Blackwood, Victoria: Travel guide and things to do

In 1855, four years after gold was first discovered in Ballarat, Edward Hill struck it lucky at nearby Golden Point. By the end of that year, the goldmining village of Blackwood, 85 km north-west of Melbourne, had 13 000 prospectors panning the creeks and sluicing the river banks and hillsides. While there is little or no remaining gold, some of the rich quartz-reefs, initially discovered by James Simmons to the west of the town, are still being mined.

Blackwood, with its timber cottages, is situated amidst the eucalyptus-covered hills which attracted the earliest settlers with their promise of instant riches. Today it is now little more than a memory of the thriving settlement which existed, albeit briefly, in the late 1850s.

Things to see

Historic Cottage
One of the original cottages, located on the Blackwood-Trentham road, dates from sometime between 1855 and 1864. With its brick and stone chimney, hip roof and lean-to, it offers a fascinating insight into the building techniques of the time.

Blackwood's Cemetery
Of particular interest is Blackwood's cemetery with its graves which date back to goldrush times. The graves of the Chinese miners (they started arriving in the district in 1857) are, tellingly, located at the rear of the burial ground. A less obscure grave belongs to a Frenchwoman, Madame Bonford, who was contracted to cut the extensive water races which brought water to the gold prospectors.

Another interesting gravestone is that of Bridget Cruise who built the Blackwood Hotel in 1868, after the death of her husband. The Blackwood Hotel (recently renovated) still stands in the centre of town, while the graves of Cruise and her family can be found to the left of the cemetery¹s entrance.

Also at the cemetery is 'Little Doaty's Grave', the resting place of an unfortunate local female who, according to legend, was found mysteriously drowned after strolling into the bush one day. Some less romantic accounts suggest she died from diphtheria.

One of the notable tombs in the cemetery is that of Matthew Rogers, a stonemason and goldminer, who constructed the Garden of St Erth at the former mining settlement of Simmons Reef. He named his handiwork after the region in Cornwall where he was born. There is a map available which can guide the visitor through the orchard and gardens which combine native flora with introduced species. At their centre lies the family cottage and the remnants of an old butchery.

Jack Cann Reserve
Near the Garden is the Jack Cann Reserve. Walking tracks lead off to Foster's Lookout, to the tunnel, sluices and open-cut mine of Simmons Reef, and up the Lerderderg River to Crown Dam, where the path leads across the dam and back down the opposite bank of the waterway. Also at Simmons Reef, on Deadman's Hill, is the grave of Isaac Povey who died from fever in 1855 - the year in which his friend, companion, and gravedigger, Edward Hill, initiated the local goldrush.

Another interesting site near the river is the mineral springs reserve which has picnic and barbecue facilities as well as a kiosk which provides maps of the area. Across the small bridge there is a pathway which meanders along the shore of Shaw's Lake (designed as a reservoir to ensure the water supply to the goldminers) and on to Sweets Lookout. Below this panoramic view there is a trail which leads past Golden Point, where the miners' water races, carved into the mountains' flanks, are still visible. From there it winds back to the township of Blackwood, where you can visit one of the region's oldest buildings, the All Saints Church of England, which was constructed in 1863.