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| View down the
main street in Chiltern
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Chiltern
Fascinating small historic town
Chiltern is a country town of some 1400 people
which is distinguished by its historic
streetscape of well-preserved brick buildings
and old-fashioned timber verandahs. This antique
appearance has drawn filmmakers on several
occasions - most notably for the filming of Walt
Disney's Ride a Wild Pony in 1974. It is located
amidst an agricultural landscape 500 metres off
the Hume Freeway and 270 km north-east of
Melbourne, between Wangaratta and Wodonga.
The first Europeans in the area were the
party of Joseph Hawdon who was engaged in
overlanding cattle to Port Phillip in 1836. He
apparently shot a 'black' dingo hereabouts and
Black Dog Creek was named in its honour.
Consequently, this name was also applied to the
settlement when it first emerged.
The first squatters took up land here in 1839
and a bush inn was established in 1844. A few
other buildings developed around the hotel,
although it was later transformed into a police
outpost. As such it was apparently frequented by
Robert O'Hara Burke, of the famous Burke and
Wills expedition.
A township reserve was declared on the creek
in 1851. The site was surveyed in 1853. At
around this time the name of Chiltern, from the
Chiltern Hills of England, had come into use.
Town allotments were sold in 1854.
However, this settlement was abandoned when
John Conness's discovery of the Indigo gold lead
was announced in 1858. As prospectors poured
into the area, a new Chiltern was established
around the miner's track which ran parallel to
the New Ballarat lead (now Conness St) and along
the route from Beechworth to the Indigo lead
(now Main St). The original Star Hotel was built
at the intersection of these two routes in 1859.
In the first bloom of the rush there were
allegedly some ten to twenty thousand living
around the town. The local diggings turned up
the largest nugget of the Ovens goldfields.
However, the alluvial gold soon dwindled and
attention was turned to deep quartz reef mines
which required the capital of a company.
Consequently the population thinned to a
manageable level.
The new townsite was surveyed in 1860
although sales of allotments were delayed owing
to objections from mining companies. Chiltern
was proclaimed a municipality in 1862.
Unusually, the first council consisted entirely
of representatives from the miners' group.
By 1865 there were about 2200 residents and
400 domiciles. Agriculture and vineyards were
under way, there were two steam-powered sawmills
and highly profitable quartz-reef mining was
ongoing. Buildings included 12 hotels, a post
office, a telegraph station, the Federal
Standard newspaper office, three banks, a court,
a court of mines, five insurance offices, a
reading room, a coach office and a newsagency.
By 1888 there were still twelve hotels
although the population had shrunk to 1243 and
the number of banks to two. Gold mining
continued to turn a profit until the early 20th
century. The last reef was abandoned in 1911.
Mine director Charles Harkin formed the Chiltern
Vineyard Company in 1912 to provide employment
for those made redundant.
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| Lakeview, the
home of Henry Handel Richardson
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Noted novelist Henry Handel Richardson lived
at Chiltern from 1876-77. Short-lived Country
Party Prime Minister John McEwen (1967-68) was
born here in 1900.
The Chiltern Box Ironbark Festival in October
celebrates the natural environment and the
town's history with guided walks and other
outdoor activities, along with general
entertainment.
Things to see:
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Federal Standard
The town's major attraction is its historic
buildings, particularly the streetscape of
Conness St. Guided tours can be arranged by
calling Rex from the Chiltern Athenaeum on (03)
5726 1467.
A good place to start a walk is at the corner
of Main St (the access road into town from the
Hume Freeway) and Alliance St. On the edge of
the Tourist Park is the small brick office of
the Federal Standard (1860-61), Chiltern's first
newspaper. Inside are an old printing press and
other equipment from the 1870s-1920s. It is open
by appointment, tel: (03) 5726 1317.
Star Hotel
Proceed north along Main St to the intersection
with Conness St. The latter was named after John
Conness, the man who first discovered gold at
Chiltern. It began as a miner's track adjacent
the New Ballarat lead. Main St was the route
which extended from the Indigo lead towards
Beechworth.
At the north-eastern corner is the former
Star Hotel and Theatre which was rebuilt in 1866
after a fire destroyed the 1859 original. The
expansiveness of an adjoining theatre (used for
dancing, plays and public meetings) and a
billiards saloon is a tribute to the prosperity
and extensive custom afforded by a prosperous
gold town.
In the courtyard is a grapevine which was
planted in 1867. In 1936 it yielded a crop of
two and half tonnes of grapes. With a trunk that
measures 1.84 metres and a branch which is 12
metres long it is recorded as the largest in the
Southern Hemisphere.
Today the old theatre houses Grapevine
Antiques and Museum where there are antiques and
collectables for sale, Friday to Wednesday from
10.00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m., tel: (03) 5726 1395.
Conness St West
On the north-western corner is Gilmour's Corner
Store(1890), now a craft and giftware shop which
also dispenses local tourist information, tel:
(03) 5726 1611.
Head west along Conness St. To the right is
the former Council Club Hotel (1870). In 1890
the owner bought the store on the other side of
the lane and made it part of the hotel.
Stephen's Motor Museum
Further along the road is Stephen's Motor Garage
and Museum which contains an international
collection of automotive memorabilia dating back
to the outset of the 20th century, tel: (03)
5726 1236. Opposite is the former Bank of
Australasia (1877-79), now The Mulberry Tree
Restaurant and Bed-and-Breakfast.
Dow's Pharmacy
Return along Conness St towards Main St. To the
right is Dow's Pharmacy (1868). Now owned by the
National Trust, it retains its original
exterior. Inside is an extensive array of
original shop fittings which display original
stock and pharmaceutical equipment. It is open
on weekends and school holidays, tel: (03) 5726
1476.
Main St North
Head north along Main St. On the far side of
Crawford St, to the left, is 'Linden', built in
1890 by David McEwen. His son John, who was born
in the house in 1900, became prime minister of
Australia in 1967-68.
On the other side of the road are the post
office (built in 1863 it was the town's first
government building), the Classical courthouse
building (1865) and the Masonic hall.
Return south along Main St, turning left into
Crawford St. To the left are the police lock-up
(1873) and residence (1875).
Chiltern Athenaeum Museum
Return to the intersection of Main and Conness
Sts. Head east along Conness St. To the left is
the Chiltern Athenaeum Museum. As the building
was originally a goldfields library, town hall
and council chambers, it has a large collection
of 19th-century books (including a very early
edition of the Encyclopaedia Brittanica) and
other material pertaining to local history,
including the works of local painter Alfred
Eustace, who executed detailed miniatures on
large gum leaves. His work was reputedly
collected by Queen Victoria and the Czar of
Russia. Eustace died in 1907 and is buried in
the local cemetery. There is a good display of
local Aboriginal artefacts. It is open weekends
and public holidays from 10.00 a.m. to 4.00 p.m.
or by appointment, tel: (03) 5726 1467.
Kilgour's Residence, Shop and Factory
At Conness and Kilgour is 'Bellfield' (1870s),
the residence of Andrew Kilgour who owned the
blacksmith shop and mining-equipment factory
(1865) on the other side of Conness St. The
latter premises were later used for curing
tobacco.
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| Lake Anderson
in front of Lakeview
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Lake Anderson and Parkland
Head south along Kilgour St, cross over Alliance
St and walk past Lake Anderson and through the
adjacent parkland. This was the site of the
Alliance Gold Mine. The lake bed was created by
subsidence as a result of their operations. An
old mullock heap can still be seen. Today this
area is ideal for picnics and there is a
wildlife and bird refuge.
Lakeview
On the southern side of the lake, at the end of
Victoria St, is a typical Victorian,
single-storey country-town villa known as
'Lakeview' (c.1870). It is clearly signposted
off Main Street on the eastern side of town. The
Richardson family moved into this brick bungalow
when they arrived at Chiltern in 1876. Ethel
Richardson, then six, would later become a
distinguished novelist, working under the
pseudonym Henry Handel Richardson. The family
moved on when her father's medical practice
failed in 1877. She later utilised her memories
of the house and area in her depiction of 'Barambogie'
in the novel Ultima Thule (1929). She also
recounts her time at Chiltern in her
autobiography Myself When Young (1948). It was
restored between 1967 and 1967.
The house is adorned with period furnishings
and Richardson memorabilia and is open for
inspection on weekends, public holidays and
school holidays from 10.00 a.m. to 4.00 p.m.,
tel: (03) 5726 1317.
Railway Station
A little further south is the railway station
(1875). Note the polychrome brickwork and
cast-iron drinking fountains on the verandah
posts.
Churches
An avenue of trees lead to St Paul's Church of
England (1870-5) in Albert Rd. It is a Gothic
design constructed of local orange bricks and
cream-brick quoins. The octagonal tower is a
focal point.
St Andrew's Presbyterian Church (1871-5) is
in High St. In a probable case of cheating
during exams, it is, like St Paul's, a Gothic
structure built of the same bricks with a
similar avenue of trees and an octagonal
bellcote.
Forest View Emu Farm
Guided tours of Forest View Emu Farm and its
fine garden can be arranged in advance by
ringing the owners on (03) 5726 1337. It is
located 2 or 3 km from town, towards Beechworth,
in Lancashire Gap Road. It also has a
bed-and-breakfast facility.
Chiltern Box-Ironbark National Park
This reserve protects some historic sites and a
stand of box and ironbark that was once common
in Victoria. It covers land to the immediate
north and south-east of town and is noted for
its profuse birdlife (including the rare
turquoise parrot). Gliders live in the southern
section of the park and fine displays of flora
can be enjoyed in the warmer months.
There are excellent drives and walks in the
park which is crisscrossed by good gravel roads.
These are traversed by the Chiltern Historic
Drive (25 km). To get started head out of town
on the Rutherglen Rd and turn left into Donkey
Hill Rd. The drive takes in Donkey Hill (a good
lookout over the surrounding plains), the
original cemetery of the Indigo goldfields
(established in 1858), the Magenta Mine (it
operated from 1860-1910 and produced around 370
kg of gold) and the State Battery Site. The
battery was set up in the Great Depression by
the government to encourage goldmining. New
mines could have the first three tons of ore
free of charge. It closed in World War II. There
are picnic areas at Donkey Hill, Magenta Mine
and Frogs Hollow.
The White Box Walking Track (8.5 km) is a
circular walk around the Cyanide Dam Picnic Area
in the south-eastern section. A brochure
detailing the points of interest is available
from Parks Victoria (tel: 131 963) and local
tourist information outlets. The park ranger can
be contacted on (03) 5726 1234.
Yeddonba Aboriginal Art Site
About 12 km south of Chiltern, along the road to
Beechworth, is a turnoff on the left into Toveys
Rd. Follow Toveys Rd when it veers to the right
(i.e., ignore the turnoff on the left) and you
will soon come to a carpark and picnic area on
the right-hand side of the road. This is the
start of a 45-minute walk which begins on the
left-hand side of the picnic area (as you face
it from the road). A related pamphlet, available
from the Beechworth Visitor's Centre, provides
considerable insight into the culture of the
Duduroa people who were the dominant indigenous
clan of the area. It does so by examining the
relationship between the Duduroa and various
attractions along the trail- the physical
setting, the flora, some rocky outcrops and a
lookout.
However the main attraction along the track
is the Yeddonba Aboriginal Art Site which
depicts a Tasmanian tiger, a goanna and a snake.
The depictions are thought to be over 2000 years
old. They are faded but cannot be redone as
there are no known descendants of the Duduroa
alive today. Clan elders used this sacred site
to pass on the Dreaming story of the Tasmanian
tiger which was their totem spirit. The orange
ochre was probably obtained from clans in South
Australia.
Also along the trail is a rock cave which the
Duduroa believed to be the home of the Tasmanian
tiger's spirit. It was used as an initiation
site to connect young men and women with the
life force.
Mt Pilot Lookout
About 2 km further south along the Beechworth Rd
is another turnoff on the left into Old Coach Rd
which leads to the summit of Mt Pilot (548 m
above sea-level). The mountain was important to
local Aboriginal clans as a spiritual and
ceremonial site. Springs in the rocks here were
also an essential water source.
