Maldon, Victoria
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- A town in Britain bears the same name; see Maldon, Essex
| Maldon Victoria |
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 Historic streetscape at Maldon |
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| Population: | 1601 (2006 census) | ||||||
| Established: | 1853 | ||||||
| Postcode: | 3463 | ||||||
| Elevation: | 320.0 m (1,050 ft) | ||||||
| Location: |
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| LGA: | Shire of Mount Alexander | ||||||
| State District: | Bendigo West | ||||||
| Federal Division: | Bendigo | ||||||
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Maldon is a town in Victoria, Australia, in the Shire of Mount Alexander local government area. It is officially known as "Australia's First Notable Town", and is today best-known for the 19th century appearance the town has maintained despite the passage of over a hundred years since its Gold Rush days. At the 2006 census, Maldon had a population of 1,601.[1]
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[edit] History
The district where Maldon now stands was first discovered by white Europeans in 1836, during Major Thomas Mitchell's famous Victorian expedition. It was settled soon afterwards by pastoralists, and two sheep runs were established in the area, at the foot of Mount Tarrengower. In December 1853, gold was discovered at Cairn Curran (the name given to one of the sheep runs), and Maldon became a part of the Victorian Gold Rush.
The goldfield, which was named "Tarrengower Fields" after Mt Tarrengower, immediately attracted an immense number of men eager to make their fortunes at the diggings. Just one month after gold was first discovered, the Chief Commissioner for Goldfields reported 3000 miners had arrived at the diggings. A month after that, a journalist for The Argus reported that the road from Castlemaine to Maldon was lined with the shops of people hoping to make a living of their own from the miners:
- The narrow road ... is lined on each side almost continuously with stores of every description, saloons, restaurants, eating houses, lemonade and beer shops, apothecaries' shops, and the tents of doctors, who, I am sorry to say, drive a very lucrative business at Tarrengower.
By 1856 there were estimated to be 18 000–20 000 people at the goldfields, and the Victorian government arranged for the settlement to become a town, which was named Maldon. In 1861, a government census declared the town's population to be 3341, servicing an additional 5-6000 miners at the diggings. At that time it was the 8th-largest town in Victoria, and remained so for the next decade. However, as miners were forced to dig deeper to obtain usable specimens, or as mines ran dry completely, the population began to decline. By 1891, Maldon held a mere 1600 inhabitants.
Mining continued in the area at a low level with small claims being worked and sluicing of gullies and tailings. In the 1980s mining was revived with the development of the open cut at Union Hill and various other projects.
As an alluvial field Maldon ranked only second-rate in importance to others such as Castlemaine or Ballarrat, but Maldon was among Victoria’s richest quartz mining centres… Quartz mining was active over a wide area around Maldon, extending southward through Sandy Creek to Newstead, along to Mia Mia and Muckleford, eastward to Fentimen’s and Smith’s Reefs, and even to the apex of Mount Tarrengower. In all, over seventy reefs were proven to contain gold deposits. Maldon was undoubtedly a poor man’s diggings as it had a large number of its excellent yields from very small claims.
[edit] Modern times
Today, Maldon's population is more or less stable at around 1000 people. The town has changed very little since mining operations ceased, with buildings and streets barely updated to reflect the passage of time. The town's Main Street has seen an old bank replaced with a service station, but is otherwise nearly identical to its appearance at the beginning of the 20th century.
The town was declared a "notable town" in 1966 by the National Trust of Victoria, who explained that:
- The township displays overall historical and architectural importance, particularly in its gold town buildings. The significance lies in the variety of building styles, and the area of mining is of interest with one mine still open to the public.
Maldon boasts that it is largely unchanged since the 1850s, and has attracted considerable interest from tourists for its 19th century atmosphere. Where once it was a mining town, Maldon now survives on the back of the tourist trade. The town holds several annual fairs, including a Winter Fair, Easter Fair, Art show, and Folk Festival.
Notable landmarks include Beehive Chimney, Mt. Tarrengower and fire tower, Lake Cairn Curran, and the railway station. Maldon has its own newspaper, the Tarrangower Times which is the oldest continuously published newspaper in Victoria.
[edit] Events
The town has an annual Easter Fair which includes events such as billy-cart racing, dancing in the street, the Great Aussie Scone Bake, a cemetery walk and the lighting of the Mt Tarrangower tower.[2] The Maldon Folk Festival has been held annually since 1974. (October 31 to November 3 in 2008).[3]
[edit] Notable residents
- Bill Woodfull, Australian cricket team captain, born in Maldon on 1897-08-27
- Joseph Jenkins, the Welsh Swagman, maintained Maldon's gutters and drains for one pound per week from 1885-1894.
- Henry Handel Richardson, the Australian author.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (25 October 2007). Maldon (State Suburb). 2006 Census QuickStats. Retrieved on 2007-10-25.
- ^ Maldon's 131st Easter Fair 2008. Maldon inc.
- ^ Maldon Folk Festival.
- Reader's Digest Book of Historic Australian Towns (1982), ISBN 0-909486-93-X
- Maldon at the National Trust of Victoria website. Accessed 2005-10-02.
- A history of mining at Maldon is found at Heritage Victoria's web site [1]
- Maldon Gold Field Victoria Geol. Survey, 1904, W.M. Bradford; discusses Geology and History of the Gold Field.
[edit] External links
- Official Tourist website
- Official website
- Tarrangower Times website
- Tarrangower Times recent stories
- Maldon Football Netball Club
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