Sat, 27th June, 2015 ‘Waanyarra’, Dunolly State Forest (Maryborough – Dunolly sightseeing)

12.8 degrees in the van and 8 degrees outside – overcast.

Jon rang for a chat. Steve going detecting and I am heading towards Maryborough to do my history sightseeing etc. I haven’t forgotten how to drive thank goodness as it has been a while!!

Into Maryborough and I found a park near the Info Centre. Went in to collect some more Victoria brochures – they are really good and heaps of maps too. Chatted with the couple there. Headed out to do the history trail around town.

First stop was Nolan Street – I laugh at all the repeated names – Gladstone etc. It is nice they have tried to keep a lot of the old world buildings and shop fronts. Maryborough was first settled as early as 1840 by the Scottish Simson brothers, who began sheep farming in the district – There is a little locality as you come into town called Simson. When gold was found the population quickly grew, by 1856 there were up to 53,000 people living in the district. Maryborough was named after Commissioner James Daly’s home in Ireland.

Up the block to High Street which is the main one through town.

On the corner is the Bull and Mouth Hotel. The chap in the info centre said in the 1870s there was a women named Rose murdered on the staircase and her ghost was often seen there and people even talked to her. His uncle was chatting with her one day and his wife came out to ask who he was talking to – he could see her but his wife couldn’t. In 1999 Rose’s sightings stopped as the hotel has sold off the staircase and she must have gone with it!! The Hotel was originally built in 1854 but was demolished in 1904 and then rebuilt. It was one of the first in Maryborough.

Up another block to McLandress Square where three beautiful buildings stand.

The Post Office building is in the centre. It was built in 1878 from first class stone mined from McCallum’s Creek and the clock tower was added in 1879.

On the right is the Town Hall which was built in 1887. The original one was  built in 1858.

On the left side is the Court House which opened in 1893.

Around the corner was the old Fire Station and Tower. It was one of the town’s earliest buildings, built in 1861. The existing tower was the third one on the site and constructed in 1888. Engine sheds were added early in the 20^th Century. The Central Goldfields Art Gallery is now housed there and I went in to check out the exhibition of an artist the lady at the info centre mentioned. His work was on The Colonies – exploring the early European exploration of Australia. Well it took all my strength to not blurt out – what this rubbish – there were kid like charcoal scratchings of scenes around Bruny Island, Tas and he wanted 300 to 1000 for them!! Left very quickly so I didn’t have to make a comment!!

There was an information board inside though about the fire station and the Captain – Thomas Casey. I thought of our Tom. Outside was a stone he laid on 2^nd April, 1888.

Wandered up the street to check out the St Andrews Uniting Church. No info on it though.

Lots of lovely colonial homes with beautiful gardens.

Back down Nolan Street toward the Mandeville Coffee Palace and the Paramount Cinema. The Coffee Palace was formerly the Yorkshire Hotel and Brewery in 1863. It was delicensed in the latter half of the 1800s to be taken up as a Coffee Palace by Mrs Mandeville. Next door is the Paramount Cinema which was built in 1926.

Walked back to the truck then drove down the road to Central Goldfields Shire Offices which was formerly the School of Mines. The foundation stone was laid in 1890 and the east wing was opened the following year. In 1903 it was renamed as Maryborough Technical School, becoming the District Secondary College in 1992. In 2008, it became the home for the Council.

Around the corner was the beautiful Railway Station which was built in 1890. This building was remembered by Mark Twain as ‘a station with a town attached’.

Unfortunately the Antique Emporium and Station Café were closed so I just walked up onto the platform for a look.

Drove back to Coles which is on the site of the old Maryborough Knitting Mills. The mills operated between 1923 and 1996 providing a lot of employment for the town during the Depression years and onwards. Only the brick chimney remains.

Heading out of town towards Timor I stopped at the site of the Bristol Hill Cemetery. No marked graves but they have put up a plaque showing the names of some of the 400 buried here during 1854 and 1859.

 One old headstone was placed in the cairn.

Drove on to find the Grand Duke Mine at Timor. Put in the address of Bet Bet Creek Road and actually ended up at Bowenvale as Timor was back down the road. Anyway the information plaque was here about what is left of the thriving town. Gold was first discovered here in 1854 at Chinaman’s Flat with only 500 miners in the first rush. One month later 16,000 miners has arrived. Originally known as Coxtown after the local butcher, it was surveyed as Timor in 1856. At it’s peak there were 27,000 people here with 38 hotels, 3 butchers, 2 banks, 3 bakeries, a police station and several lock-ups. The last hotel closed its doors during the 1960s. Today the only historic buildings remaining are of the General Store (1852), one of the lock-ups, the Post Office (1865) and the School (1873). The General Store was established in 1852 and was originally in a building near Bet Bet Creek. After severe flooding it was moved to the present site in 1870.

This ‘portable’ lock-up weighs over three tons. It was originally next to the Police Station opposite the General Store and was used to temporarily house villains until they could be moved to a larger penitentiary. When the station closed in 1915 it was moved to its present position and for a while it was used by the local undertaker to store coffins. This particular building was built in early 1900s.

The Primary School was established in 1873 with the present building being completed and opened in 1880. Records show in 1883 there were 640 children with 10 teachers here.

Down the road and into Bet Bet Creek Road I found the remains of the granite arch which is all that remains of the massive pump house for the Grand Duke Mine. The mine employed 150 men and yielded 6125 kilograms of gold and was one of the longest serving wet mines in Victoria. It had four shafts (now filled in) and operated from 1869 to 1896. The pump house housed a Cornish steam engine capable of pumping 2000 gallons of water per minute from the mine. The walls of the pump house were 265 feet long with six foot wide beams and the foundations were 16 feet deep. The huge blocks of granite were quarried at Mt Hooghly. Amazing to think of the miners working deep under the ground. Now there are sheep farms around it and they had just had their lambs who were bleating loudly.

Headed off up another road towards Dunolly. Lots of flat grazing pastures amongst more areas for detecting. Steve has a lot of walking to do to cover all this land!!

Drove into Dunolly to Market Street to check out the old buildings. In 1845 Archibald McDougall was given a run of 16,000 acres from Hector Simson, a relative. McDougall named the run, Dunolly, after the Scottish Castle where his family came from. The present site of Dunolly is the fifth location, the result of a large gold rush in the winter of 1856. The town had been periodically moved downstream along Burnt Creek in response to each new rush. At the height of the 1856 rush at least 35,000 people were at Dunolly.  During the 1930s there was a dramatic revival in gold mining as a result of unemployment and a rising gold price. In the late 1970s metal detectors  began a new gold rush that still brings visitors to the area. There were other industries here over the years, timber, orchards, market gardens etc. At one time the grain handling facilities near the train station boasted the largest shed in the southern hemisphere (now demolished). Very impressive Court House which was originally the Town Hall and built in 1863.

Across the road was’Belleville’ the home of James Bell, a Scotsman who followed the gold trails across Victoria. He was the town’s first Mayor and ran very successful businesses. The gardens were beautifully laid out - would be great to see inside the building.

Next to the Court House was the Police lock-up and stables which were constructed in 1863. The lock-up was used until the Dunolly Court closed in 1981.

I peered in through the gate and there were three cell doors.

Looking over the rear end of the Court House building and across the road to Belleville.

The Police Stables which was converted to a garage sometime before World War 2.

I walked down Market Street which had also housed the Land Titles Office and Post Office in the mid 1800s. Turned the corner to check out the lovely old church. The sign is a bit confusing because it shows the school house while it is talking about the church.

Walked back to the truck then drove to the main street called Broadway. Walked down the street reading the info boards about the heritage buildings. It is getting quite cold as I haven’t seen any sun or warmth all day. Bendigo Hotel and Coach Office.

The Dunolly Post Office. The tower clock was erected by citizens in memory of those who paid the supreme sacrifice in the World War 1939-1945.

1866 view of Broadway Street and current view.

Another view from the northern end of the street including the Ironmonger building.

The Railway Hotel was originally the Criterion that you can see in the 1866 picture.

Some many of these towns have such a rich history but nothing here now except some tourism and grazing etc to keep them alive. Headed back to camp. Glad to be back as it was a cold overcast day. Great news – Steve has found another 2 little bits of gold.

Wandered over to see how some others did – one couple said they found 8 little pieces - with a 2300 detector. Another chap was just starting so Steve was giving him pointers!! Not sure about this detecting club – don’t seem to help each other out!!

Got the fire going with the great timber Keith and Sue have been cutting. They are very thankful for Steve’s help in fixing their fridge. Had pizza tonight which was nice for a change. The moon is trying to shine through the thin clouds.

Into the van to watch TV as the temp dropped outside. Got a knock on the door and it was Helen who is a friend of Pete and Penny’s. They had just arrived and came to say hello. Will catch up with them in the morning.