Tourist Information, Post Office and Town Hall
The Daylesford Regional Visitor Information Centre is located two doors down from the post office at 98 Vincent St, Daylesford, and is open from 9.00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m. daily, tel: (03) 5348 1339.
The post office, at the corner of Vincent Rd and Central Springs Rd, was built in 1867 to an Italianate design with a tower and balustraded parapet. On the other side of Central Springs Rd is the town hall (1882) which has been kept in fine condition.
Museum and Primary School
Just down the road, at 100 Vincent St, is the Daylesford Historical Society Museum which is considered one of Victoria’s better pioneer museums. It is located in the old School of Mines which was built in 1890 as a venue for developing deep-lead mining skills. Displays include photographs, clothing, Aboriginal artefacts and items related to local sawmilling, agriculture and goldmining. It is open weekends, school and public holidays from 1:30 p.m to 4:30 p.m. or by appointment, tel: (03) 5348 1453.
Next door to the museum is the old primary school (1874).
Alpha Hall
Alpha Hall Galleria, at 63-65 Vincent St, was Daylesford’s first movie theatre (c.1914) and reputedly the first in Victoria outside of Melbourne. It is now a furniture gallery with a cafe, tel: (03) 5348 3761.
Other Historic Buildings
At the corner of Central Springs Rd and Duke St is St Peter’s Catholic Church (1863). Christ Church (1863), the town’s Anglican Church, is located a little further west on Central Springs Rd. The small but elegant and excellently maintained Classical Revival courthouse (1863) is next to the police station in Camp St.
Convent Gallery
High on Wombat Hill (in Daly St) is one of the town’s more popular attractions, the fine Convent Gallery, located in the former convent of the Presentation Sisters (1892). One of the sisters’ cells, with its stained-glass windows and fine views, has been preserved. It is now a combined gallery and Mediterranean-style restaurant.
Cockatoo Zoo
Cockatoo Zoo is a consortium of artists and designers who create functional but interesting objects such as sculpture, furniture, fountains, steel art and paintings for homes, corporate clients, the government, architects, interior designers and the general public. The showroom is open by appointment at Factory 1, Industrial Estate, tel: (03) 5348 3644.
Don Wreford Hot Glass Studio
Located at 39 Albert St, this studio has blown and hot-formed individual glass pieces, tel: (03) 5348 1012.
Botanical Gardens
The outstanding Wombat Hill Botanical Gardens (established in 1863) are situated atop an extinct volcano high above town, just off Central Springs Rd. There are some enormous and rare trees, a fernery, a begonia display in February-March, a lookout tower, some fine picnic areas and a kiosk. Of interest are the monkey puzzle tree, a German horse-drawn mortar from World War I and the begonia display in the Conservatory. A map of the gardens is available from the town’s information centre.
Central Springs Spa Reserve
Central Springs Spa Reserve is located at the southern end of Fulcher St, adjacent Lake Daylesford. There are four mineral springs, walks, picnic areas and many shady nooks adjacent Lake Daylesford.
Lake Daylesford
Lake Daylesford, bisected by Bleakley St, covers the land upon which gold was found in 1851. The Wombat Flat Diggings became the site of a Chinese market garden and joss house when the alluvial gold ran out. This was maintained until 1929 when the lake was created.
Today it is a popular fishing spot with picnic-barbecue facilities. The peace mile walking track starts from the main carpark and entails a circuit of the lake. Rowboats, aquabikes, paddleboats, canoes and surf skis can be hired on the foreshore and there is also a large second-hand book barn nearby.
Tipperary Walking Track
The Tipperary Walking Track explores Hepburn Regional Park. It is quite an easy and well-signposted course. 16.7 km in all, it can be broken into shorter sections. From the outlet of Lake Daylesford it leads through Central Springs Reserve and along Wombat Creek. Cross the footbridge at the carpark to return to the lake or cross the highway to Twin Bridges picnic area.
Tracks then follow both banks of Sailor’s Creek north to Tipperary Springs (which can be accessed by car along Tipperary Rd which heads off the Midlands Highway). The spring itself is located near the footbridge. Panning for gold and garnets is popular here.
Cross the footbridge. You can loop back to Twin Bridges or ascend the steps and follow the signs along the west bank of the creek to Bryces Flat picnic area. You can loop back to Tipperary along the east bank or cross the footbridge and follow the signs north to The Blowhole and Breakneck Gorge veering east to Hepburn Mineral Springs Reserve. For further information on this section of the walk see entry on Hepburn Springs.
Central Highlands Tourist Railway and Wombat State Forest
The old railway station, adjacent Raglan St at the eastern edge of town, is the venue for the town markets and Central Highlands Tourist Railway. Both operate on Sundays only. On those days trains run on an hourly basis from Daylesford through Wombat State Forest to Bullarto and return, tel: (03) 5348 3503. The forest, with its fern gullies, streams, waterfalls and spring wildflowers, is a popular spot for scenic drives and walks.
Llamas
Take a Llama to Lunch offers a bushwalk in the Glenlyon district accompanied by a llama which carries the necessary items for a gourmet picnic. They operate weekends from October to May by booking only. Mid-week excursions for groups can also be arranged, tel: (03) 5348 7739.
Jubilee Lake
Jubilee Lake, at the south-eastern edge of town, was constructed in 1860 to supply water for the goldfields and for domestic purposes. It is now a popular spot for boating, picnicking and swimming. There is a caravan park, a mineral spring, a kiosk, barbecue facilities, boat and canoe hire, and a walking track which leads around the lake and on to Soda Spring. Jubilee Lake Rd runs off King St.
Sailor’s Falls
Situated in an area that was once mined for gold, Sailor’s Falls, about 8 km south on the Daylesford-Ballan Rd, cascade for 30 m down a steep gorge into a fern-lined creek. There are picnic facilities and electric barbecues. A short loop walk takes in the area’s mineral springs or you can follow the orange trail markers and signposts to Twin Bridges (6.5 km).
Blampied
About 11 km south-west of town along the Midland Highway is Blampied which boasts Victoria’s oldest continually-licenced hotel – the Swiss Mountain Hotel (1860) which is a lovely single-storey weatherboard building with a great atmosphere. Blampied also has an attractive little bluestone Catholic church.
Eganstown
7 km west along the Midland Highway is the former mining centre of Eganstown. Now a quiet hamlet, the 1865 Catholic Church of St Francis Xavier is one of the few remaining public buildings. In the adjoining cemetery is a monument to John Egan who arrived in Australia in 1841 and established Eganstown in 1848. He discovered gold in 1851 and died in 1894.
Mt Franklin Recreation Reserve
Mt Franklin, an extinct volcano, is unmistakably signposted 10 km north of town along the Midland Highway. The road ascends to a sizeable and shady picnic-barbecue area. Short-term camping is permitted with fireplaces, toilets and washing water provided. You can walk or drive from the picnic area to the excellent lookout at the summit.
Dry Diggings Track
The Dry Diggings Track is a 55-km walking route which winds its way around the old goldfields between Castlemaine and Daylesford, taking in Fryerstown, Vaughan, Mt Franklin and Hepburn Springs. It takes in many of the area’s goldmining relics, as well as its plant communities and fauna types. A comprehensive guide map has been drawn up and it is available from the Visitors’ Centre.
This track represents one section of Victoria’s Great Dividing Trail, a series of co-ordinated walks across the ranges and Central Highlands. The section from Daylesford to Ballarat has been virtually completed, tel: (03) 5348 3059.
Fly Fishing
Fly Fishing Tours can be arranged by ringing (03) 5348 4405 or (03) 5348 4422.
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