Heathcote
Rural service centre at the foot of Mount Ida. Heathcote, at the foot of Mt Ida, is situated amidst attractive bushland beside McIvor Creek, 109 km north of Melbourne via the Northern Highway, 47 km south-east of Bendigo and 220 m above sea-level. Its population is about 1800. The principal products of the district are wool, timber, cattle, honey and wine. Heathcote is clustered around High St (the Northern Highway) which presents an interesting and diverse streetscape of old shopfronts, hotels, churches, some distinguished homes and the post office. The trees which line the main street and the plantation at Queens Meadow were planted in the 19th century on the advice of Baron von Mueller who made a significant contribution to Melbourne's Royal Botanic Gardens. A number of prehistoric quarry sites have been found at Mt Camel Range, to the north of Heathcote, providing evidence of ancient Aboriginal associations with the land. It is thought that the Wuywurrung Aborigines inhabited the district prior to white settlement. The first Europeans in the area were the exploratory party of Major Mitchell who passed through in 1836. Mitchell named McIvor Creek after a member of his party and this title was later applied to the shire. Pastoralists soon moved into the area and a track (with a couple of roadside inns) developed through what would later become the townsite, along which produce was carted to and from the northern sheep stations. However, the town itself developed on the back of a series of goldrushes along McIvor Creek which commenced in 1851. One of the major strikes (1852) was at Golden Gully (behind Heathcote's old courthouse). By 1855 the alluvial gold was running out and reef mining had commenced. Consequently, the population dropped to about 6000 by 1860 as ex-miners took up land or began timbergetting in the forests - an industry much aided by the arrival off the railway later in the century. The town was apparently named by Lord Heathcote; not in honour of himself but because of the quantities of heath growing in the district - if that is plausible. At the peak of the goldrushes there were allegedly 35 000 people, largely housed in tents and shanties on the fields. 3000 Chinese walked to the diggings from Robe in South Australia where they had disembarked to avoid paying a tax levied upon Chinese disembarking at Victoria. There were also three breweries, 22 hotels, two flour mills, reflecting the emergence of wheat-cultivation in the district, a bacon factory, a hospital and several wineries. Although the population remained steady until the 1880s it was down to 1090 by 1891 as gold reserves dwindled. Other local mining communities were Balmoral (later known as 'Redcastle') which once had 17 000 people but ceased to exist when mining ended around 1910. Costerfield, 12 km north-east, once employed 700 men but closed down in 1925. At one time it produced 92 per cent of the state's antimony. Greytown, 30 km north-east, allegedly had 60 000 on its fields but was short-lived. In 1910 the Duigan brothers made Australian aviation history when they built and flew the first Australian-made aircraft at Mia Mia, 18 km south-west of town. However, the achievement must be kept in perspective. The contraption lifted off the ground for a total of seven metres. Tourist Information CentreThe town's information centre is located at the corner of High and Barrack Sts. It is open from 9.00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m. daily, tel: (03) 5433 3121. |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Bed & Breakfast / Guesthouses
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Farm Stay and Self-Contained Style Accommodation
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Restaurants
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Cafes and Tea Rooms
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Hotels and Local Wine Stockists
|
|
|