MALDON
Australia's First "Notable" Town
Maldon dates back to 1836 when Major Thomas Mitchell came through and it was settled shortly after by sheep farmers and in 1853 gold was discovered and within one month 3,000 people were in the town hoping to make their fortune in the diggings. Shortly after the population had grown to 18,000. In 1856 the Victorian government arranged for the settlement to become a town, which was named Maldon. The post office had opened on 14 March 1854 and a court house was built in 1861 and a new post and telegraph office in 1870. In 1861 the towns population was over 3,000 and there were some 5,000-6,000 miners in the area. And Maldon was the eight largest town in Victoria. As gold became more difficult to extract the population dwindled and it was down to 1,600 by 1891. Maldon was known as a poor man’s diggings, with many excellent yields from very small claims. Today many of the old buildings remain and the original character of the town has been retained.
How To Get There
Maldon is 145 km from Melbourne, 40 km from Bendigo and 18 km from Castlemaine.Take the Calder Highway and exit towards Castlemaine.There are a number of B & B's but few motels Try:-
Things to Do
Walk the historic Main Street and go back to the 19th Century
Visit Mount Tarrengower Lookout
Take a train ride from the Historic Railway Station
Walk througfh what remains of the Beehive Mine
Visit the North British Mine Site
Walk throigh the old Maldon Cemetery
Check out the old buildings such as the Post Office and Atheneum Libray
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