VICTORIA'S
GREATEST DRIVING TOURS AND HERITAGE TOWNS
Historic...
DAYLESFORD
Daylesford, like so many towns, sprang up almost overnight on the Victorian goldfields during the 1850s. Many tonnes of the yellow metal were mined from the foothills of the Great Dividing Range, north-west of Melbourne. As the gold ran out, the very existence of Daylesford and its neighbour Hepburn Springs became reliant upon another resource - mineral water.
Today, the gold and water have left their imprints. The prosperity of the Gold Rush era has provided a wealth of historic buildings. Water, on the other hand, still bubbles from the ground in over seventy locations around the twin towns.
It is believed local aborigines new of the springs for thousands of years. European history goes back to 1837, when retired ship captain John Hepburn drove cattle through from NSW. In 1854 gold was discovered at the site of what is now Lake Daylesford. A tourist industry later developed on the renowned health-giving qualities of the mineral waters, and even now you can drink it, swim in it, hot-spa in it, or bottle it and take it home.
With a population of only 3000, Daylesford is a small town. But during weekends and holidays periods, it becomes a mecca for thousands more. As in decades past, visitors come to sample the mineral waters, stay in luxury accommodation, explore craft and antique shops, go boating on the lake, or just relax.
For families, there’s plenty. On Sundays, vintage railway trips operate from Daylesford Station and travel through the Wombat State Forest. There’s also an open-air market at the station. Have breakfast at the Boathouse Café by the lake, hire a boat, or feed the ducks. The local botanic gardens offer a cool summer retreat for a stroll, and the panoramic view over Daylesford from the top of Wombat Hill is a must. High quality local craft is displayed for sale at the award-winning Convent Gallery.
Around Daylesford and Hepburn Springs there are marked walking trails connecting mineral springs locations. Taking a daypack with a loaf of country-baked bread, tasty cheeses and a glass for the mineral water is the abstainer’s version of a pub-crawl.
Bushwalkers will enjoy the Tipperary walking track that runs from Lake Daylesford to Hepburn Springs mineral reserve. The 16km trail follows Sailors Creek and Spring Creek, traversing foothill forest typical of the region. Wildflowers amongst the stringybark, box and peppermint gums make a colourful display in spring, and many native birds and animals may be observed along the way.
Gold miners denuded some of the surrounding hills to fire battery boilers during the “Rush,” and disused mineshafts dot the slopes. Stretches of the walking track run along some of the old water-races used by miners. Less energetic walkers can join or leave the track at various points along the way; the whole 16km can take four or five hours.
Daylesford is an ideal year-round base for touring the nearby goldfields, and there’s a maze of good tracks and back roads between there and Castlemaine, 40km to the north. Near Fryerstown and Irishtown there are crumbling stamper battery ruins and old miners cottages, while most towns are full of beautiful buildings harking back to the historic era.
Some of the forest tracks offer spectacular glimpses of Mt Franklin, a long extinct volcano, and the surrounding patchwork green farmlands. Creeks and gullies in the old diggings are sure to show a speck or two for patient gold panners.
WHERE: Daylesford is 100km west of Melbourne, via either the Western Highway or Calder Highway.
STAY THE WEEKEND AT:
Lake House. International acclaim. Tops for food, rooms, spa treatment, service and lake views.
