Castlemaine Market Building
The Castlemaine Market Building, which opened in 1862, is now regarded as one of Australia's finest heritage buildings. Originally one of a complex of three buildings, it now forms the centrepiece of a historic market square dating back to the great gold rush of the 1850s.
The building was built in 1861 - 1862 and designed by William Beynon Downe, Town Surveyor.
THE NEED FOR A MARKET
In late 1851 gold was discovered in the creeks around Castlemaine and one of Australia's greatest gold rushes occurred. In February 1852, a town survey was carried out. Part of the survey include a Market Square, a place for the general rendezvous of the population.
During the gold rush days, Castlemaine's Market Square was thronged with people selling all sorts of commodities - tools, tents, carts, horses, apples, oranges, ginger-beer, cigars, etc. There were several large trees to which people would pin messages in the hope of contacting others.
By 1853 Castlemaine was becoming a permanent administrative centre and miners were settling down. The surrounding valleys and creek flats soon bore fruit trees, vines, market gardens and grain crops. Chinese gold seekers, who arrived in great numbers after 1854, proved to be very successful gardeners.
The building of enclosed market halls in the Market Square was a declaration of confidence in the agricultural development of the region. Two market halls, known as the east and west halls were opened in 1858.
A third Market Hall, this building, was opened in 1862. The Chairman of the Municipal Council in his speech at the opening of the new building stated that Castlemaine:
"had got hills containing gold, and valleys teeming with produce, but what good would they be if their yield could not be bartered and exchanged, and a market provided where it could be disposed of"
DESIGN AND BUILDING
The remaining Market Building is now regarded as one of regional Australia's finest heritage buildings and it forms the centrepiece of Castlemaine's historic market square.
In 1860 a design competition for the building of a third, more substantial building, was won by William Beynon Downe, the town council's surveyor.
The design of the front of the building is unique in Australia - a Tuscan temple portico with a rising sun emblem, flanked by towers. Appropriately at its peak there is a statue of the Roman harvest Goddess Ceres, holding a cornucopia (or horn of plenty). The Roman arched main entry has ornate cast iron gates which were cast locally at Vivian's Foundry.
Inside, the hall takes the form of a Roman Basilica, with clerestory roof and transverse masonry arches defining the stall spaces. The central hall or nave is spanned by rare laminated timber arched tresses. The market stalls were located in the side halls and doors in the blind arched arcades of the side walls allowed for independent stocking of the stalls. The design is closely related to the market hall at Exeter, in England.
Many local materials were used in the buildings' construction: sandstone in the base, bricks of the typical Castlemaine colour for the walls and the cement rendering to the portico and towers.
As soon as the hall was completed it began to be used not only as a market place but for public occasions of all sorts - municipal, mining, horticultural, church and political.
For a time the Volunteer Corps used it for drill and band practices. Even the Registrar of Births and Deaths had a booth there on Saturdays to receive news of the week's events.
SOCIAL AND CIVIC EVENTS
Two memorable events occurred in the early life of the building.
The first was the reception and ball to celebrate the arrival of the first train from Melbourne. Carrying the Governor, Sir Henry Barkly and guests it arrived at the new Castlemaine station with much pomp and ceremony. A banquet for 300 awaited at the Market Building in which a new floor had been laid, in just 12 hours, for the occasion. The Ball was held later that evening and apparently lasted until day break.
On December 17,1867 the Duke of Edinburgh visited Castlemaine and a Levee was given for the Royal Party in the Market Building, with many people of various nationalities presented to the Duke.
CHANGING CIRCUMSTANCES
Demolition of two of the three market halls
In 1922 the Crown land grant for the Market Square was changed to allow the blocks either side of the existing Market Building to be used as a High School (currently now a supermarket) and ornamental gardens (now Victory Park). The east and west market halls were demolished to make way for the new facilities.
The remaining market hall continued to function but waning use by the end of the 1930s led to other uses being proposed for the site. In 1940, Castlemaine Council wrote to the Lands Department seeking to build public swimming baths on the area which now serves as the car park for the Market Building and Supermarket. The request was refused.
In 1946 Council informed the Lands Department that they wished to purchase the central block for the development of offices and a showroom. Site plans were drawn up showing the Market Building demolished and replaced by two new buildings.
In 1949 the Castlemaine Land Act was passed, in which the Crown revoked the Title Grant from the Council, and left the future use of the site in the hands of the Lands Department.
A community referendum was held in 1952, resulting in the retention of the Market Building but no plans were made for its continued use.
Restoration of the surviving market hall
The condition of the remaining market hall quickly deteriorated and in 1967 the building was closed in the interests of public safety.
No longer considered viable as a market hall, the local historical society proposed the idea of re-using it as a local history museum. A year later, the Governor of Victoria (Sir Rohan Delacombe) launched a Restoration and Museum Appeal for the building.
In 1969, the National Trust was appointed as the Committee of Management for the building and the Res-toration and Museum appeal had raised $180,000. Federal, State and Local government had contributed to the appeal, but grass roots fundraising and local action ensured the future of the building.
Over the next twenty years, the Castlemaine Market Museum was run by a local committee. The museum, over time, however, became outdated due to the rapidly changing world of audio-visual presentations. When the museum closed in the early 1990s, the community met again to chart a new future for the building.
CURRENT USE OF THE BUILDING
In January 1995, four local councils (City of Castlemaine, Metcalfe, Newstead and Maldon) amalgamated to form the Mount Alexander Shire Council. At the same time, the State Government provided funding of $2.5 million to restore the market building and the Market Square precinct. This work was to compliment the construction of a new supermarket on the eastern side of the market building. Work on the market building was supervised by a heritage architect appointed by the National Trust.
The restored building now has three main uses - as a Visitor Information Centre, as an Interpretation Centre for the Mount Alexander Diggings and as a venue for community events and displays.
Location
44 Mostyn Street, Castlemaine 3450 Map
