Castlemaine real estate

Castlemaine grew from the Forest Creek diggings after gold was found at Specimen Gully on Barkers Creek in 1851. The settlement was later renamed after Viscount Castlemaine. It became a borough in 1863 and a city in 1965. Today it is part of Mount Alexander Shire. Its 19th century streetscapes are still intact, from simple miners’ cottages to broad streets and grand buildings such as the Market Building on Mostyn Street.

The Castlemaine Botanical Gardens date from 1860 and sit beside Lake Joanna and a public swimming pool. The Castlemaine Art Museum occupies a 1931 Art Deco building on Lyttleton Street. The Theatre Royal has been running since 1856. Around town, the Castlemaine Diggings National Heritage Park protects gold rush relics and Box-Ironbark woodland, with picnic spots at Kalimna Point and Vaughan Mineral Springs. The Goldfields Track passes through for walkers and mountain bikers.

V/Line trains run from Castlemaine station on the Bendigo, Echuca and Swan Hill lines, with services through to Southern Cross in Melbourne. Heritage trains on the Victorian Goldfields Railway run to Maldon. Local buses serve Chewton, Campbells Creek and North Castlemaine. Schools include Castlemaine Secondary College and primary schools such as Castlemaine Primary, Castlemaine North and St Mary’s. Dhelkaya Health runs the hospital. The library sits in the old Mechanics Institute on Barker Street.