Beechworth Court House

Beechworth Bakery

Tanswell's Commercial Hotel

Chinese Burning Towers

Bank of Victoria, Beechworth

Beechworth is one of the best preserved of Victoria's old goldmining settlements, with wide streets lined with well-restored buildings, it very much fits the image portrayed the Hollywood westerns of the frontier towns of america's old west. So valuable is Beechworth to the country's heritage, the National Trust has declared it a 'notable town' - one of only two towns in Victoria to be awarded such a distinction. The streets are lined with deciduous trees and these are particularly colourful in autumn; some, including the North American giant sequoias, were introduced by Baron von Mueller, the founder of Melbourne's Botanical Gardens.
Before the arrival of European settlers, the North East region of Victoria was home to a number of Aboriginal clans. Beechworth was occupied by the Min-jan-buttu people. Records indicate there are no remaining descendants of the original clan. The aborigines of the region lead a semi-nomadic existence and followed a seasonal calendar of movement and activity, moving early Spring (October) onto the river flats, then onto the open plains where water and food were abundant. From summer onwards they shifted back to the river flats to gather with other local tribes along the river near Albury to then move into the Alps for the Bogong Moth Feast on the high plains and then spending summer in the cooler climate of the mountains. In February-March when it was time to return to the warmer lowlands, the aborigines would set fire to areas of the high plains to burn dry grasses and ensure regeneration in the following years. Winter was spent in the foothills, where ideal natural shelters amongst rocky outcrops and good tree cover where there havens.
Explorers Hume and Hovell crossed the hills very near to where Beechworth is today, during their expedition of 1824 when they travelled overland from Sydney to Port Phillip Bay. The hills on which Beechworth sits were first named Mayday Hills. Early settler David Reid grazed his stock on the hills until the discovery of gold in February 1852. By late 1852 thousands of hopefuls rushed to the alluvial gold fields in search of their fortunes and an exploding population escalated to 8,000! Miners came from around the world including Europe, UK, USA and Asia. From a humble settlement of campsites and timber huts, rapid social and economic change occurred with the arrival of mining families and businesses to support the growing community. In 1853 the town was renamed Beechworth by the Surveyor-General after his how town in England.
By 1866, over 128 tonnes of gold had been extracted from the diggings in the district, and mining continued until the 1920s. The Beechworth cemetery, in which approximately 2700 early Chinese settlers are buried, boasts a number of Chinese burning towers which attest to the strong Chinese presence on the diggings during the town's early days. The unusually constructed burning towers in the cemetery off Sydney Road were used to make burn offerings to the gods by relatives of Chinese workers who died on the goldfields.
Beechworth's early administrators had the vision to realise the gold would not last forever. They made substantial investment in public amenities. A hospital for the aged, gaol, general hospital and mental asylum were all constructed or upgraded during the 1850s and 60s. It was the presence of these major institutions that maintained the economic strength of Beechworth after the gold years and into the 1990s.
Nowadays, Beechworth thrives on the proceeds of tourism and visitors throng the town's many historic monuments and shops on summer weekends. Its bakery is one of the most famous in Australia and people travel vast distances to savour its delicacies. The Golden Horseshoe Festival is held Easter weekend. The old stables, now The Carriage Museum, near Tanswell's Commercial Hotel, licensed since 1853 and classified by The National Trust, were built in 1859 and now contain a collection of old coaches, horse-drawn vehicles and saddlery. The Powder Magazine on Gorge Road was built from locally quarried granite in 1859 to store explosives used by miners on the goldfields. Once in ruins and a resting place for tramps who called it the 'Menzies of the north-east', the building is now restored.

Newton Bridge (above)
The area above Newtown Falls has been a crossing point of Spring Creek since the pre-gold era when the area was given over to sheep and cattle grazing. Present bridge is constructed in distinct local granite and a superb example of fine workmanship by Scottish stonemasons. An outstanding element which enhances Beechworth's park-like character and marks the main entrance to the town. Its graceful arch and picturesque position echo Vanburgh's bridge at Blenheim Palace.
The bridge replaced a timber structure erected some distance upstream in c1854 by F H Nixon, the government surveyor. The foundation stone for the present granite structure was laid in 1874 by G B Kerford and C R Brown. The designer was the shire engineer Mr Dalziel and the contractors were Fiddes and Company. The bridge was completed in 1875. It is 24.8m long and the kerb to kerb width is 6.3m. The arch span is 15.5m. There have been no alterations to the Bridge and it is still in use.

Bushrangers

The town has numerous associations with bushrangers who roamed the mountains and plains of North Eastern Victoria in the goldrush days. The first person to be executed in the Beechworth Gaol was the bushranger Shehan, in 1865 for a murder committed at Yackandandah. A saddle that is supposed to have belonged to the bushranger 'Mad' Dan Morgan is part of the collection on display at the Carriage Museum.

Harry Power: Legendary bushranger Harry Power (real name Harry Johnstone), who had been transported to Van Diemen's Land in 1841 for stealing shoes, appeared in February, 1864, charged at Beechworth for horse stealing. In 1869 he escaped from Pentridge and became on of the most notorious and active bush rangers in north eastern Victoria, robbing travellers and mail coaches. After his recapture, Harry was transferred to Beechworth where he was tried on three counts of Robbery Under Arms and returned to Pentridge, serving out his full sentence.

Ned Kelly: Australia's most famous bushranger, Ned Kelly, visited Beechworth on many occasions and is said to have used Tanswell's Commercial Hotel on a regular basis. Early records show in 1870 Ned aged 16 stood trial for assaulting a hawker and served six months at Beechworth Gaol. In 1878 his mother, her son-in-law Skillon and another man were arrested and placed in jail pending trial for attempted murder of Constable Fitzpatrick. She was given three years' hard labour, considered by some to be extremely harsh. Gang members Steve Hart, who was a part time jockey from Wangaratta, and Joe Byrne, the son of a gold prospector at Beechworth had each served short terms at the gaol.
Following a raid at Jerilderie, the Kelly Gang 'disappeared' for about sixteen months. During this time the police arrested 22 Kelly 'sympathisers', who were held for about four months before being released for lack of evidence. Feelings ran high and the Gaol's old wooden gates were replaced by the present iron ones because authorities feared an organised attempt to free the sympathisers.
After the famous 'shoot-out' at Glenrowan on 27th June, 1880, a wounded Ned was taken to Benalla, then to Melbourne Gaol Hospital. In August 1880, he was returned to Beechworth for his preliminary trial for the murder of Constable Lonigan. He was held in a cell at the rear of the police Station until a Petty Sessions hearing at Beechworth Court House in August at which he was remanded and returned to the Central Criminal Court in Melbourne. He was subsequently tried, found guilty and hanged 13 days later in Melbourne Gaol on 11th November, 1880.

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