Introducing Castlemaine
Castlemaine is a relaxed country town that’s home to artists, long-time locals, hippies and ‘tree-changers’. It also has some splendid colonial architecture and gardens. The discovery of gold at Specimen Gully in 1851 radically altered the pastoral landscape of the Castlemaine region, as 30, 000 diggers worked goldfields known collectively as the Mt Alexander Diggings. The town grew up around the government camp and soon became the marketplace for all the goldfields of central Victoria. Whilst not as commercialised as Daylesford, Castlemaine (the ‘Hot Rod Capital of Australia’) is rapidly catching up, keen to get its share of day-trippers and weekend-escapees from Melbourne.
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Castlemaine hosts the State Festival (www.castlemainefestival.com.au) in March/April in odd-numbered years, one of Victoria’s leading arts events.
Last updated: Aug 27, 2009
Thorn Tree forum discussion
Recent posts
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The mother of all shortbread
by Fwoggie 26 April 2011
I just spent a week and a half in the UK, seeing friends and family. Lovely weather. You'd think the weather is like that all the time…
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Re: Anything to do from Melbourne to Sydney?
by violets 26 April 2011
You could also go more inland and see the beautiful country around Buchan and up through the Snowy Mountains and Kosiusko National Park.…
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Re: Campervan rentals
by kerbur 17 April 2011
I've never used them or heard of them, but I'm intrigued that they're based in Castlemaine, which is a small town in country Victoria,…
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