Castlemaine. Inauguration of the Commonwealth of Australia in 1901. Certificate for local government. : 無料・フリー素材/写真
Castlemaine. Inauguration of the Commonwealth of Australia in 1901. Certificate for local government. / denisbin
| ライセンス | クリエイティブ・コモンズ 表示-改変禁止 2.1 |
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| 説明 | Castlemaine. Alluvial gold was discovered here in September 1851 with many more finds in the wider district. It became known as the Mt Alexander goldfields and the alluvial gold here attracted many Chinese diggers and settlers from other colonies of Australia like South Australia because aspiring farmers could walk here, pan for gold for a few months, make a small find and then return to their home districts to buy land. The township of Castlemaine was surveyed and named in 1852 after Viscount Castlemaine of Ireland. As Victoria was still part of NSW until July 1851 it was probably named by the new Lieutenant Governor of Victoria Charles Latrobe. By the end of 1851 some 8,000 people were in the Castlemaine area. The Gold Commissioner set up his regional barracks or camp along Forest Creek at Castlemaine in early 1852 by which time Castlemaine had around 25,000 diggers and camp followers. The town was surveyed and land sold in 1852 and by the end of that year Castlemaine’s population was greater than that of Melbourne! The town was well established with fine buildings by the 1860s because of its ongoing wealth from the goldfields. As the alluvial gold petered out and shaft mining by small companies began the population of Castlemaine settled at around 7,000 people by the early 1870s and it is still near that today. Most gold mining also ceased around 1871. Perhaps the most striking of all early buildings in Castlemaine is the produce Market designed by William Downe in 1861 and completed by 1862. His classical design is based on ideas of Sir Christopher Wren with twin cupola topped side or Palladian wings and a central market section with a triangular pediment. It has a rounded entrance doorway and Roman Doric columns supporting the portico. The building is dedicated to Ceres the Roman God of harvest and it is now the local Information Centre rather than a market of shops and stalls. It is one of the few colonial market buildings left in Australia. The rather ugly but utilitarian prison was built between 1857 and 1861 in Castlemaine. The Botanic Gardens were gazetted and laid out in 1860 and some English trees date from 1863. The impressive Castlemaine Post Office was built in 1875 replacing an earlier Post Office erected in 1857. The nearby Courthouse was completed in 1879 but the first courthouse was part of the Gold Commissioner’s Camp along Forest Creek. Also near the Post Office is the Mechanics Institute erected in 1857 as the first library and institute building in the Mt Alexander goldfields region. It has been added to over the years between 1862 and 1893. Next to the Institute is the old sandstone Telegraph station from 1857. Between the Post Office and the Courthouse is the dominant Town Hall. This grand edifice in the Federation Queen Anne style was built in 1898. Next to the Town Hall is the School of Mines built in a complementary classical Italianate style. It was built in 1889 to the design of William Vahland the architect from Bendigo but additions in the 1920s destroyed the original symmetrical appearance. Apart from numerous commercial buildings of note, some hotels, some grand houses and two magnificent Gothic school buildings (1875 and North Castlemaine 1878) Castlemaine has some distinctive and noteworthy churches. These include the Congregational Church built in 1861 in front of an earlier 1855 Congregational Church which is still used as the church hall. This magnificent Gothic structure has a façade with unique decoration and embellishments. It became the Presbyterian Church in 1984. Opposite it is the former Wesleyan Methodist Church on the highest point in central Castlemaine. It was built in 1894 and the foundation stone was laid by the Victorian Premier of the day. Christ Church Anglican church was started in 1854 and completed in 1858. It is one of the oldest churches on the former goldfields. One commercial building in Castlemaine is outstanding for its architecture and that is the former Imperial Hotel. It was built in French Renaissance style with attic windows, wrought iron lacework and a veranda. It was erected in 1861. Although it closed as a licensed hotel in 1968 it still operates as an accommodation centre. Its wrought iron work is an early example of this lacework. High on a hill overlooking the town is the Burke and Wills Monument commemorating the ill-fated expedition across Australia of Captain Robert Burke and William Wills. Burke had resided at Castlemaine as Police Superintendent so the town wanted to commemorate this. The obelisk and surrounds was completed in 1863 just two years after the expedition left Melbourne with high hopes and much pageantry. It celebrates the first white crossing of Australia from Melbourne to the Gulf of Carpentaria. |
| 撮影日 | 2017-04-06 17:04:22 |
| 撮影者 | denisbin |
| タグ | |
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| カメラ | DSC-HX90V , SONY |
| 露出 | 0.033 sec (1/30) |
| 開放F値 | f/3.5 |