rail trail lie southeast; Rutherglen is north on the Murray.

Key facts