Beechworth History

Emma George

Emma was raised in Beechworth and started pole vaulting in late 1994 after Mark Stewart, who became her first pole vault coach, placed a notice on her local club room window. She won the Australian title in 1995, with what was then seen as a promising vault of 3.40m. The 1997 World Uni Games champion made a move to Adelaide and then Perth to train with former Russian coach, Alex Parnov.

Tanswell's Commercial Hotel Beechworth

Tanswell's Commercial Hotel Beechworth Tanswell's Commercial Hotel 1873 replaced the 1853 wooden original. It is a two-storey stone and brick structure with a decorative iron lacework veranda. The facade, with its richly gilded crest on the front window and French doors, has been carefully restored. The lounge is furnished in mid-C19th style, as the Kelly gang knew it. To the rear of the building are the coach house and stables which were built in 1859 by the American Hiram Crawford who established his firm and a coach-building works, with Tanswell's acting as the booking office. Crawford's was the most successful coaching service between Melbourne and Beechworth in the 1850s.

Robert O'Hara Burke

Robert O'Hara Burke was born in Galway, Ireland in 1820. He joined the Irish police force in 1848 and then came to Australia in 1853. He first went to Tasmania then to the Victorian goldfields where he became a police inspector at Beechworth.

In 1860 he was chosen to lead an expedition from Melbourne to the Gulf of Carpentaria. The expedition was funded by extensive private and public subscriptions and was sponsored by the Royal Society of Victoria. By November 1860 they had set up base camp at Cooper's Creek and in December Burke decided to head for the Gulf, accompanied by Wills, King and Gray.

Mayday Hills Beechworth

Mayday Hills Beechworth Now known as La Trobe at Beechworth visitors are welcome to wander its magnificent heritage buildings and gardens noted by the National Trust as Victorian Gardens of Significance. A ‘historic self guided walking tour’ guides visitors around the historic precinct and surrounds of the old Mayday Hills hospital or Beechworth Lunatic Asylum as it was originally named.

Established in 1867 as one of three major asylums in the state of Victoria, the hospital operated for nearly 130 years until its closure in 1995. Along the way visitors will discover fascinating facts and information relating to the asylum, its buildings and operations.

Harry Power Beechworth Bushranger

Harry Power Beechworth Bushranger Harry Power, whose real name was Henry Johnston, is in many ways probably one of the better of the bushrangers. He was certainly far better than the sullen, bullying lout he took on as an apprentice in early 1870. In fact, it may be the extraordinary interest shown in Ned Kelly that saw Power by and large overlooked by bushranging historians until only recently. Yet, Power was by far and away the superior individual.

Beechworth Historic Precinct

The Beechworth Historic Precinct is the centre piece of the towns heritage building register. You will find the famous court house where Ned Kelly stood trial, and the cell in which he was held. There's even a belief amongst some of the staff that some of the old timers still haunt the building. There's the telegraph station, the sub treasury and the Chinese Protectors Office.

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