Beechworth is a little town of great historical significance, about 40kms south/west of Wodonga. In 1852 gold was discovered in Beechworth and the wealth from the gold rush built Beehworth and its nationally significant buildings. Over four million ounces of gold were found between the years 1852 to 1866, which is worth several billion dollars in today's currency. Miners of all nationalities flocked to the Ovens Goldfield (Beechworth), however there was also a realization that the gold would not last forever, and this made for substantial investments in public services. Many of the buildings in Beechworth were constructed during the 1850s and 1860s and still stand and continue to be utilized today. Beechworth is now only one of two towns in Victoria classified as "notable" by the National Trust, with over 30 local buildings on the Trust's register.
So what follows now is a little tour of Beechworth for you, and to get you started, here is Beechworth's main street:
The Post Office was first completed in 1859 however, following a fire along the street it was rebuilt in 1867. The Post Office played an important role in communicating news in 1880 of the murders of police at Stringybark Creek and the various exploits of the Kelly gang.
The foundation stone for the Beechworth Methodist Church was laid in 1857 - previous to that services had been held in the open air, and then in tents, since 1852.
This beautiful church with stained glass windows dedicated to early parishoners was built in 1858 and the tower and chancel added in 1864. The organ was installed in 1887 and it is the only 19th century pipe organ in North East Victoria. Christ Church is also the only country parish in Victoria, and only the third in Australia, to have a ring of bells.
What is now the present Parish Hall for Christ Church was actually the original church. Built in 1855, the lower (right-hand) side of the building was the original Church of England Grammar School and it was here that Isaac Isaacs, later to become the first Australian born Governor General, did his first schooling. A few months later, the upper section of the building was added (the left-hand part of the building) and this was the first Anglican Church in Beechworth.
Nearby is the Gothic-style St Joseph's Roman Catholic Church, built in 1868, with its fine rose window and interior granite columns.
This wonderful building was formerly the Brigidine convent of Mt. St. Joseph. In 1886, four Brigidine Nuns left Ireland to sail to Australia. The Sisters immediately set about establishing a convent, and this was the second Brigidine Convent to be established in Australia. The Sisters took over the permanent charge of St. Joseph’s school in 1887 and in the same year purchased ten acres of land adjacent to the school. Stage one of the new convent and secondary school was begun there in 1887. The next few years saw much building and in 1904 a substantial new wing was complete. During it’s history the convent averaged 80 pupils, 30 of these being boarders, reaching a peak of 150 pupils in the 1960’s. The school closed in 1978 and now the Old Priory is B&B accommodation as well as a conference centre.
There is a section within Beechworth known as the Beechworth Historic and Cultural Precinct. This group of provincial public buildings strongly reflects Beechworth's former place as the administrative centre of the north-east during the late 1850s and 1860s, and as a prosperous gold mining town. All the buildings were erected between 1856 and 1859 from local honey granite.
The Telegraph Station was build in 1858 and this building was a key point of communications throughout the district. It was the main connection hub from regional centres to Melbourne and Sydney. Today you can still send morse code messages around the world.
Beechworth Historic Courthouse is one of the finest remaining Gold Rush courthouses in Australia. Built in 1858 the Courthouse served many judicial purposes until its closure in 1989. The courtroom was the scene of countless trials involving Ned Kelly, his mother Ellen, bushranger Harry Power and Elizabeth Scott (the first woman hanged in Victoria).
Originally built as the Gold Receiver's Office and Sub Treasury (to the Melbourne Treasury) in 1856, 14, 000 ounces of gold were taken by coach to the Melbourne Treasury. In total gold worth more than $4 billion in present day prices was mined from Beechworth. At the end of the Gold Rush the building was used as the Beechworth Police Station, which played a pivotal role during the outbreak of the Kelly Gang.
Dating from 1858, the grand Beechworth Town Hall once also housed the Shire Offices and served as a Court of Petty Sessions, linked by a staircase to the holding cells underneath.
The Chinese Protector's Office was built in 1857 in an effort to forge harmonious relations on the goldfields and was responsible for collecting miners' rights and business licenses.
HM Prison Beechworth - decommissioned in December 2004. Originally the gaol was a series of long wooden huts enclosed by a spiked stockade. The granite gaol was built in stages from 1858-64. It housed about 35 male and 5 female prisoners who toiled in the labour yards or at their respective trades - work of practical benefit to the town. The gallows were built in 1865, and eight men were hanged there between 1865 and 1881.
The prison is historically significant for many reasons, but notably for its associations with the bushranger Ned Kelly and the Kelly story. Kelly served six months in the prison in 1870-71 for assault and was held there during his committal trial for murder in 1880. It was also in Beechworth Prison that Kelly's mother, Ellen and two associates of the Kelly family served sentences in the late 1870s for the attempted murder of Constable Alexander Fitzpatrick. It was this incident and the resulting convictions which are credited as being the catalyst for the so-called Kelly Outbreak. Beechworth Gaol is further associated with Kelly as the place where twenty suspected Kelly sympathisers were held in 1879 in an attempt to limit support to the Kelly gang. The iron gates were installed at this time as it was feared that there might be an attempt to break the sympathizers out of the prison.
The Police Stables are said to have housed horses used by the police in the hunt for the outlawed Kelly Gang.
Built in 1867 as a police lock-up, this building had a cell for both male (on the left) and female (on the right) prisoners held on remand before court appearances. It is believed that both Ned Kelly and his mother Ellen were held here prior to their trials.
Just outside the town of Beechworth there is a gorge through the surrounding hills which is also home to many of the creeks where gold was originally found.
And then just as we were leaving a mini 'parade' started as part of the "Drive Back in Time" event that was happening in Beechworth this weekend. Given the historical significance of Beechworth, seeing these cars on the road was a perfect match for the ambience of the day.
The drive back to Wodonga is a great example of what the countryside in north-east Victoria is like - this is overlooking the Indigo Valley.
Approximately 25kms east of Wodonga is the Hume Dam. It is a major gated concrete gravity dam with four earth embankments and twenty-nine vertical undershot gated concrete overflow spillways across the Murray River. The dam's purpose includes flood mitigation, hydro-power, irrigation, water supply and conservation. The impounded reservoir is called Lake Hume. The Hume Dam was constructed over a 17 year period between 1919 to 1936.
Lake Hume is estimated to hold approximately six times the volume of water in Sydney Harbour.
The lake is stocked with fish and so it's also home to pelicans.
Driving back to Wodonga and I saw one of the biggest mobs of kangaroos I have ever seen! There were probably at least 100 kangaroos, if not more, in this paddock. And if you look closely at the second photo, you can see that the kangaroo on the right is a mummy with her joey in her pouch.
As I've said, the weather has changed and we're definitely into fall here in Australia now. Although fall colours like we get in Canada are not as common here it's not impossible to find some wonderful colours.
HM Prison Beechworth - decommissioned in December 2004. Originally the gaol was a series of long wooden huts enclosed by a spiked stockade. The granite gaol was built in stages from 1858-64. It housed about 35 male and 5 female prisoners who toiled in the labour yards or at their respective trades - work of practical benefit to the town. The gallows were built in 1865, and eight men were hanged there between 1865 and 1881.
The prison is historically significant for many reasons, but notably for its associations with the bushranger Ned Kelly and the Kelly story. Kelly served six months in the prison in 1870-71 for assault and was held there during his committal trial for murder in 1880. It was also in Beechworth Prison that Kelly's mother, Ellen and two associates of the Kelly family served sentences in the late 1870s for the attempted murder of Constable Alexander Fitzpatrick. It was this incident and the resulting convictions which are credited as being the catalyst for the so-called Kelly Outbreak. Beechworth Gaol is further associated with Kelly as the place where twenty suspected Kelly sympathisers were held in 1879 in an attempt to limit support to the Kelly gang. The iron gates were installed at this time as it was feared that there might be an attempt to break the sympathizers out of the prison.
The Police Stables are said to have housed horses used by the police in the hunt for the outlawed Kelly Gang.
Built in 1867 as a police lock-up, this building had a cell for both male (on the left) and female (on the right) prisoners held on remand before court appearances. It is believed that both Ned Kelly and his mother Ellen were held here prior to their trials.
Just outside the town of Beechworth there is a gorge through the surrounding hills which is also home to many of the creeks where gold was originally found.
And then just as we were leaving a mini 'parade' started as part of the "Drive Back in Time" event that was happening in Beechworth this weekend. Given the historical significance of Beechworth, seeing these cars on the road was a perfect match for the ambience of the day.
The drive back to Wodonga is a great example of what the countryside in north-east Victoria is like - this is overlooking the Indigo Valley.
Approximately 25kms east of Wodonga is the Hume Dam. It is a major gated concrete gravity dam with four earth embankments and twenty-nine vertical undershot gated concrete overflow spillways across the Murray River. The dam's purpose includes flood mitigation, hydro-power, irrigation, water supply and conservation. The impounded reservoir is called Lake Hume. The Hume Dam was constructed over a 17 year period between 1919 to 1936.
Lake Hume is estimated to hold approximately six times the volume of water in Sydney Harbour.
The lake is stocked with fish and so it's also home to pelicans.
Driving back to Wodonga and I saw one of the biggest mobs of kangaroos I have ever seen! There were probably at least 100 kangaroos, if not more, in this paddock. And if you look closely at the second photo, you can see that the kangaroo on the right is a mummy with her joey in her pouch.
As I've said, the weather has changed and we're definitely into fall here in Australia now. Although fall colours like we get in Canada are not as common here it's not impossible to find some wonderful colours.
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