Maldon Historic Drive
A 2-3 hour drive covering the highlights of the Maldon area. Click on the links for more information.
Map of Locations on Maldon Historic Drive
(1) VISITOR INFORMATION CENTRE
The Maldon Visitor Information Centre has a number of brochures related to this drive which will provide a more detailed insight into some of the sites you will visit.
(2) MALDON AND DISTRICT MUSEUM
In 1858 the first Maldon Municipal Council resolved to stimulate local trade by building a Market House on the Government Camp Reserve. This building was an empty shell with large arched openings at either end, allowing local traders to display and sell their wares. The building also had an under-floor water storage tank for the fire engine and as an extra source of water for the townspeople. The market wasn't popular, and the building was little used for some years.
In 1865 the building was converted to the Shire Hall, with an upstairs balcony and leisure, supper area. The downstairs area included the Shire Offices, with a front porch, central hallway, strong room and four offices with open fireplaces. The fireplaces had an unusual combined chimney. Later, pressed metal ceilings were installed. Today, you can still see, in most areas, their early intricate paintwork.
Early lighting was gas, followed by the arrival of electricity in 1936. In 1964, the Council moved out and the building became the Shire of Maldon District Museum, in which the Archives, and the Local and Family History Centre are now housed.
(3) THE BUTTS RESERVE
As you make the ascent up Mt. Tarrengower, you will pass through the Butts Reserve - a clear space to the right and left of the road, with amenities on the left and stunning rock formations on the right. At the entry to the Reserve, on your right, behind the stand of poplar trees, are the remains of the Maldon Brewery. The existing house was originally the manager's residence. This area features natural water springs which attracted breweries from as early as 1854. The remaining stone structure, now on private land, may date from the 1860s and was developed by Charles Bryant. By the early 1900s the Maldon Brewery was noted as the largest non-mining industry in Maldon.
Free camping is also permitted here throughout the year.
The annual Historic Hill Climb is also held here in October, with the marshalling area and start line at the base of the hill. It is one of the oldest surviving Hill Climbs in Australia, being first run for motor cars in 1928. The views as you continue your ascent are clear and extensive. There are two stopping points along the way that provide views across the Moolort Plains, all the way to the Grampians.
(4) MOUNT TARRENGOWER AND THE LOOKOUT TOWER
At the top of the climb there are picnic tables and ample parking space. The view from the car park is impressive. As well, if you climb the stairs up the tower, you can enjoy uninterrupted views in all directions. Mt. Tarrengower is approximately at the geographical centre of Victoria.
The top level of the tower is now used for fire spotting, but the lower levels are open to the public. From these levels the viewing distance is 100km in all directions, except towards Bendigo and Mt. Alexander. Neighbouring peaks are visible, including Mt. Alexander near Harcourt, Mt. Korong near Wedderburn, Mt. Franklin near Daylesford, Mt. Beckwith near Clunes, Pyramid Hill, Mt. Buninyong south of Ballarat and Mt. Macedon. To the west, in the middle distance, Cairn Curran Reservoir can be seen. Beyond that can be seen the white mounds of spoils from the deep lead mines that worked deposits of alluvial gold in buried riverbeds.
The tower is one of Maldon's most distinctive landmarks. Erected in 1923 by the Advance Maldon Association as an attraction to draw visitors to Maldon, the tower was made using the legs from the Comet Mine poppet head at Bendigo. Brought to Maldon by train, the legs were carried up the mountain on a horse-drawn jinker. The tower was opened on 26th January, 1964.
Mt. Tarrengower was the scene of much mining activity, with the shafts of the Mt. Top Mine and Tarrangower Mine located at the top of the mount itself. Several other workings extended north and south of the peak. If you decide to take a walk around the bush area, caution must be exercised - please keep to the existing tracks.
Further information and history can be found on the signs located at the bottom of the tower.
(5) MALDON GENERAL CEMETERY
Burials at the Cemetery commenced in 1854, although the reserve was not gazetted until 1861. Prior to 1854, burials were carried out close to where people lived and as a result graves were scattered around the township and surrounding area. There have been over 5,000 burials in the cemetery, including 121 Chinese, although most of the Chinese have had their remains returned to China for reburial. The surviving Chinese funeral oven was for the burning of offerings to the spirits of the dead. The Pioneer Section of the cemetery is significant in the Central Goldfields. Many miners were buried in unknown or unidentified paupers' graves in a separate unmarked section. This section is now recognised by a small brass plaque (Arthur Anderson 1858-1878) attached to the trunk of the first peppercorn tree along the side fence to the right of the entrance. The cemetery holds many nationalities, creeds, headstones, and obelisks with special meaning. There are also many anecdotal stories relating to the 4 o'clocks (flowers) and how they came to be in the cemetery.
The Maldon District Museum and History Research Centre holds family records and a detailed layout of the graves.
The grave of Robert Dent Oswald, who became a wealthy mining magnate in Maldon. He owned the North British Mine and is also famous for his rock drill. The use of pink granite for headstones was rare in the gold mining era and is an indication of his standing and wealth.
(6) MALDON COMMONS
Now part of the Maldon Historic reserve, this little piece of land sits between Nuggetty Cottage and the golf course on the southern side of Back Cemetery Road, with the Rock of Ages in the background. It was common ground where the small population was allowed to graze their animals.
(7) ROCK OF AGES
The Rock of Ages is an optional part of the driving tour. This is another stunning and pretty site. Located on Mount Moorul, the visit requires a drive along gravel roads, Back Cemetery Road and Davies Lane, then a rougher gravel track (not for cars with low clearance). From the carpark at the end of the track, it is a short walk amongst boulders to the top for a stunning view across the Moolort Plains. This area was a very popular sight for locals and visitors in the gold rush era and was used for picnics and entertainment. It has also been associated with aboriginal ceremonies and is considered by some to be a sacred site.
(8) BOWE COTTAGES
The three stone and brick cottages (270, 272 and 280 Bells Reef Road) were built by William Bowe and Sons in c.1860. The Bowes came from Cumberland, England, in the mid 1850s. They opened a quarry and built their homes close by, using its stone for the buildings and fences. In 1863 they were supplying flagstones to the Melbourne City Council for the paving of Melbourne's city streets.
The second house (270) on the road was originally built for son John and the house at the back (272) was built for Abraham.
The fences, still existing, were the task of the half-dozen sons of the Bowe family, and were built from the overburden and off-cut stone from the quarries the Bowes had throughout the Nuggetty Ranges.
The Bowes were also responsible for a number of the stone constructions in Maldon. The small house nearest the road was the birth place of Colonel E. J. Bowe, the most senior Australian nurse at the time of WWII.
(9) UNION HILL OPEN CUT MINE
This mine illustrates two contemporary aspects of gold mining in Victoria and, in particular, Maldon. There are steps up to a viewing platform on Reef Street, just before Lowther Street. The mine is located on the site of the very successful Union & United Central mines of the late 1800s. Over 250,000 ounces of gold were removed from the area. Between 1988-1992, the open cut mine yielded 55,000 ounces of gold after 1 million tonnes of rock were processed at the treatment works (see site no. 11).
In 1995 underground mining was introduced, when a 3m wide x 3m high decline under the existing open cut pit commenced. The 1 in 7 decline made the use of modern drills and trucks viable - unlike earlier mines in the area which used vertical shafts and overhead winding gear. The mine and treatment plant (at Porcupine Flat) are currently operated by A1 Consolidated Gold Ltd.
(10) DREDGE AND DRAGLINE
This is located at Porcupine Flat, which was once a flourishing area of the Maldon Goldfields. There was a school and horse races were held across the road from the dredge. Many of the town's notables spent much of their riches 'backing the winner' on a hot, dry afternoon. The track and oval are now used for Campdrafts and the local annual show.
The dredge and dragline represent that phase of gold mining in Maldon when technology enabled relatively large scale re-working of earlier deposits, which had first been worked by thousands of individual prospectors in the rush of the 1850s.
Mr George Heywood commenced working the site at Porcupine Flat in 1958, developing the dredge operation on Porcupine Creek. He purchased the dredge sometime after 1958 and it may not have been fully operational until after 1973. Operations ceased in 1984, after moderate success. This dredge is a smaller reconstruction of one that operated in the Jim Crowe Creek, south of Newstead, from 1948 to 1954.
The dredge originally worked to the north of its current site, the existing dam having been constructed when the Porcupine Flat Gold Treatment Works were built over the original workings.
The dragline standing on the bank of the dam was brought from the Yallourn Coal Mine to assist in creating the initial dam and the ongoing operation. It proved to be of little value and was abandoned in its present position early in the operation.
(11) GOLD TREATMENT WORKS
Turn left onto the road into the treatment works, then left to the visitor's parking area. Steps and a bridge lead to a viewing area, from which the treatment plant can be observed. This operation, representing the most recent phase of gold mining in Maldon, was built over some of the earliest alluvial workings in 1987-88, with additional tailing dams constructed in 1989 and 1991. The plant is currently operated by A1 Consolidated Gold Ltd.
(12) MALDON WILDFLOWERS
The forests that surround Maldon are home to some of the best wildflower displays in the state. The season starts late August to early September and continues well into December. The area shown on this tour produces, perhaps, the most prolific displays. Smith's Reef forest, with its gravelly soils, creates a riot of subtle colour. The mass of heath and shrub species are classic examples of Victoria's goldfields flora. Please do not be tempted to pick a bunch, as they are protected and picking them carries a hefty fine.
(13) VICTORIAN GOLDFIELDS RAILWAY
A visit to the station and a trip on the steam train is a very special experience. The volunteers who have committed to restoring the engines and driving the trains are enthusiastic tellers of the station's story and the major part it played in the growth of the town.
The Maldon branch line opened in June 1884. The line included 13 timber bridges in its 16.4km run to Castlemaine and originally ran two trains per day. In 1891 an extension of 15.9km to Shelbourne was opened. Due to the decline of the town and the increased use of motor transport, the railway ceased operation in 1976.
The Castlemaine and Maldon Railway Preservation Society was formed two weeks after the line closure and has worked to progressively restore the line, the station buildings and rolling stock.
The station building was badly damaged by fire in October 2009, but it has now been restored. Trains normally run on Wednesdays and Sundays, with some extra services during school holidays and for special events.
(14) THE PENNY SCHOOL
The Penny School was a Church of England School, formerly known as the Denominational School. The building was first built in 1856 in brick and stone, with a shingle roof. By 1857 there were 120 children enrolled. The school proved very satisfactory and `...was possessed of every available apparatus similar to those in use in the model schools in Melbourne'. A thunderstorm destroyed most of the building in 1858 and the building was left to decay until the Mount Alexander Mail reported `...if the Episcopalians cannot rebuild at least they have no right to allow a crazy, dangerous and tottering ruin to endanger the lives of our little ones.'
After a lengthy delay the school was re-built in 1862, using the original foundations and new stone. The old bricks were used for new additions to the building. The old Master transferred to Porcupine Flat and William Johnson was employed. The Governess remained. By 1864, two assistants were employed and by 1866 a timber partition was added. In 1868, due to excessive numbers, the girls were moved to other premises (unknown). The school became known as the Trinity Church Common School. Free and compulsory education was introduced into Victoria in 1872 and the Penny School integrated with the Wesleyan Denominational School. During the period of time between the building of the School and 1872 there were numerous other schools in Maldon and the surrounding area. Research is Icing undertaken on these and 18 have been named.
The building was acquired by The National Trust in 1978. The Penny School operated as a Gallery Cafe until 2013. It is now privately owned.
(15) BEEHIVE GOLD MINE AND CHIMNEY
The Beehive chimney stands out against the skyline on your left. It is a testament to the bricklayer who built it. Completed in 1863 and standing 3om high, it is the only one of its age and size still standing in Victoria. The builder's name, unfortunately, is unknown.
Two metres were removed from the top after damage from a lightning strike in 1923 and there has been some repair work at the base. You can park and walk up towards the chimney. On your right you will pass the remains of the shaft of the 'New Beehive Company', one of Victoria's biggest gold producers.
Adjacent to the chimney can be seen the stone and brick sub-structures for the boilers and steam engine that provided power for the mine. After the mine's closure in 1911, the chimney was sold at auction in 1918 to T. B. Brooks (store in Templeton Street) and W. E. Preece (town notary), as a monument to the gold won in Maldon and the town's pioneers and miners.
(16) CALEDONIAN KILNS
Just past the last house on the corner of High Street and Tobin Street are the remains of the Caledonian crushing plant. You are still able to see the bridge supports providing access over the moat-like water culvert. On the hillside the remnants of the quartz roasting kilns can still be seen. These were used to burn the quartz for up to 24 hours prior to crushing, to drive off impurities and make the stone easier to crush. A railway line on the top of the hill brought stone from surrounding mines to crush. Little remains of the track, although cuttings can still be seen across Derby Hill.
(17) NORTH BRITISH MINE
This was the largest, most profitable and longest operating mine in Maldon. It was the last major mine to close, ceasing operations in 1926. The surviving structures represent the most comprehensive set of mining foundations in Victoria. There is a very comprehensive collection of information about this mine at the site and at the Maldon Museum.
The North British Mine was owned by Robert Dent Oswald. His home, 'Lauriston', is a single story bluestone house which can be seen on the right hand side of High Street on the way to the mine.
(18) CARMAN'S TUNNEL
This tunnel was commenced around 1882 by the Great International Quartz Mining Company, as an attempt to drive a tunnel right through Mt. Tarrengower, intersecting the rich gold-bearing reefs that had been mined prvviously from shaft mines on the mount. Work was abandoned at the end of 1884 after progressing only around 600m. No gold bearing rock was cut but the tunnel gives an excellent insight into the mining techniques of the 1880s. The tunnel was opened to the public in 1964 by the Maldon Progress Association and is operated today by a Committee of Management.
Tours are no longer conducted through this mine as it is now closed to the general public.
(19) VICTORY HILL
South-west of Maldon, along Parkins Reef Road, past Lisle's Gully Road and over a creek, turn right on Cox Track for one of the best walks or climbs of Mt. Tarrengower. As you climb the first hill you will notice Victory Hill, south of Manton's Gully Road. Rocks were whitewashed and placed following victory in WWI in 1918.
This hill was the site of the earlier `Vote No' sign. In 1917 William Hughes, the then Australian Prime Minister, was to visit Maldon to speak on conscription. Under the rules of conscription, every able-bodied man was required to join the Australian Army. There was considerable opposition to the idea by the miners and during the visit of the Prime Minister, the residents of the town decided to protest. To show their opposition, it was decided that they would mark this same hill "Vote No". The job was done with white quartz stones, each about 30cm round. The letters lay on the steep hill and were each about 2m high. The sign was visible from great distances around Maldon.
(20) GRAND JUNCTION QUARTZ KILNS
The story of quartz mining in Lisle's and Manton's Gullies revolves a round the working of three parallel reefs, Lisle's, Manton's and Braithwaite's (or the Mount), all worked extensively by small mining companies during the 19th Century. The vicinity experienced one period of large scale mining - in the early 1880s, the Grand Junction Company drove a tunnel from the head of Manton's Gully and, after encouraging results, erected a 24-head battery and three roasting kilns to burn the quartz prior to crushing. The initial success of the Grand Junction during the early 1880s, blossomed into a full-scale mining boom and soon the whole of the ground along the line of the reefs (a distance of 1 1/4 miles), was taken up. After the 1880s, however, little work was done.
The Lisle's and Manton's Gullies quartz gold mines are of historical, archaeological and scientific importance to the State of Victoria. They are one of the few places known in Victoria where accessible and significant evidence of horse-powered haulage whims still exist. Relics in Lisle's and Manton's Gullies document a range of mining operations carried out over an 80-year period from 1856 to the 1930s. The various elements present appear to reflect the extensive use of the tribute system of milling, where small cooperative parties of miners laboured under contract to mining companies for a share of any profits. This system of working is reflected in the dense distribution of the whim platforms (and associated mullock heaps and blacksmith shops) and the continuous line of closely spaced shafts, each group serviced by a carefully constructed siding access track. The Lisle's and Manton's Gullies quartz gold mines are scientifically significant for their ongoing potential to yield artefacts and evidence which will be able to provide significant information about the technological history of gold mining.
(21) MT TARRANGOWER TUNNELLING CO.
The tunnel is accessed by a walking track off Anzac Hill Road. This is almost a sacred site for mining technology - rock drilling in Australia was pioneered here.
...we drilled holes in the hard rock with hand hammer and drills, using a 5 to 6 pound hammer held in the other hand. When the hole was drilled to the required depth, we charged the hole with a ... very powerful explosive...'
In 1866 the company bought a Low's rock drill from St Peter's Ironworks in Ipswich, England. Lack of spare parts and maintenance lead to its failure. A decade later rock drills were to revolutionise underground mining.
(22) AIR OBSERVATION POST
During WWII the Australian Defence Department set up air observation posts throughout Australia to observe and identify aircraft flying within the range of each post. The remains of the one set up in Maldon can be seen on the southeast side of the hill (the framework was erected in 2015) It was originally equipped with a telescope and manned by volunteers during the day.
(23) ANZAC HILL
Towards the end of WWI the community of Maldon decided to erect a memorial to honour the Maldon men who had served during the war and the plan was formed to establish what we now know as ANZAC Hill.
An extensive avenue of trees was planted on the hill. The trees were donated by the people of Maldon and planted by volunteers. Some of the trees were later burnt in a bushfire and white crosses were placed in their location in 2015. After WWI a Turkish field gun was obtained from official sources and placed on the hill as a memorial.
(24) GOWAR SCHOOL
The school is about 6km from Maldon on the Maldon-Castlemaine Road. Until 1880, Gowar was officially known as North Muckleford, and prior to 1872 a school was conducted there by William Willcox.
The Committee of Management placed the school under the Board of Education and applied for the establishment of a vested common school.
A 3 acre site was gazetted as a school reserve in 1873. A tender of 225 pounds was accepted and the building was ready for occupation on 17 February 1874. It measured 30ft x 18ft, was built in Bluestone with a shingle roof and a pine floor but, being unlined, was bitterly cold in winter. An underground tank stored drinking water and is still preserved, although only the end walls of the main structure remain today.
In 1882, 34 pupils attended but this declined to 20 by 1888. The school was closed permanently on 31st December 1908.
Note: All historic mine sites in Victoria are protected under the Heritage Act 1995. It is an offence to damage or remove artefacts and historic features and disturb archaeological values by digging.
Location
93 High Street, Maldon 3463 Map
