GOING FOR GOLD

THE FOUR-WHEEL DRIVING MIGHT NOT MATCH THE NEARBY HIGH COUNTRY, BUT THANKS TO ITS GOLD MINING HISTORY THERE IS PLENTY TO SEE AND DO AROUND THE WIDER CASTLEMAINE AREA AND YOU MAY EVEN STRIKE IT RICH!

- ROBERT NORMAN

JUST 90 minutes from Melbourne, the Central Victorian town of Castlemaine oozes gold rush era history wherever you look. And there’s plenty of fun to be had camping and exploring the many 4x4 tracks that criss-cross the nearby state forests.

In the 1850s, when the wider Castlemaine area was collectively known as Forest Creek, gold discovered here fuelled the start of Victoria’s historic gold rush. Forest Creek was one of the richest shallow alluvial goldfields in the world and, along with the surrounding area, was responsible for producing some of the largest nuggets ever unearthed, including the world’s largest, the Welcome Stranger, which was found just 30mm beneath the earth at the base of a tree.

Since 1851 the area has produced more than 1500 tons of gold (about $1.5b in today’s money) although that is likely a gross underestimate given poor record keeping and undisclosed finds. Geological estimates suggest that only 11 per cent of the available gold has been extracted – which is no doubt why fossickers still comb the old diggings. Early in 2023 one lucky soul turned up a 2.6kg nugget estimated to be worth $240,000.

EASY DRIVE