Blackwood

Blackwood

In this section

  • Town information

    Region
    Moorabool Shire Council

    Population
    300

    Distance from Melbourne
    85km / 52 miles and 55 minutes travelling time from Melbourne

    Road access
    Western Freeway

  • Places of interest

    Walking tracks
    Mineral springs
    Lerderderg River
    Garden of St Erth

  • Accommodation

    Blackwood Visitor Information Centre
    21 Martin Street, Blackwood
    Telephone +61 3 5368 6525

 

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Overview

Blackwood, with its timber cottages, is situated amidst the eucalyptus-covered hills which attracted the earliest settlers with their promise of instant riches. Today it is now little more than a memory of the thriving settlement which existed, albeit briefly, in the late 1850s.

History

In 1855, four years after gold was first discovered in Ballarat, Edward Hill struck it lucky at nearby Golden Point. By the end of that year, the goldmining village of Blackwood had 13,000 prospectors panning the creeks and sluicing the river banks and hillsides. While there is little or no remaining gold, some of the rich quartz-reefs, initially discovered by James Simmons to the west of the town, are still being mined.

Location gallery

img_4881 - O’Briens’s Crossing – Werribee River"
img_4885 - O’Briens’s Crossing – Werribee River"
img_4884 - O’Briens’s Crossing – Werribee River"
 
img_4850 - Blackwood Recreation Reserve"
img_4883 - O’Briens’s Crossing – Werribee River"
img_4853 - Blackwood Recreation Reserve"
 

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