Beechworth History Summary

Beechworth History Summary Originally used for grazing by the settler David Reid, the area was known as Mayday Hills until 1853, when it was renamed Beechworth. The Post Office opened on 1 May 1853 as Spring Creek and was renamed Beechworth on 1 January 1854.

In its golden heyday from 1852-1857, this was a fabulous gold region and centre of government; but its power, wealth and influence were short lived. At its wildest moments of gold discoveries, Woods related how an early party of prospectors retrieved a pan of gold weighing 14 lb (about 7 kg). Another lucky party, said Woods, cleared some 50lb (approx. 25 kg) of gold in a week. And so began a rush into this remote region. During the first election campaign in 1855, one candidate, Daniel Cameron, rode a horse shod with solid gold horseshoes. The extravagance of this event is still commemorated as the logo for Beechworth is a golden horseshoe.

At the time, Beechworth was far removed from the centre of colonial administration in Melbourne both in distance and time taken to travel. The local debates around the potential railway into Beechworth encompassed a broad gauge (5ft 3ins) option or a narrow gauge (2ft 6ins) system, between Wangaratta and Beechworth and these debates and options appeared in the Ovens and Murray Advertiser newspaper. Ironically, in the 1890s a narrow gauge system did eventuate nearby, running from Wangaratta to Whitfield. Finally,a railway, the broad gauge, arrived at Beechworth in September 1876, but by that stage the town and its gold production was waning. Unfortunately the rail line was closed in 1977 and dismantled, after 101 years of service.

During its boom times, Beechworth town boasted a range of industries including, a tannery, jewellers, boot makers, a brewery, blacksmiths, livestock sale yards. It had schools, a convent, hotels, a prison with imposing stone walls, a hospital, a mental hospital, court house, police barracks, stage coach companies and a powder magazine.

In its golden days, men and women arrived from, the USA, England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, and China. At its peak, Beechworth town had over 30,000 residents. Surrounding areas and mining camps sprang up as thousands of miners rushed into areas such as Spring Creek, Reedy Creek, Silver Creek, the Nine Mile Creek and the Woolshed. The Chinese were not allowed live in Beechworth town and resided on the outskirts. Numerous controls and enforced regulations and licence checks existed against the Chinese miners.(see: Woods; also McWaters; also O'Brien; and Cronin). Beechworth Cemetery has a large preserved section of early Chinese miners/pioneers. The presence of the Chinese goldminers around Beechworth and throughout Victoria's north-eastern region created social unrest and these are recorded in a variety of the book references below.