Castlemaine

Castlemaine grew from the Mount Alexander goldfield of the 1850s, where tens of thousands of diggers worked one of the richest shallow alluvial fields in the world, and the money built solid public buildings that the town kept when the gold stopped: the Theatre Royal, the market hall of 1862 with its classical facade, and an art gallery of 1931 in art deco style holding a strong collection of Australian work. From the 1970s artists and makers moved in for cheap space, and the old woollen mill now holds studios, a brewery and workshops. The Castlemaine State Festival, held biennially, is one of the older regional arts festivals in Australia, and the diggings around town are a heritage park.

History

The town stands on the land of the Dja Dja Wurrung, known for the tachylite they quarried for tools, and gold mining from the 1850s wrecked their country, which they called upside-down country, and drove them out. Major Mitchell passed through in 1836 and squatters set up sheep runs from 1837, and on 20 July 1851 the shepherd Christopher Thomas Peters found gold at Specimen Gully on Barkers Creek, at first laughed off as fool's gold, starting the Mount Alexander rush; the settlement, called Forest Creek and then Mount Alexander, was renamed Castlemaine in 1854 by the chief gold commissioner, Captain W. Wright, after his uncle Viscount Castlemaine, and it was proclaimed a city on 4 December 1965 (Wikipedia, Castlemaine, Victoria).

What's there

• The market building - the classical 1862 hall in the town centre.
• The art gallery - an art deco building with a strong Australian collection.
• The woollen mill - studios, makers and a brewery in the old factory.
• The diggings - the goldfields heritage park in the bush around town.

When to go

March to November for comfortable weather; autumn colour and the biennial state festival fall in this window. Summer is hot and dry with fire risk in the surrounding bush. Weekends bring visitors from Melbourne.

Things to know

Many galleries and studios open only Friday to Sunday. Accommodation is limited and fills on festival weekends. The goldfields landscape is degraded ground rather than pretty bush, though it is historically interesting.

Nearby

Maldon lies west; Bendigo is north and Daylesford south.

Key facts