Castlemaine

                                          A formerly grand hotel which has aged in the sun

The small city of Castlemaine (the smallest in Australia), promises a relaxing time, its detached houses seen with tables and chairs arranged on their verandahs, or decking, as one passes into the city on my bicycle. It is set a 

bowl with two hills within it. One has the red brick former prison located upon it, the other has a memorial to Burke and Wills, the two leaders of the ill-fated expedition of 1861, which endeavoured to cross the continent from north to south and return. Burke was a local resident.

                                         A display of locally produced honey at the Farmers' Market

One, of several live bands playing at Market and Art Fair

Proteas for sale at one of the markets

A uunicyclist entertains both young and old alike on market day

A display of this gentleman's pottery

Australia nearly had a revolution in 1854. The Crown wanted to force diggers to buy licences. The miners demanded voting rights, representation and to be able to purchase land. They were led by former Chartists from England. After a battle at Eureka and deaths, the result was the granting of the vote. Democracy can be said to have started from here in Victoria. 

Locally handmade organic soaps

                                                 A local digeridoo craftsman displays his instruments 

                        A locally hand-made tandem, with the pilot operating it from the stoker's position

A local house

The old railway hotel

The old fire station has been reincarnated as a coffee shop

The city is named after Viscount Castlemaine, from Ireland. It also is mentioned  in that well-known ballad, "the Wild Colonial Boy", which is based on the exploits of local resident, Jack Doolan, who was born in Ireland.

There was a wild Colonial Boy,
Jack Doolan was his name,
Of poor but honest parents,
He was born in Castlemaine.
He was his father's only hope
His mother's pride and joy,
And dearly did his parents love
The Wild Colonial Boy.

(With 7 more verses)

                                         

                                         An abandonded house dating from gold prospecting times

Municipal buildings

Immediately on entering the city one is struck by the fact that it is not "a clone town", which unfortunately most of England is. Just one supermarket, which is a cooperative. An ongoing and vigourous campaign to keep the big players firmly shut out and thus keeps the smallest city in Australia in its historical garb. The result is a place which is walkable, friendly and local. Local entrepreneurs live and work here, thus keeping the money and employment local and community like. The numerous small shops are interesting and welcoming. Groups of people standing on the wide, shaded pavements, chatting leisurely, or else sitting in one of the very many cafes/coffee shops, smiling and laughing in the holiday atmosphere. Life moves slowly here. There is a weekly market, where people meet up socially, I recognised people from my first visit here 12 years ago, when I received a second cup of coffee for free because I praised the quality of the first cup!. Also, there are two monthly markets: one a farmers' market, the other is an art market.  

A street view illustrating older architecture which dominates the town. So far developers have not been able to get a foot in the door

A relic from earlier days

                                         A quiet  and cool, coffee shop, a hideaway when the temperature 

                                         is rising       

                          

                                       

                                          The way out of the city, a quiet railway station, with my bike

                                           propped against the wall waiting for the next train

There is also the oldest continuous run theatre in Australia, dating from 1858, the Theatre Royal, Castlemaine. The Botanical Gardens date from 1860 . What was formerly 60 acres of well-used diggings was set aside for the making of a botanical garden, which had for its first curator a man who trained under Paxton at Chatsworth. There is a beautiful avenue of elms and also one of oaks and a lake. Quite a contrast to the wild west atmosphere of the 25,000 plus, gold diggers of the 1850's..The prison reminds one of this fact. A great place to sit in the shade with a book and a coffee on a sweltering day.

                            The 150 year old Theatre Royal is still a busy place, with drama, music                    e
                                           and exhibitions occupying its time and space

The whole region still bears the scars of the gold mining, dating from the middle of the 19th century: pollarded tree stumps, soil erosion and gullies from the rapacious denuding of the environment to gain access to the ore. The top soil is completely missing.

Part of the 150 year-old botanical gardens which were created from formerly
 useless gold mine workings

                                         

It is a great pleasure for an Englishman to be bowled over with the courtesy, helpfulness and smiling service in shops, library, rail station, etc "hows it go?" said with a smile and eye contact! The residents are very proud of the city, which is not a common occurence in England!