About Historic Buninyong
Founded in 1839, the little town was the earliest inland settlement in what was then the Port Phillip District of NSW. Then, in August 1851, everything changed when Buninyong's blacksmith discovered gold, starting a rush that gave birth to Ballarat and the enormous riches of the Victorian goldfields.
Today, the "first-settlement" benefits from its proximity to the prosperous regional city of Ballarat, but Buninyong still proudly protects its independent identity. This is preserved by a strong sense of local community, our historic town centre and the encircling green belt of bushlands and farms, all presided over by our beloved Mount.
Guided Historic Walk
A short guided walk around the town with information about buildings and places of historic interest is available from the Buninyong Information Centre.
Historic Buildings
Learmonth St (south side) in the early 1890s
Painters at work on the new colour scheme for the Crown Hotel, November 2008.
Buninyong Brewery
Old sandstone Police Court House
Private houses
Shops
Buninyong Botanic Gardens
Historic Places
Old Cemetery
Rock walls
Buninyong Local History Projects
Buninyong 4th-graders produce some wonderful local history projects every year, several of which win annual wards from the Buninyong & District Historical Society.
Pictured right is a model of the old Buninyong Post Office, one of the 2010 prize-winners. Some prize-winning projects are displayed in the Buninyong Information Centre each year.
Mining History
Gold Monuments:
Gold Discovery
Erected in 2001 at the site of the earliest gold diggings in Buninyong, in Hiscock's Gully Road, this plaque marks the 150th anniversary of the discovery of gold in Victoria.
Miners' Protest Meeting in Buninyong Erected nearby in 2005 by the Ballarat Reform League, this plaque commemorates the site of the first protest against the gold license held on the Victorian goldfields. The meeting took place in Buninyong in August 1851 and led to the formation of the Ballaarat Reform League and the Eureka Rebellion.
Old Gold Mines
The location of old gold mines around Buninyong can be found using the excellent GeoVic Explore Victoria Online mapping application on the Earth Resources section of the Department of Primary Industries website.
Click on the coloured GeoVic map to open the black and white GeoVic map. Zoom in on Buninyong and activate the Layers tool on the top menu bar, then select Minerals then Mines and Mineral Occurences to see mine shafts in the area. Refresh the map and zoom in closer if necessary (eg 1:10,000). For more detailed information about any mine, click on the grey 'i' button next to Mines and Mineral Occurences (it turns black when activated) then centre the cross-hairs over the dot marking the mine shaft of interest. Other layers of valuable information such as topography can also be added.
Buninyong and District Historical Society
The Buninyong and District Historical Society holds many fascinating historical records and its members are actively engaged in cataloguing and documenting its growing resources.
The Society's collection is stored in the former Courthouse (next to the Town Hall) and is open to the public on the third Saturday of the month, 9.30am-1.30pm.
Its website at: www.vicnet.net.au/~buninhis has more information about Buninyong's history including copies of the Society's excellent newsletter.
Opening Hours for Buninyong's Historical Records
The Old Courthouse (next to the Town Hall) is open to the public 9.30am - 1.30pm on Farmer's Market Days, ie on the 3rd Saturday of the month.
The Courthouse holds the records of the Buninyong & District Historical Society with many fascinating photographs, maps and records documenting Buninyong's story to the present day. It is well worth a visit and members of the Historical Society are on hand to answer your queries.
Buninyong's pride and joy, the heirloom fire cart, "Merryweather", on display outside
the CFA Fire Station during a recent Buninyong Gold King Festival.
The picturesque old Police Stables (see below) from the original Buninyong Police Station were moved closer to the Police residence when the new Police Station was built in 2010 and can still be seen at the rear of the block.
These stables, left from the days when Buninyong housed a Mounted Policeman, are of particular historic interest as Buninyong held the last of Victoria's 211 Mounted Stations. As many older residents will recall, the Buninyong Mounted Station did not close until 1965, and the policeman mounted on his horse was a familiar sight in our streets. The former Police Paddock, opposite the Uniting Church in Scott Street, was sold for housing around 1990.