The golden shire
Locations and surroundings of the Hepburn Shire
“The inspiration for the paintings in this beautiful book by Daylesford artist Brian Nash, is the natural beauty, the elegant historic architecture and the derelict buildings of the gold rush that are all situated within Hepburn Shire.”
The Shire includes the towns of Daylesford and Hepburn Springs, Creswick, Trentham and Clunes, all nestled in either the rolling foothills of the Great Dividing Range or on the surrounding volcanic plains. This area is part of the traditional land of the Dja Dja Wurrung people.
It is regarded as the Spa Centre of Australia with a large percentage of the country’s mineral water outlets located in the shire and the neighbouring area. These have been popular with visitors coming here to ‘take the waters’ since the 19th century.
The small lake across the road from St George’s Lake is called Blue Water Lake. The colour of the water is an unbelievable deep turquoise. It is a colour I had never seen before in nature. The view point is from the top of the ridge looking down.
[Blue Lake, Creswick]
First settled around the 1860s, the place known as Blampied epitomises the blink and you miss it town. Cruising down the highway, it is easy to zoom past, but the things to see here are far from forgettable.
[Landscape, Blampied]
Roberta and I were driving back home from Yandoit along Limestone Road when we came across a group of rocks beside the road. Naturally, I had to stop and have a look as I have a fascination with rocks. Anyway much to our surprise we both thought we saw an image of Elvis wearing his famous white suit looking back at us. Afternoon sun is a must to have the same effect that we enjoyed.
[Elvis Rock, Yandoit]
This place is Lucini’s Macaroni Factory established in 1859.
It is the first macaroni factory in Australian history. The Lucini family were merchants who thrived as suppliers to gold prospectors. They were successful through cultural links with Italian & Swiss miners of the 1850’s, 60’s, 70’s.
[The Old Macaroni Factory, Hepburn Springs]