Gold Hot Spots of Australia - Beaufort, Victoria

Beaufort is a small historic Victorian gold mining town located 50 kilometres west of Ballarat and approximately 160 kilometres north-west of Melbourne.
Gold was first discovered in the Beaufort region in 1852. There was soon a second rush that followed in 1854 at nearby Fiery Creek.
During the 1850’s the Fiery Creek rush supported four townships including Beaufort, Yam Holes Creek, View Point and Southern Cross.
At the height of the gold rush it was reported that the population on the goldfields reached approximately 100,000 people.
During a two-year period between 1855 and 1856 there was 450,000 ounces of gold pulled from the region.
The township of Beaufort was first surveyed in 1857 and town allotments were sold from 1858.
By 1860, Beaufort had become a small but strong agricultural, pastoral and timber district.
The township continued to be established during the 1860’s with the building of churches, schools, breweries and civic buildings.
By 1865 the town had two sawmills, two breweries and a large number of alluvial mining operations in the gullies around the town.
Most of the alluvial gold in the region was gone within 10 years of the rush starting and by the mid-1860s gold production was confined to mining of deeper ground.
By the 1870s agriculture and logging had taken over from gold prospecting as the main income producing industry for the region.
Today Beaufort is a service centre to the region which now focuses on producing beef, lambs, wool, cereals and timber.
Beaufort not only makes a great location to visit for its historical gold history, there is also the opportunity to detect the local goldfields and find a yellow nugget or two.
A great starting point when beginning to research the local goldfields is Doug Stone’s Beaufort Gold Prospecting Map, detailing where alluvial workings, reef lines and locations of where nuggets have previously been found.
Metal Detecting for Gold in Australia by Doug & Julie Stone is also another excellent resource. It provides written information about numerous goldfields including history, ground type and the type of gold found in the area.
There are many shallow workings in the region that would be excellent to run your detector over.
If looking for accommodation and things to do in the area whilst you visit it is worth stopping by the Beaufort Information Centre for more details.
Beaufort another great historic gold town perfect to visit for a weekend getaway….. don’t forget to pack your detector.
To view the range of Doug Stone Prospecting Maps and Books available from Miners Den Australia visit:
www.minersden.com.au/books-ma...
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[@HMASJervisBay]

Great stuff that is the stuff the beginners are searching for and the use of Trove on gold is priceless. Well done boys.

[@thekingminn]

So this was where the largest McDonald's hotel was going to be built