Maldon Historic Area
Located in and around Maldon township, the Maldon Historic Reserve protects many relics of the gold mining era - abandoned shafts and tunnels, mullock heaps, quartz roasting kilns, stone walls, chimneys and machinery - as well as the box and ironbark forests once threatened by the constant demand for timber to feed steam boilers and shore up mine tunnels.
Things to see and do
Along with the many mining relics, the beauty of the forest attracts many walkers. Wildflowers are particularly attractive during spring especially in the heathy type forest at Smiths Reef.
If a long walk does not appeal to you, a ride on the Goldfields Railway will take you through Smiths Reef Forest past the Muckleford Bushland Reserve to Castlemaine. There is an interesting short walk from the Railway Station through the Reserve to the centre of town. It includes the relics of the rich Beehive Mine, including the Beehive Chimney.
Enjoy spectacular views from the heritage listed fire tower on Mt Tarrengower. Anzac Hill gives a good view of the historic township.
Caution - Keep to the tracks to avoid old mine workings including shafts and tunnels. Dam waters or mine waters may be contaminated and should not be drunk or used for active recreation. Fish caught in these dams should not be eaten. Always use water from a tap or safe supply.
History
Alluvial gold was discovered in the Maldon district by Captain John Mechosk, a German prospector, in 1853, resulting in a rush of some 20,000 diggers to the alluvial gullies around Maldon. By the following year, only 2000 remained.
After the initial rush, companies were set up to mine the rich, but some times elusive quartz reefs. Some alluvial mining was carried out using puddling machines powered by horse or steam. In the 1860s the amount of quartz reef gold produced at Maldon almost rivalled Bendigo, (Victoria's richest quartz mining field).
This prosperity was short lived (from 1870-1900), and the last deep mines closed in 1926. As gold production declined, the town's population dwindled. For most of the last century, Maldon experienced very little growth.
The miners left behind one of the best collections of accessible quartz reef mining relics in Victoria. Many of the mine sites, historic buildings and heritage features have been preserved.
This was not the end of Maldon gold. In the 1990s Triad Minerals NL and Alliance Gold NL extracted 60,000 ounces of gold from the open cut at Union Hill. Current mining and exploration licences cover the Historic Reserve. This period of mining is part of the Maldon Historic Reserve's recent history.
Notable Maldon Mines
The Beehive Chimney, a town landmark built in 1862, is 30 metres high and is listed on the Victorian Heritage Register. It is surrounded by an 1850s open-cut mine, winding, pumping and battery engine footings from 1860-1870s and the remains of a chlorination and cyanidation plant from the mine's last active period.
The South German Mine is known for its early use of cyanide and chlorination works to extract gold.
Carman's Tunnel was built in 1882 for the Great International Quartz Mining Co NL. The tunnel is unusually wide and high. Regular guided tours are available.
There is a walking track around North British Mine, which ceased operation in 1926.
Recent mining activity can be seen from viewing platforms at Union Hill and the Porcupine Flat treatment plant. At Union Hill modern mining technology has been used to construct the open cut and rehabilitate the hillside with native trees grown from locally collected seed.
The Box-Ironbark Forest
Once important to the miners for timber and firewood (Fentemans Mine needed 50 tons of dry firewood each week), the bush is now a valued part of Victoria's Box-Ironbark Forests.
Eighty-three percent of Victoria's original BoxIronbark forests has been cleared. These remnants support a diverse range of native plants and animals, including many threatened native species.
Mount Alexander Diggings Trail
Stroll around Maldon today and evidence of the gold rush is everywhere - in the buildings and in the surrounding bushland.
The Mount Alexander Diggings Trail is a guide to the remarkable relics of the gold rush. It provides a range of linked, interactive attractions involving gold mining sites and relics, historical accounts and images, modern gold mining operations, the extensive box-ironbark forest and several significant heritage towns.
The best way to find your way around the Diggings is to begin with a stop at the Visitor Information Centre in Maldon or Castlemaine.
Facilities and Accommodation
Picnic areas are located at Butt's Reserve, North British Mine, South German Mine, Carman's Tunnel and Mt Tarrengower. Camping is permitted at Butt's Reserve, but there are few facilities. Bed and breakfast, self contained cottages, hotel and motel accommodation is available in Maldon. Caravan parks are located at Maldon, Welshmans Reef and Baringhup.
Access for Dogs:
Dogs must be on a leash.
How to get there
Maldon Historic Area is 136km north west of Melbourne. To get there, turn off the Calder Highway toward Castlemaine and Maldon at Elphinstone.
History of Maldon
In 1836 an early exploration party, led by Major Mitchell on his return journey from Portland to Sydney, crossed the Loddon at Newstead and passed south of Mt Tarrangower. It is believed that he passed through the Maldon area, as his initials were said to be found carved on a tree in the Nuggetty Ranges.
Settlement of the area followed soon after, the region having been explored in 1840 with the intention of establishing an Aboriginal settlement. The settlement was established on the Loddon River near Mt Tarrangower in 1841. A Pastoral Run Licence was issued for the 100,000 acre Cairn Curran property in 1840 and one for the 61,200 acre Tarrengower property in 1842.
Gold was found on the Cairn Curran property at the end of 1853 in the region that was first called Tarrangower, eventually to be called Maldon. A Polish captain, Mechosk, and a group of prospectors are credited with finding the first gold at the base of Mt. Tarrangower in Long Gully, near the Royal Hotel. The subsequent rush to the area increased the population to an estimated 20,000. Later finds in Eaglehawk and Porcupine Flat saw the population increase to about 40,000 people. Lack of water made living difficult and the washing of the gold had to either wait until it rained, or the dirt was transported to the Loddon River or Muckleford Creek. The initial finds of alluvial gold petered out after two years and most of the miners moved away. At first the finds of gold-bearing quartz were ignored, as the means of extracting the gold proved too difficult, but with the alluvial rush over, miners then turned to investigating the reefs that had been discovered and looked for ways of crushing the quartz to extract the gold. As the tunnels became longer and the shafts deeper, and the cost of mining and processing the quartz became greater, the mining passed from small groups of miners to large companies. This changed the appearance of the region from a tent and shanty town with thousands of shafts and their heaps of dirt, to a scene with tall chimneys, poppet heads, steam generators, batteries and the large mullock heaps. This reef mining went to great depths, nearly 700 metres in the case of the South German mine, when underground water flooded the mine. The richest of the mines was the Nuggetty, which was only at a depth of 75 metres when the reef ended.
In all, there were approximately 40 mines in the region. The region produced over 2 million ounces of gold, which is over $A2.7 billion at today's prices Mar 2019). This is the official recorded production; the total gold production was impossible to record. Today, Maldon only has one underground mine that is operational intermittently. The district is still believed to have potential gold deposits that could yield more gold than was ever taken out of the area.
The wealth of the new Tarrangower settlement prompted the government to establish a town and an initial site to the north of the existing town was surveyed by John Templeton in 1854. The site chosen was not popular with the residents and a later survey by Thomas Adair in 1856 included the irregular street pattern from Spring Street to Camp Street with a regular grid pattern from Camp Street to Franklin Street. The intention of Adair was that the new town, which he named Maldon, should be located in the section with the regular layout, but the local preference was to make the junction of High and Main Streets the town centre.
Maldon was declared a municipality in 1858 and the main growth of the town occurred from this time, with the construction of a court house, a hospital, a market building, two bank buildings and 10 churches. Later buildings constructed were the State School, two of the largest stores, Warnock's Beehive Store and Dabb and Co's Store, the Post Office and the Temperance Hall. In addition to these buildings there were 60 hotels, three theatres, billiard parlours, skittle alleys, cafes and accommodation houses. At this time Maldon was ranked as the eighth largest town in the State.
By the end of the First World War, gold yields started petering out and mines began to close. The North British Mine, the last of the large mines, closed in 1926. From that time, with the mines closing and with the Great Depression, people started leaving Maldon and half of the houses were moved to other towns. Some of the residents remained and the population dropped to nearly 1,000 people but the town continued, virtually unchanged.
In 1964, a study by the School of Architecture of the University of Melbourne resulted in the National Trust of Australia giving the first ever classification of 'a notable town' to Maldon in 1965, not because of the presence of any classical architecture, but for its unspoilt historic character. The town is now protected, with building and renovating in the historic precinct controlled by strict planning controls.
This is a proud place, preserved by not having become a part of the progress' which has overtaken most other old Australian towns. Its people realise they occupy a piece of history which no amount of gold now could buy. At Maldon the air is sweet, the wildflowers flamboyant, the lemons and limes fragrant, the roses brilliant, the wattles and almond blossoms wild against the sky, the elms and white gums gentle screens under the afternoon heat, and the people friendly. The pace, if that is what it should be called, is easy. The rush is over but the secret stays.
John Larkin author of Maldon, Australia's First Notable Town'.
Location
Parkins Reef Road, Maldon 3463 Map
Web Links
→ Maldon Historic Area (Parks Victoria)
→ Maldon Historic Area - Park note (PDF)
→ Heritage story - Ghosts of a noisy past, Maldon (PDF)
→ Heritage story - Carmans Tunnel, Maldon (PDF)
