Inglewood - Culture and History

The area around Inglewood was first explored by Major Thomas Mitchell who passed through the area in 1836. By 1840 it had been settled by graziers who sprawled over vast areas of land with their huge herds of sheep. The Inglewood area was occupied by the Glenalbyn and Brenanah stations which were purchased in 1853 by the Reverend William Hall who had been born near Inglewood Forest in England. A section of Glenalbyn reminded him of his birthplace and he renamed it Inglewood.

It was at Inglewood in November, 1859 that Hall's nephews, Joseph, Alexander and Thomas Thompson, discovered gold. Overnight the area was overrun by thousands of gold prospectors. It became known as 'Halls Diggings' but Hall insisted the new town be called Inglewood. This town was called 'Old Inglewood' when, in early 1860, another goldfield was discovered. It was called 'New Inglewood'. The two towns were linked by Commercial Street and, at their height, there was an estimated 35,000 people in the area.

It did not take long for the alluvial gold to run out but the reefs of gold in the area were remarkably rich. The Columbian line yielded a staggering 13,000 ounces of gold from the first 1,000 tons of ore mined and subsequently it continued to average around 6,500 ounces per 1,000 tons.

The township of Inglewood, now located at New Inglewood, was surveyed in 1860. Many of the streets were named after members of parliament. The first council was elected in 1861. Roads were built, water was reticulated to the town, but in December 1862 a fire destroyed a large part of the town including ten pubs which were destroyed in 30 minutes (is this a dubious world record?).

The town, which had been built of wood and canvas, was rebuilt in brick and most of the historic buildings date from this rebuilding period. The 'golden days' were now over and the people who stayed on made their living by servicing the surrounding rural district. Until the 1960s the town was a major service centre. In recent times it has declined in importance because of the easy proximity of Bendigo.