Daylesford – A Scenic Resort town
Daylesford is a scenic resort town boasting Australia’s highest concentration of natural mineral springs. The architecture and gardens of the town have a distinctively European feel due to the high Italian and Swiss populations during the 1800s gold rush.
The Daylesford Hotel was originally built in the early gold rush days of the 1850’s and was one of Daylesford’s first licensed establishments and still remains as one of Daylesford’s Landmark buildings. The present building was rebuilt in 1913 by the Tognini family and today the hotel retains many of its 1900’s features.
Visit Lake Daylesford, which boasts mineral springs, walking tracks and BBQ areas, hire a canoe and explore the wildlife sanctuary of Jubilee Lake, take a walk around the gorge and fern-lined creek at Sailor’s Falls, take a trip to the Mt Franklin Recreation Reserve and see an extinct volcano and stay in Daylesford as a base to visit the mineral spa resort town of Hepburn Springs, just five minutes from town.
Soak in local history, visit the Historical & Cultural Museum; featuring Aboriginal artefacts and relics of the pioneer days or the Wombat Hill Botanical Gardens; established in 1863 atop an extinct volcano. The Gardens boasts beautiful views of the town, rare trees, a fernery and an award winning begonia display in February-March and a lookout tower. See the displays of photographs, clothing and Aboriginal artefacts at the Daylesford Historical Society Museum housed in the old School of Mines, built in 1890, and next door is the old primary school, built in 1874.
Looking for acclaimed cuisine, cellar doors, award winning day spas, spectacular scenery, natural mineral springs, romantic hideaways, country resorts, historic streetscapes, great entertainment, fabulous art or a game of golf? Just 90 minutes from Melbourne, the Shire boasts the highest concentration of mineral springs in the country together with an equally large array of therapists.
Holistic health services, provided in conjunction with the mineral springs and spas, continue the region’s long tradition as a place of healing. Daylesford, the home of distinguished cartoonist Michael Leunig, is a resort town situated on a ridge which is over 600 metres above sea-level. It is located 111 km north-west of Melbourne and 45 km north-east of Ballarat. The mountain scenery, forestry and recreation areas contribute to the town’s relaxing air.
The towns of Daylesford and Hepburn Springs reflect the character of their earliest heritage when Swiss-Italian miners and other immigrants settled here and people travelled from afar to “take the waters”. Daylesford is known as the ‘Spa Centre of Australia’ with 50 per cent of the country’s known and active mineral water outlets and another 30 per cent located nearby. At the peak of Daylesford’s formative goldrush there were many Italians and Swiss living here and their influence on the gardens and architecture has been profound; bestowing upon the town a European feel.
The natural beauty of the area and its period character have drawn a widening artistic community, providing visitors and the community with performing and visual arts by artists of national and international repute. The local Daylesford Sunday market attracts many visitors.
View a map of Daylesford and surrounding towns with all the features and attractions conveniently marked courtesy of Hepburn Shire.
