Located just 120 kilometres north west of Melbourne, Mount Alexander Shire is an accessible, well serviced, and future focused area. Formed in 1995 following the amalgamation of the City of Castlemaine, the Shire of Newstead and a major portion of the Shires of Maldon and Metcalfe, Mount Alexander has a population of just over 16,000 people. Covering 1,500 square kilometres, the Shire comprises seven main townships – Castlemaine, Maldon, Newstead, Harcourt, Chewton, Guildford and Taradale.
Positioned in the Goldfields region of Central Victoria, the Shire is well known for its rich gold history and more recently for its reputation as the Hot Rod Centre of Australia. Gold was first found in the Mount Alexander area in 1851, attracting tens of thousands of people to the region. The Mount Alexander fields proved to be the finest alluvial gold fields in the world.
By 1857, many substantial public and private buildings had been erected, the Botanical Gardens had been established and a railway track had been laid from Melbourne. Only three years later, most of the alluvial gold had been taken and the population dropped to about 7,000, with Castlemaine and Chewton remaining around this figure ever since.
Today, large old buildings and wide streetscapes designed for a larger population, together with ‘Australia’s Most Notable Town’ Maldon, have remained as a reminder of the prosperous days of early Australia.
