Castlemaine, Victoria

Castlemaine colonised the traditional lands of the Dja Dja Wurrung people, also known as the Jaara people. They were regarded by other tribes as being a superior people, not only because of their rich hunting grounds but because from their area came tachylite, a hard glassy volcanic stone valued for weapons and tools[4][5] Early Europeans described the Dja Dja Wurrung as a strong, physically well-developed people and not belligerent. The Jaara people have a rich culture and reverence for the land.[6]

The environmental devastation caused by gold mining from the 1850s was widespread and permanent in the entire district. It extinguished many native plant and animal species in the area, and decimated and displaced the Dja Dja Wurrung,[7] for whom quartz was of value but not the soft gold it contained, and who regarded the resulting destruction as having turned their land into 'upside-down country.'[8][9]

Their vital water sources included non-perennial creeks and associated underground springs. Mining spread contaminants and destroyed the infrastructure the indigenous people created over generations to maximise seasonal drainage patterns; channels and weirs they built out of timber stakes, to slow receding summer flows, were wrecked; water holes where the people gathered in smaller groups during periods of scarce rainfall and from which they transported water in skin bags when moving, were muddied, polluted and drained; the soaks they had dug between banks into sandy sediment to tap into the water table were likewise obliterated. Some of their waterholes in rock platforms of the Creek that they found or enlarged, then covered with slabs to protect them from animals, may still remain, unidentified.[10][7][11]

The first European settlers named it Forest Creek and as the population grew it became known as Mount Alexander. The old name is still present in some place names in Victoria including the Shire of Mount Alexander and the former main road leading to it from Melbourne – Mount Alexander Road. Major Mitchell passed through the region in 1836. Following his discovery, the first squatters arrived in 1837 to establish vast sheep runs.

In 1854, Chief goldfields commissioner, Captain W. Wright, renamed the settlement 'Castlemaine' in honour of his Irish uncle, Viscount Castlemaine.

On 20 July 1851 gold was discovered near present-day Castlemaine (Mt Alexander Goldfields) at Specimen Gully on Barkers Creek. The gold was discovered by Christopher Thomas Peters, a shepherd and hut-keeper on the Barker's Creek, in the service of Dr William Barker on his Mount Alexander run. When the gold was shown in the men's quarters, Peters was ridiculed for finding fool's gold, and the gold was thrown away. Barker did not want his workmen to abandon his sheep, but in August they did just that. John Worley, George Robinson and Robert Keen, also in the employ of Barker as shepherds and a bullock driver, immediately teamed with Peters in working the deposits by panning in Specimen Gully where the gold had been found, which they did in relative privacy during the next month. When Barker sacked them and ran them off his land for trespass, Worley, on behalf of the party "to prevent them getting in trouble", mailed a letter to The Argus (Melbourne) dated 1 September 1851 announcing this new goldfield with the precise location of their workings. This letter was published on 8 September 1851.[12] "With this obscure notice, rendered still more so by the journalist as 'Western Port', were ushered to the world the inexhaustible treasures of Mount Alexander"[13] also to become known as the Forest Creek diggings. Within a month there were about 8,000 diggers working the alluvial beds of the creeks near the present day town of Castlemaine, and particularly Forest Creek which runs through Chewton where the first small village was established. By the end of the year there were about 25,000 on the field.[14][15]

A view of the first small village to develop on the Mount Alexander goldfields at Chewton (then known as Forest Creek) near Castlemaine in 1852 painted by Samuel Thomas Gill

Coach is packed with equipment, Chinese passengers inside and on top of coach, 1853.

Another view of the Mount Alexander goldfields in 1852, painted by ST Gill

A view of the diggings from Old Post Office Hill in 1858. State Library Victoria pictures collection.

The first small village developed at Chewton, today in effect a suburb of Mount Alexander Shire, which included the Commissioner's tent, stores, an office for The Argus newspaper, and an office for the Mount Alexander goldfields' own newspaper the Daily Mail.

On 28 January 1852, William Henry Wright was one of nearly 200 men who were assigned or affirmed as Territorial Magistrates for Victoria. Not long after, he took control of the Mount Alexander diggings and set up a government camp[16] on Forest Street near the junction of Barker and Forest Creeks (today's Camp Reserve). This was to be the new township of Castlemaine. The first reference in a newspaper to the township is found in the Geelong Advertiser of 13 March 1852 with the following notice:

"- The Lieutenant Governor has appointed John Fletcher, Esq., J.P., to be Police Magistrate at Castlemaine; but where Castlemaine is situate[d] we cannot tell."[17]

A court house was established on what is today known as Goldsmith Crescent, Castlemaine near the new government camp. Stores were also established nearby.

The first official Post Office at Castlemaine, named "Forrest Creek", opened on 1 March 1852. (Renamed the Castlemaine Post Office on 1 January 1854.)[18] The first official Post Office was established after "The Argus" (Melbourne) correspondent at Forest Creek had an article published in November 1851 that put the case forward for a Post Office to be established somewhere between the Forest Creek goldfield and Kyneton. At the same time (November 1851) he described the Forest Creek diggings as having many businesses such as stores and licensed hawkers and "at least 8000 persons on the two creeks (Forest and Barker)".[19] The need pointed out in "The Argus" in November 1851 had resulted in an unofficial Post Office being established on the diggings at Chewton (Forest Creek) in December 1851, a Post Office then described as being "on the most central part of the diggings".[20]

On 15 February 1853 town lots were offered for sale. By that time the first Castlemaine District Hospital had been opened, the gaol had been built, and Castlemaine was moving from 'tent' town to bricks and mortar.[16] Notable prominent businesswoman Fanny Finch was running a restaurant and lodging house at Forest Creek at this time.

A local government was formed on 23 April 1855 and was later to become the Town of Castlemaine and in 1965 became the City of Castlemaine.[21] However, with municipal amalgamations in the early 1990s, Castlemaine lost its 'City' status and is now simply the largest town in the Shire.

The Theatre Royal opened in 1856 to provide entertainment for the gold diggers, with a notable performance being provided by the world-renowned Lola Montes and her celebrated Spider Dance. It remains mainland Australia's oldest continuously operating theatre.

In 1859, the historic Castlemaine Football Club was established. Evidence makes it the second oldest football club in Australia and one of the oldest football clubs in the world.

Barker Street, Castlemaine in 1908

Adolphus Verey (c.1911) Gentlemen's Motoring Party Outside Duggan's Livery Stables, Castlemaine, Victoria

In 1877-80 the residences numbered over 2000, and there was a population in the township of 7,500,[16] forming an electorate in itself, within the district, the County of Talbot, of 19,000 people. Four trains ran daily to and from Melbourne with fares at 13 shillings (A$80 value in 2021) for First Class, and 8s. 6d. (A$52.70) for Second.[22]

As gold mining gradually ceased a number of other secondary industries sprang up. These included breweries, iron foundries and a woollen mill. Thompson's Foundry (now trading as Flowserve) was one of Castlemaine's largest employers.

From the 1970s the industries that had dominated employment in the town for a century began to decline, with many factories closing and others such as Thompson's Foundry significantly downsizing. This led to the displacement of large numbers of people, with many families leaving in search of jobs elsewhere. The area's precious goldrush history and heritage was, however, increasingly recognised, along with its notable population of arts practitioners. Substantial planning and activity helped create new industries in heritage tourism, arts tourism, nature tourism and so on. As a result, Castlemaine began to be visited – and settled – by more 'outsiders', primarily from Melbourne.

Some of these more recent arrivals added to the gentrification of the Victorian era town, helping to preserve its already charming country aspect and enhancing it by establishing a number of cafes and restaurants. As with much gentrification, however, consequent rising house prices placed increased economic pressure on many earlier inhabitants who sometimes struggle to continue living in the area. The town has, overall, taken on a fresh lease of life, combining some of the more desirable aspects of urban Melbourne with the charm and openness of old Castlemaine.

Named after William Barker, the pioneer pastoralist whose run included part of the land which is now Castlemaine. The whole eastern side of Barker Street, between Templeton Street and Lyttleton Street, has been classified by the National Trust of Australia (Vic). Adjacent to the solicitors' offices is the library, built in 1857 as a mechanics' institute with additions in 1861, 1872 and 1893. Next to it is the Faulder Watson Hall which opened in 1895 and adjacent is the old telegraph office (1857).

On the Lyttleton Street corner of Barker Street is the decorative Neoclassical post office (1873–75). It is in the form of an Italian palazzo with a central clock tower, five arched bays and strongly contrasting colouration. This structure replaced a wooden post office which was built on this same spot in 1859 when the service was transferred from the gold commissioner's camp. Over the road is the Cumberland Hotel (1884).[28]

At 25 Lyttleton Street is the Castlemaine Town Hall, a design submitted by Wilkinson and Permewan successfully for an 1898 competition, and repeated by them in the Eaglehawk Town Hall in 1901. Constructed by H D McBean, builder of many substantial buildings in Castlemaine, including part of the hospital and Thompson's foundry, it cost £2,000. Essentially a Queen Anne building with elements of Dutch Renaissance, its complex eclecticism is typical of the period. Constructed of face red brick and coloured cement dressings (now painted white) and a tiled roof, it is pavilion-planned. Dutch-Flemish architecture inspires the gabling of the projecting wings, the verticality of the windows and the superimposed post-and-lintel system with Tuscan and composite capitals, while the panelling and representation of fans to the side of the lower windows is unusual. Two storeys of pedimented porticos stacked in top of each other form the central element with a 'broken' upper pediment, while the vertical line is continues above a balconied parapet, completed by a square tower with glazed circular openings on all four sides, surmounted by an onion dome.[27]

Opposite the Town Hall is the Imperial Hotel, a thirty-room, two-storey hotel with attic erected in 1861 for Faulder Watson[29] at a cost of £4,000 and classified in 1982 by Heritage Victoria which describes it as "one of the most innovative classical revival buildings in Victoria."[30] The sophisticated design in French Renaissance style by leading Melbourne architects Purchas and Swyer (the Glenara homestead at Bulla is also their work), is rare in a building of the early 1860s. The iron crested mansard attic storey, elaborate detailing of both the corner chimneys, and pedimented dormer windows of the street and side elevations make the Imperial Hotel historically significant as one of the more distinctive hotel buildings in Victoria and a critical component in an important historic townscape.[30]

In 17 November 1983 Castlemaine Art Museum at 14 Lyttleton Street was classified by The National Trust which notes its significance as; "… an exceptional building in its intent and execution and … historically important as one of the earliest examples of the "modern movement" in provincial Victoria."[31] Despite the onset of the Depression, £3,250 was raised in only six weeks from private individuals and local companies, augmented by State government grants totallng £1,500, which together covered the total cost of £4,132.[32] Architect Percy Meldrum's design in an American Art-deco style[33] was constructed by local builder Frank Pollard[34] in local brick, slate and granite, by April 1931 for the official opening, free of debt.[33] It consisted of a main gallery behind two smaller galleries and with the museum in the basement with storerooms. The gallery walls are naturally and indirectly lit from concealed windows of a saw-tooth roof above suspended ceilings. A "Jazz" style frieze decorates the parapet, front wall and tympanum over the central front door, itself recessed behind ornate wrought-iron grille gates above which is a bas-relief in artificial stone by Orlando H. Dutton.[35] Extensions were made at the rear in 1960, 1973, 1987 and 2000.

Castlemaine Market building at 44 Mostyn Street, facing the main shopping strip, is a rare example of such buildings and, according to the Victorian National Trust, is one of the most important in the country. An 1861 design of Town Surveyor William Beynon Downes, it is one of the most distinctive classical revival buildings in Australia.[36] It was classified on 11 December 1958, then acquired by the National Trust in 1967 which restored it from a dilapidated condition. Its symmetrical elevation features a tuscan portico, round headed entrance and roundels. The pediment simply decorated with a rising sun motif bears a statue of Ceres, the goddess of agriculture, between two towers with cupola crowns. A clerestory lights the interior from above deep side wings which are 'arcaded' and capped by a cornice. A landmark in the historic townscape, exemplifying the period when the temporary town became permanently established, it now serves as the Tourist Centre.

Housed in the historic building, the Mechanics Institute at 212 Barker Street in which it was established in 1857, the Castlemaine Library held 4,781 volumes in 1877,[22] and since 1996 has expanded its services and offerings, and access to 222,931 items (in 2021-22), as part of the North Central Goldfields Regional Library Corporation which services also the City of Greater Bendigo, Loddon Shire, and Macedon Ranges Shire; an area of 12,979 square kilometres.[39] The Shire contributes a budget of around $500,000. Castlemaine branch is the most subscribed of all the NCGRL branches with 53% (10,687) of the Mount Alexander Shire population holding a library card and having used the Library over any two-year period.[39] The building, administered and maintained by the Shire, also houses the 231-seat Phee Broadway Theatre and a foyer exhibition space.

Since 1976, Castlemaine has biennially been the home of the Castlemaine State Festival. Running for ten days, this festival is one of Victoria's most notable regional arts events. The festival, originally held over the Melbourne Cup week in November before it lost $130,000 in a clash in 1996 with the October Melbourne Festival instituted by then State Premier Jeff Kennett. He compensated in part for its consequent losses with a grant of $41,800.[40] Subsequently, it is now usually held in late March. It offers visual and performing arts. It has also attracted internationally and nationally renowned performers, including the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. The most recent festival was held on 19 March to 4 April 2021.[41]

Castlemaine Art Museum, built 1931

See Castlemaine Art Museum

Theatre Royal at night

The Theatre Royal claims to be the oldest continuously operating theatre in mainland Australia.[42][43] It hosts films (including several world and Australian premieres), concerts and functions.

Buda Historic Home and Garden in c.1920

See Buda Historic Home and Garden

Castlemaine also hosts a local farmers market where the finest producers of the Mount Alexander Shire region, all in one place. The market is currently held on the Western Reserve, Forest Street, Castlemaine[44]

The Wesley Hill Community Market operates every Saturday from 9a.m. to 2 p.m. It is located at 149 Pyrenees Highway, Castlemaine, and has over 70 stalls selling a range of merchandise, local products and farmers' products.

The old wooden mill beside Barkers Creek opposite the Botanical Gardens was at one stage a carpet factory

As a gold rush town, Castlemaine attracted migrants from all over the world. So in addition to 'established' churches such as the Anglicans, Presbyterians and Roman Catholics, arrivals in the district included Methodists, Baptists and Congregationalists from mining areas in provincial Britain where nonconformist churches were more popular, as well as Lutherans from continental Europe. Initially the churches in Victoria were unable to cope with huge numbers of migrants settling in areas which had been sparsely populated.[45] However a few proactive clergymen set out for the diggings where they were assisted by lay preachers amongst the diggers. Initially they preached in tents and from tree stumps but by 1853 the first rough churches had been built.

There was also a sizeable Chinese population with concomitant Joss Houses and Temples; besides a few artifacts, no structures remain.

Churches to have operated in Castlemaine in order of establishment are:

• Methodist. 1850s – 1977 when they merged to become the Uniting Church of Australia.
• Anglican. 1850s – present.
• Roman Catholic. 1853–present.
• Presbyterian. 1850s – 1977 and 1984 – 2023.[46] The Castlemaine congregation merged with the Uniting Church in 1977, but some members later broke away to reestablish that denomination in the town.
• Baptist. 1861? – present.
• Congregational. 1800s – 1977 when they merged to become part of the Uniting Church.
• Church of Christ. 1800s – present.
• Lutheran. 1800s to present.
• Salvation Army. Late 1800s to present.
• Seventh Day Adventist.
• Uniting Church. 1977–present. Absorbed the local Methodist, Presbyterian and Congregational churches, although some Presbyterians broke away in 1984 to reestablish a Presbyterian presence in the town.
• Pentecostal: Grace Church, Liberty Christian Life Centre in Campbell Creek (affiliated with Assemblies of God).

The Uniting Church was created in 1977 and the local Methodist, Presbyterian and Congregational congregations chose to join. Since the Presbyterians had the largest church building, the best hall and largest grounds, the merged denominations met there. The Methodist and Congregational buildings were sold, with the Adventists taking over the former Methodist church and a conservative group that wished to reestablish a distinct Presbyterian service moving into the former Congregational Church building over the road from their original church.

Held annually in October, Run the Maine is a fun run event around the Castlemaine Botanical Gardens which raises funds for the local hospital – Castlemaine Health. Participants can choose to run 5.5 km, 11 km or a 14 km trail run. The 2020 event was run virtually, with runners uploading their times individually due to COVID-19.[52]

Castlemaine and its outlying areas have eight primary schools catering for prep to year 6 (and beyond for the two independent schools).[53]

From north to south they are:

• Castlemaine North Primary School. (Usually known as North School.) No 2051. Opened 1878, successor to a state funded Wesleyan school operating since 1853
• St Mary's School. (Roman Catholic.) Opened 1854, current building completed 1962. Operated by Sisters of Mercy until 1984, the last nuns left in 1988.
• Castlemaine Primary School, (Usually known as South School.) No 119. Opened 1855, present main building completed 1875.
• Winters Flat Primary School. No 652. Opened 1860, current buildings opened 1964.
• Castlemaine Steiner School. (Independent.) Opened on current site as a school in 1996. previously a kindergarten on other sites from 1988.
• Chewton Primary School. No 1054. Opened 1870, present building completed 1911.
• Olivet Christian College, Campbell's Creek. (Independent.) Established 1979.
• Campbell's Creek Primary School. No 120. Opened 1853, present building completed 1878.

The town is served by Castlemaine Secondary College which was created in 1994 by combining the former Castlemaine High School (established 1910) and the Castlemaine Technical College (established in 1887 as the Castlemaine School of Mines). The Junior Campus of the Secondary College was at Milkmaids Flat at the northern end of the town on the old High School site, while the Senior Campus occupied the former Tech College site at Norwood Hill to the south of the town. These campuses have now merged at the former Junior Campus. The Norwood Hill site has been re-purposed as Autoplex Castlemaine (a project of Castlemaine Hot Rod Centre Limited) and as a business incubation project by Workspace Australia.

• St Gabriel's College, a Roman Catholic secondary school operated between 1906 and 1974 on a site adjoining St Marys primary school.[54]
• Castlemaine Grammar School opened prior to 1865 and operated from a building in Hargraves St until 1910.

A large hospital and a geriatric care centre (Castlemaine Health, formerly Mount Alexander Hospital) is located on the northern edge of Castlemaine. The former Maldon Hospital is now home to older and frail residents in the Jessie Bowe Centre and Mountview Centre.

The Castlemaine District Community Health Centre provides a range of health services (including a Needle & Syringe Program) and there are several large medical general practices. Primary care options include dentists, opticians, physiotherapists, podiatrists, chiropractors, pathology and hearing services, plus a substantial number of complementary and alternative practitioners.

The Shire has three prisons – HMP Loddon and HMP Middleton for men are located on the eastern outskirts at Wesley Hill, and HMP Tarrengower (outside Maldon) for women.

Castlemaine railway station

Castlemaine is at the junction of several main roads including the Pyrenees Highway running west connecting it to Maryborough and east toward Elphinstone, the Midland Highway running north connecting it to Bendigo and south connecting it to Daylesford and Maldon-Castlemaine Road, running north west toward Maldon.

V/Line Rail services operate out of the Castlemaine railway station which is on the Bendigo railway line. V/Line operates VLocity services to Melbourne's Southern Cross station, the fastest weekday express taking 65 minutes. Travel to Bendigo by train takes a minimum of 18 minutes. A V/Line Coach service between Castlemaine and Maryborough also operates out of Castlemaine railway station. The Victorian Goldfields Railway operates a tourist railway, running old steam and diesel engines from Maldon station to Castlemaine via Muckleford.

Castlemaine Bus Lines provides suburban bus services from Castlemaine railway station to Chewton, Campbells Creek, and North Castlemaine as well as Intercity services to Maldon, Elphinstone, and Taradale.

The local taxi service is run by Castlemaine Taxis.