“Beechworth is by far the best-preserved 19th Century gold mining town in Australia.”
Australian Traveller magazine, April/May 2009.
Seven minutes of black and white film shot in 1907 and donated to the Burke Museum confirms Australian Traveller’s assessment that Beechworth is ‘by far’ Australia’s best preserved 19th Century gold mining town.
In its April/May issue, the magazine ranked Beechworth at Number Six in its list of 100 Best Towns in Australia.
“Not a single building in the town’s centre feels 20th, let alone 21st, Century”, the magazine said. “The Beechworth streetscape is so instantly charming because the buildings were largely constructed in the same style, at roughly the same time, and with the same material – the local honey-coloured granite. Ned Kelly, the town’s most notorious loiterer, could ride into Beechworth today and, ignoring the cars and oddly dressed people, it would look much the same as when he left in late 1880. In fact, he’d probably be arrested and charged at the local courthouse for stealing the horse he rode in on."
The seven minute reel-to-reel film, ‘A day at the School Teachers’ Conference held at beautiful Beechworth’ was donated to the Burke Museum by local resident, Doug Craig who had the footage converted to DVD with the assistance of the Lions Club of Beechworth.
It shows the classic gold era streetscapes of the town in Victoria’s north east to be completely unchanged in more than a century.
Only the horse-drawn vehicles, period clothing and absence of roundabout at the town’s main intersection are different in 2009.
Says Australian Traveller: “A town brimming with secrets of bygone eras, it’s not hard to see why people flock to Beechworth to walk the very same streets down which the Kelly Gang sauntered.”
* You can double click on footage to view full screen.
