Sunshine at last! I watched the black ducks and crimson rosellas out the window while I enjoyed toast with a bit of Judy’s homemade fig, pear, and pecan preserves. Rahmyl was enjoying the sun out in the paddock, and that is where Judy joined Geoff, to get a few chores done before we set off on the day’s adventure.
We’re in the Land Rover today, heading north on the Hume Highway. The last vestiges of fog having burned off, the day is now spectacular, warm, and sunny. As we crossed the basalt plains, Mount Macedon rose off to the right. We continued on through grazing land (primarily horses) and charming towns, past Mount Macedon and the Hanging Rock district, enjoying the scenery and the weather.
In roughly 75 miles, we reached Castlemaine. This handsome, historic town is located in what was once goldmining territory (the richest alluvial goldfield in world history, in fact). From gold-rush town, it became an important wool-milling area, then agricultural and tourism (lots to see here). It is also where Geoff spent some of his childhood. (Geoff’s family moved to Australia from the UK when he was 6 years old. Geoff’s dad, a loom tuner, headed first for the cotton mills of Queensland, then moved to the wool mills of Castlemaine, and eventually, closer to Melbourne.)
We drove around town, admiring the architecture and antiquity, but then, as it was lunch time, we stopped at a bakery and bought meat pies, heading to the city park, to dine amid the trees and ducks (black ducks and teals). I learned that the handsome but contorted trees identified as Camperdown Elms, transplanted from Scotland, were registered with the National Trust as “significant trees.” After eating, we drove around town, enjoying the old but well-maintained buildings. Then Geoff turned us toward nearby Maldon.
Maldon was the first town to be registered in its entirety as a historic site— “First Notable Town,” the sign reads. Maldon was one of the towns that grew up around the gold fields. It is surrounded by green paddocks full of sheep, forests of varied gum trees, and mullock heaps from the old mines, now largely covered in gorse. The town itself is only a few blocks long and wide, with the streets lined by buildings dating to the mid-1800s. The original blue stone curbs and gutters are all still in place. (Blue stone is a local type of granite.) A couple of draft horses stood in front of the blacksmith’s shop. So definitely an air of antiquity.
Geoff parked the car and we headed off to explore the town. The buildings are all original, but few are still employed in their original purpose. Shops, hotels, stables, and granaries have been converted into antique stores and second-hand shops interspersed with cafés, restaurants, and ice cream shops. That said, there are still a few places not focused primarily on tourists—places needed to serve the community, such as a news agent, butcher, baker, and petrol/gas station.
We browsed through the lovely collections of antiques, admired the iron lace or simple wood façades of the buildings, listened to the musicians in front of the Theatre Royal (bagpipes, guitar, tin whistle), and admired the many vintage cars in the street, which ranged from early “horseless carriages” to 1950s Jags. (Geoff, being a mechanic, especially enjoyed the cars.)
I bought two books in one of the second-hand shops, and then a bit farther down the street, I treated Judy and Geoff to ice cream. Returning to our car, Geoff headed us off to find the old Maldon train station. Here, the Victorian Goldfields Railway, a preserved branch-line of the state’s railway, is operated by volunteers of the Castlemaine and Maldon Railway Preservation Society, a group that maintains the antique trains and also takes visitors around the area in those vintage trains. We had missed the last train trip of the day, but we enjoyed wandering around the 1800s station and seeing several of the lovely old trains there.
By this time, it was getting near 5 o’clock, and shops were beginning to close, so we turned our wheels toward home. It was a long drive, but pleasant, as the sun set and the sky colored, followed by the lights coming on. As we approached Melbourne, it seemed odd to be able to see this large, sparkling city on the far side of the dark fields and tree-bordered paddocks that intervened.
Home by 7:45. Judy is preparing a light dinner. Geoff is calling customers (when one owns a business, a day with no work is unlikely). The frogs in the pond are serenading us. Pleasant, comfortable end to a lovely day.