Goldfields of Victoria Attractions

The gold-digging town of Avoca (pop. 1030) lies in the Goldfields. It owes its name to John Mitchell, who explored this area and gave the name of Avoca (after the river of that name in Ireland) to the river on which the town was founded in 1852.

Avoca has preserved a number of bluestone buildings from the early days of the settlement, including the old jail (gaol), the powder magazine, the courthouse, and one of the oldest pharmacies in the country. There is good fishing in the Wimmera, Avoca and Bet Bet Creek.

On the northern slopes of the Great Dividing Range is Maryborough, an old sheep-farming town which prospered during the gold rush. The gold mines were worked out by the early 20th C. Maryborough is now an industrial town (knitwear, engineering) and an agricultural and timber-working center.

Maryborough has a fine old railroad station which Mark Twain admired during his visit to Australia. Other buildings which bear witness to the town's prosperity in gold-mining days are the courthouse, the Town Hall and the post office in Civic Square. A typical example of 19th C. architecture is the Bull and Mouth Hotel in the town center. In the park is a richly decorated wrought-iron bandstand.