They also harbour secrets of the Ned Kelly story - at every turn of the streets there is a link to the Kelly family, the gang and the events that led to Ned Kelly's hearing - right in Beechworth!
In 1852 gold was first discovered in Beechworth and within a year 8,000 miners had swarmed to the area. In 1853 the government responded to a request made by local store keepers to lay out the townships, and the tents of the time gave way to more permanent structures. By January 1854, well over 100,000 ounces of gold had been taken out of the diggings around Beechworth, and during the years of the gold rush the population swelled to an impressive 30,000.
Dating from 1858, the grand Beechworth Town Hall once also served as a Court of Petty Sessions, linked by a staircase to the holding cells underneath.
The cells are named after bushranger Harry Power, 'the gentleman bushranger', who frequented the cells at least seven times between 1863-1870. Harry is noted as being Ned Kelly's mentor.
Built in 1857, the Beechworth Athenaeum contained a Lecture Hall and Reading Room and later the Public Library. Now it is a museum named after Robert O'Hara Burke who was the Superintendent of Police, stationed at Beechworth from 1854 to 1858. It houses a wide range of collections dating from the 1860s.
The Telegraph Office opened in 1858 and was a key point of communication throughout the district. It was the main connection hub from regional centres to Melbourne and Sydney and today visitors can still send telegraphic messages around the world.
Built in 1858 the Courthouse in Beechworth is one of the finest remaining Gold Rush courthouses in Australia and 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 today you can stand in the dock and cell where Ned Kelly stood during his committal hearing in 1880.
The Gold Receivers Office and Sub Treasury building now exhibits the world's largest collection of authentic Kelly Gang materials.
Beechworth's Chinese population grew quickly during the Gold Rush and 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.
The Gold Warden carried out similar functions to the Chinese Protector but within the European community. The Gold Warden's office was also built in 1857.
Built in 1867 as a police lock-up, the Stone Lock-Up building had a cell for both male and female 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.
The Beechworth Post Office was constructed in 1870, incorporating a tower dating from 1865 and other materials from an earlier post office building on the site. Located in the centre of town, the post office represents a prominent landmark in this important gold-mining centre. It is an intact example of the larger two story post offices of this period, incorporating a telegraph office and postmaster's residence.
The 'But But' tree is over 400 years old. Originally it was the site of the first miner's church service, later used by blacksmiths as a canopy to shield the sun, and even became the unofficial post office where messages for missing person were nailed onto its trunk and branches.
A legacy of the Gold Rush, Lake Sambell is now a parkland, leafy retreat and bird haven just outside of the centre of Beechworth.
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