Chiltern
Visit, Eat, See & Do
Guides
We have included a few local Guide documents and maps to help you explore Chiltern and the surrounding area by foot, cycle or car......
The Rex Fuge Walking Guide for Chiltern
Cycling Guide and Map around Chiltern
Short Walks with a story in Indigo Shire
Wines of Rutherglen tour map
Gold Prospecting areas around Chiltern
Posh Plonk
Unique Wine Tasting & dining Experience
Only walking distance from Mortimer's Lodge, Posh Plonk is housed in the very Masonic Lodge building that David James McEwen help fund and build.
A very popular local dining and wining experience.
You are in very capable hands. Open 9.30-2.30 Mon/Thurs/Fri and 9.30-5.30 Sat/Sun
0408360637
Telegraph Hotel
A traditional country pub within walking distance
Can be lively, can be quiet. A country town pub serving beer, wine, spirits and a great range of eat-in or takeaway food. Don't miss out on the pizzas !
Whimsy House
That unique gift or keep sake
A wide range of household gifts that you just can't find anywhere else
Lisa Bishop Studio
Show-casing local artists
A wide range of local artisan's quality crafts and artwork. A must-see shop for that unusual gift.
0458 772 552
Kirrily Anderson
Art + Murals + Workshops
Chiltern's famous artist, renowned for murals and exceptional artwork. Hosts art workshops.
Golden Ball Cafe & Gelato Bar
Coffee, Tea, Sweets, Fancies & Ice Cream
Open Friday, Saturday, Sunday.
The perfect icing on the cake for Morning Tea
W B Gadd & Co
Australian & NZ possum and merino knitwear
Experience the warmth and comfort of our easy-care garments and accessories. Browse our eclectic array of high quality antiques and collectables and Australian ceramics.
(Also located in Avenel, Vic.)
The Secret Baby Squirrel
Baby & Toddler Fashions & Gifts
Locally owned boutique for the fashion-conscious baby or toddler-about-town
Mt Pilot National Park
Walks - Views - Indigenous Culture - Flora/Fauna
Chiltern-Mt Pilot National Park includes the striking Mt Pilot Range and Woolshed Falls, protecting the box-ironbark forest that once covered much of north-east Victoria.
Yeddonba Aboriginal Cultural Site
Indigenous Culture and Unique Rock Art
The site contains areas of significant cultural importance including a rock shelter, a bush tucker area and red-ochre paintings, including one of a Thycaline (Tasmanian Tiger). Did the local Dhudhuroa people travel to Tasmania, or did the Thycaline roam north-east Victoria ?
Chiltern Athenaeum
Local Museum
The present brick building was erected in 1866, replacing an earlier timber construction, and used as Council Chambers, Town Hall and Library/Reading Rooms. It now houses an impressive collection of historic artefacts and managed by an efficient team of volunteers.
Lake View House
Historically important as the childhood home of author Henry Handel Richardson.
Built in 1870 and now restored, the red brick house is furnished in period style recreating a lakeside country villa residence in a prosperous mining town.
In 1876 Lake View House was home to Ethel Florence Richardson (known by her pen name Henry Handel Richardson), famous Australian writer and author of The Getting of Wisdom.
Richardson immortalised the house and her early life in Chiltern, under the fictional name of ‘Barambogie’, in The Fortunes of Richard Mahony and fittingly Lake View also contains Richardson memorabilia.
Lake View House is open on Saturdays from 11am to 2pm. Group tours and other times are available by appointment.
Closed: Christmas Day, Good Friday, Easter Sunday
Dow's Pharmacy
Step into a long gone era of medicine
A pharmacy for over a century, located in Chiltern, this fascinating commercial premises was built in 1859. One of the early pharmacists was David McEwen (who lived in Mortimers Lodge), father of the Australian prime minister, John McEwen.
Pharmacist Hilda Dow and her husband and apprentice, Roy, ran the pharmacy from 1929 until 1968.
Open Fridays from 10am to 3pm
Group tours and other times available by appointment.
Closed Christmas Day and Good Friday.
Lake Anderson
Tranquil lake - Water Birds - Picnic
Named after George Anderson (founder of Federal Standard newspaper) who fought and won to have a Lake in Chiltern. Officially opened in January 1876, when the boat 'Ballaghue' sailed in its water. Also the site of the Alliance Gold Mine, with the mullock heap still prominent.
Federal Standard Printing Works
A living functioning print press museum.
The Federal Standard Printing Works is one of the few substantially intact provincial newspaper printeries remaining from the gold mining era.
In 1859 the Federal Standard newspaper was founded there and operated from its printing works for the next 110 years.
The building still stands and houses printing equipment from the 1870s to1930s, all working and maintained and demonstrated by retired printers.
Hotson's Cherries
The sweetest cherries in the North-East
Delight in the taste of top quality freshly picked cherries direct from the farm gate. A delicious seasonal treat carefully picked and packed for your convenience. Hotson's Cherries are sold at the farm gate
Magenta Mine
Open Cut Gold Mine
From 1860, earth, rock and quartz were excavated and carted out of the Magenta Reef by horse and dray. The open cut was worked to a depth of 15 metres. Two shafts were sunk to access gold bearing ore. Today, you can view one of these from the eastern side of the open cut. There is also a viewing platform to view the enlarged tunnel, which was worked to a depth of 30 metres. The quartz was crushed at the nearby stamper batteries and the timber foundations can still be seen today. Published figures report a total of 21,665 tons of material was crushed, yielding 9,900 ounces of gold. It is thought that 13,000 ounces of gold is more accurate.
Gold Mining
From Gold Rush to Gold Hush
In 1854, graziers settled the area around the Black Dog Creek. However when John Conness discovered gold nearby in 1858, the settlement abruptly ceased in favour of the rush to find gold at the Chiltern Lead.
The population grew along the lead (now Conness Street) and routes to the Beechworth and Indigo gold fields.
In February 1862 Chiltern was proclaimed a municipality and the first elected Council comprised all representatives from the miners' group, believed to be a precedent in Victoria.
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Mining continued until the early 1900s, with quartz reef mining finally ceasing in 1911. The principal mines of the area included the Golden Bar Mine 10,200 ounces, the Magneta Mine 9,900 ounces, Golden Bar Extended 4,000 ounces and the Pass Poy party crushed 1,757 tons for 2,843 ounces. At its height, Chiltern had a population of about 20,000, including 2,000 Chinese.
