Back to the Goldrush Days
Maldon provides a fascinating step back in time to the prosperity of those gold rush days with its perfectly preserved streetscape. It’s very much a tourist town with cafes, antique shops and galleries open to enjoy and explore. You can even experience a journey on a tourist steam train.
Maldon, a gold rush time-capsule, was declared Australia’s first ‘Notable Town’ by the National Trust in 1966 and awarded the title of ‘most intact historic streetscape in Victoria’ in 2006 and is celebrated for its 19th-century appearance, maintained since gold-rush days.
Journey to historic Maldon and experience what life was like during the gold rush era. Wander past old weatherboard homes, solid stone buildings and decorative shop fronts in this lovingly preserved Australian gold mining town. In recognition of this, in 2006, Maldon was awarded the ‘most intact heritage streetscape’ by the National Trust.
Beneath the surface
Take an afternoon to unearth hidden treasures in one of the many antique and collectable shops around town. Browse through fashion boutiques, sample local produce and handmade chocolates at one of the many cafes, or view the local arts on display. Spend time wandering through the remains of once great mines as well as the town centre and you’ll come away from your Maldon experience with a much better understanding of life on the goldfields.
Food and wine
To get a taste of the area, follow the Mount Alexander Taste of Gold food and wine trail. Sample local wines and produce from farmgates and cellar doors along the way. Not surprisingly, there are many regional events that showcase the area’s gourmet strengths, so be sure to plan ahead.
Mountain railways
Take a nostalgic journey on board the Victorian Goldfields Steam Railway. The unmistakable nostalgic sound of a steam locomotive’s whistle can be heard in the distance on any Wednesday or Sunday as you stroll along the main streets of Castlemaine or Maldon. The sounds of the train whistle is part of the historic atmosphere that lingers as part of the living heritage in these old goldfields towns.
The steam trains that operate from the historic Maldon and Castlemaine Stations have a certain magic that captures the imagination of young and old. Take in views of the surrounding countryside or go on a drive up Mt Tarrangower to get a 360 degree view of the area from the lookout tower.
Maldon Folk Festival
Location: Maldon, VIC
Dates: October 28th – 31st 2011
Details: At the 2011 Maldon Folk Festival you can enjoy four days of folk music and dance, musical theatre and interactive workshops, complemented by various activities around the Maldon township.
Website: http://www.maldonfolkfestival.com/
Contact: PO Box 135, Maldon, Vic, 3463
Phone: (03) 5475 1167
Email: mail@maldonfolkfestival.com
History
The district where Maldon now stands was first discovered by white Europeans in 1836, during Major Thomas Mitchell‘s famous Victorian expedition. It was settled soon afterwards by pastoralists, and two sheep runs were established in the area, at the foot of Mount Tarrangower.
In 1853, as gold fever swept the colony, a German prospector named John Mechosk found gold on one of those properties, Cairn Curran, the name given to one of the sheep runs, located at the foot of Mount Tarrengower. The resultant goldfield was named ‘Tarrengower Fields’ and within a month 3000 diggers had arrived and Maldon became a part of the Victorian Gold Rush.
A Post Office opened in March 1854 and by 1856, with a population estimated to be between eighteen and twenty thousand, the settlement was surveyed and named Maldon after the village of the same name in Essex, England.
In the decade 1861 to 1871 Maldon was Victoria’s eighth largest town with a population in excess of 3000 and supporting twice that number of miners in the surrounding district.
By 1856 there was estimated to be 18-20,000 people at the goldfields, and the Victorian government arranged for the settlement to become a town, which was named Maldon. Maldon proved to be one of Victoria’s richest quartz-mining centres, though with poorer alluvial results than others such as Castlemaine or Ballarat.
Gold
As with most of the Victorian gold fields Maldon’s alluvial deposits diminished not long after the initial rush and miners were forced to dig deep shafts as they sought the rich quartz reefs. Maldon proved to be one of the richest quartz regions in the whole of Victoria with more than seventy reefs giving up good deposits.
With the move to deep-lead mining many diggers moved on and by 1891 Maldon’s population had dropped to 1600. Mining continued in various forms throughout the district for many years and the last mine of real significance, the North British, closed in 1926.
Today the township boasts a permanent population of about 1000 and relies heavily on the tourist trade for its continued existence.
