![]() About the region: In 1851 the Gold Rush began in central Victoria, with gold strikes drawing thousands of prospectors from all corners of the world to this area in search of wealth. The Gold Rush has left behind a rich and lasting legacy within towns in the region, particularly in the larger cities of Ballarat, Bendigo and Castlemaine. Beautiful architecture, grand public buildings, statues, fountains and exquisite gardens are all features of those cities.
Touring through Central Victoria you’ll pass sights that are signatures of the region today - historic bluestone buildings, boutique shops with windows full of treats, sighposts to cellar doors and fresh farm produce, reflecting the impressive array of wineries and fruit-growing orchards in the region.
Around Daylesford and the Macedon Ranges is the largest concentration of natural mineral springs in the country. Their therapeutic waters are a major drawcard, and a thriving industry has been built around physical and spiritual wellness including spa treatments, massages and acupuncture.
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Sovereign Hill, Ballarat: One of Victoria's leading goldrush towns of the 1850s, Ballarat's history plays a very important part in its appeal as a travel destination. A key drawcard is Soverign Hill, a history-based theme park that is an authentic recreation of an old goldming town of the 1850s. Set on a former goldmining site, this award winning outdoor museum features a busy main street, a riverside diggings where visitors can pan for gold, and a tour through a ganuine underground gold mine. Craftsmen are at work throughout the township, with a variety of shops and businesses open to purchase goods - grocers, candle maker, blacksmith and jewellers to name a few.
The Macedon Ranges
Known for its beautiful gardens and plantations that thrive in its rich volcanic soil, the Macedon region is a one hour drive from Melbourne. The ranges were once a haunt for some of Australia's most infamous bushrangers in the goldrush days.
The towering peak of Mount Macedon and nearby Hanging Rock are part of a six million year old dormant volcano. Many historic towns within the region have retained their early European influence, offering visitors a unique visual and culinary experience. In the region's north-west, towards Ballarat, are a number of historical former gold mining towns including Clunes and Creswick.
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Hanging Rock
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Bendigo: One of the world's most exciting goldrushes built Bendigo, a thriving city with a rich history. Impressive Victorian buildings line its wide streets of Bendigo, and there is much to interest the visitor. The Chinese Gardens Golden Dragon Museum recall the contribution made by the Chinese in the goldrush days; a ride on the Bendigo Tramways Vintage Talking Tram is the best way to take in the city's architectural heritage, and a visit to the Central Deborah gold mine is a "must do" attraction.
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Heathcote: Nestled beneath the McHarg and the McIvor Ranges just over an hour drive north of Melbourne lies the town of Heathcote. The former goldmining town and surrounding district offer interesting landscapes, mining relics, heritage architecture, abundant wildlife, unique flora, a young, developing wine region known for its Shiraz, Malbec, Merlot, Sangiovese and Cabernet Sauvignon, local art and crafts, regional gourmet produce, several state forests and nature reserves, along with great sunrises, sunsets and night skies.
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Kilmore Celtic Festival
Kilmore: Victoria's oldest inland town, Kilmore is a short hours drive from Melbourne. The town grew in importance as a stopover on the main north road, and still serves that purpose for travellers today, however those who stop and check it out will be well rewarded. The town has many significant public buildings - including the court house where Ned Kelly's father was convicted of possessing a hide and a cask of meat that didn't belong to him. The town has some excellent cafes, and its all-year calendar of events means there's always something happening.
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Maldon: Designated "Australia's first notable town", Maldon is celebrated for its 19th-century appearance, maintained almost intact since the gold-rush days when it enjoyed a dramatic rise to being the eighth-largest town in Victoria, followed by a dramatic decline when the alluvial gold ran out. Maldon has become a retreat and retirement venue for artists and writers, and is sutained by its considerable appeal to tourists of its authentic 19th-century atmosphere.
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Daylesford Spa Country: It was alluvial gold that brought the town of Daylesford to life in 1854, but these days it is the therapeutic waters from its many mineral springs that draw people to Daylesford these days. Coupled with its beautiful mountain scenery, forests, gardens and lakes, Daylesford and neighbouring Hepburn Springs have become major tourist, holiday and alternative lifestyle towns. There is a thriving industry built around physical and spiritual wellness including spa treatments, massages and acupuncture.
![]() Kyneton Mill
Kyneton: Kyneton has become renowned as Victoria’s foremost country destination for good food with first rate eateries dotted throughout the town. Kyneton grew during the goldrush era, most of its original bluestone buildings in their original state d, significantly adding to the charm and sense of history. Kyneton’s Botanical Gardens, established on the banks of the Campaspe River in 1856, is one of Victoria's best Botanical Gardens.
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| Visiting The Region: The Facts |
How to Get There: Ballarat is on the eastern perimeter of the Central Goldfields region, so travellers are advised to take the Western Freeway from Melbourne.
To visit Kilmore or Heathcote, take the Hume Freeway as far as Wallan, where you branch off onto the McIvor Highway. For most other destinations, take the Calder Freeway. Midland Highway links Ballarat to Castlemaine, Bendigo and then Echuca, on the Murray River and NSW border.
National Parks
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Best Time To Go: As Victoria has a temperate climate, there is no one season or month that the visitor needs to avoid, except perhaps summer (December - February), if you find hot weather unbearable. Even then, only the north and the north-west tend to suffer from extended periods of intense heat, so those areas would be the only ones to contemplate avoiding in summer if you don't like the heat.
In and around Melbourne, which gets more cloud and disturbed weather despite a lower rainfall, sunshine hours per day in winter (June - August) are three to four as against seven to eight in summer. Cold spells are brief and never severe on the coast, and temperatures can drop much lower inland in winter.
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Regional Centres
Towns and villages
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