2001 Goldfields Tour, Victoria

James Esmond was not the first person to find gold in Victoria but his discovery of alluvial and quartz gold on the Clunes "run" triggered the great gold rushes of western Victoria in 1851. When the rushes ended and the gold ran out, a number of towns and cities struggled to adapt to being country farming towns or faded away into insignificance. The gently rolling countryside and attractive old towns of the western goldfields provides the perfect opportunity for cycling touring. Seventeen cyclists from South Australia and Victoria accompanied Alan, Mary and David on Adelaide Touring Cyclist's third bicycle tour through this region.  

Trying to act in an appropriate environmentally friendly manner, the South Australian cyclists travelled by train from Adelaide to Ararat for the start of the ride. Unfortunately, the rail company didn't share our dreams and wanted to charge far more to carry the bicycles than the passengers. Their policy seemed to be that bicycles should be discouraged at all costs and in the end David and Alan drove to Ararat with the bicycles on Bicycle SA's large trailer.

Day 1 – Ararat to Beaufort 

Gold was discovered in 1854 but it was the discovery of the famous Canton Lead by Chinese miners in 1857 that lead to the opening up of some of the richest alluvial goldfields in Victoria and the establishment of Ararat. When the gold ran out, it become the centre of a rich and prosperous farming and wine district. Numerous buildings dating to the 1860's have been classified by the National Trust.

We packed up early and everyone was anxious to start the ride. There was an "easy" route as well as a "hard" route to Beaufort. Several of the people on the ride were on their first "real" bicycle tour where they had had to carry all their own gear. Mary and David lead this group of cyclists who headed south of the highway along quiet undulating back roads. Alan had told everyone that there were no hills on this route but as we neared Beaufort we had a long, steep climb over the hills before enjoying the fast downhill into town. The "easy" riders were first into camp and had set up their tents and showered before the first of the hard riders arrived.

Their route had only two hills on it but it started climbing gently as soon as they left Ararat. After morning tea at the hamlet of Warrak the road climbed steeply through the forests on the slopes of 989 metre high Mount Buangor. The road had been graded recently and the soft surface left by the grader made the long climb more difficult than it had been on our previous trip through here. As the road climbed the vegetation changed and became more lush with lots of ferns because of the higher rainfall when fell on the high slopes. After a couple of hours climbing they reached their lunch stop where they were able to relax and enjoy the expansive views over the surrounding farming country. For a short distance, the road went down hill but all too soon it started climbing again to reach Mount Cole at nearly 900 metres above sea level. Then it was downhill for 14 fast kilometres to the town of Raglan. After a short climb, it was an easy run into Beaufort.

That evening we all rode to the small restaurant at the "Old Church Gallery" for dinner.

Day 2 – Beaufort to Clunes

At one stage, Beaufort had a population of over 100,000 people as people rushed to try to make their fortunes from the rich gold deposits. By 1860, the rush was over and the town had contracted into the small, peaceful community that it remains today. At the small supermarket and bakery, we purchased our morning tea and lunch supplies and set out on the flat roads towards Learmonth.

The weather was quite cool with the sun making only fleeting visits through the dark, threatening clouds. The good news was that we had a tailwind for most of the way and we made fast time to our lunch stop at Learmonth. There seemed to be hardly anywhere to shelter from the wind. Some of us stopped in the lea of a tall hedge in front of the church while the rest made their way to the local hotel where they enjoyed a coffee or two in the sheltered garden.

As we neared Clunes, we saw numbers of mullock heaps dotting the fields. Reminders of the mining days when Clunes was the fifth largest town in Victoria. Now it is a quiet backwater but the many old buildings lining the streets make it one of the more attractive towns in the goldfields.

It was a cold night and most of the group decided to eat in the comfort of the local hotel where a large wood fire become the focus of everyone's attention.

Day 3 – Clunes to Maryborough

The Clunes town water supply is not drinkable and we all filled our water bottles from the large tank of drinking water in the main street before we left the town. After the very steep but short climb from the town, we stopped at the lookout over the old Port Phillip mine. Over 500,000 ounces of gold were produced from this mine, 40 percent of the 49 tonnes of gold mined in Clunes.

"Elevenses" in the forest on the way to Maryborough

Our route followed quite roads through open grazing country towards Mount Cameron. We rode into the eucalyptus forest and stopped at a clearing for morning tea. After a couple of long climbs we soon arrived in the quiet town of Talbot. Talbot is one of the best preserved of the small goldmining towns and its streets are lined with attractive old buildings. The residents seem to have a sense of pride in their history  and heritage. Many of the buildings are well cared and several were undergoing restoration. This was in sharp contrast to the uncared for appearance of the centre of Clunes. 

After a long lunch break in Talbot with plenty of time to have a look at the town, we headed through the forests towards Majorca. There's not much left of the once busy settlement of Majorca. A few buildings scattered here and there, the white mullock heaps of the Hanoverian Deep Lead mine and the coffee shop. Well, not really a coffee shop but the small general store which has a tiny machine for making cappuccinos. We had telephoned ahead to let them know that they were about to be invaded by a horde of thirsty cyclists so we didn't have to wait long for our long awaited caffeine kick.

The road we followed through the forest towards Maryborough was lined with the disturbed remains of mining and fossicking. There didn't seem to be a single metre of earth that hadn't been dug over in the search for gold. Within four months of gold being discovered in 1854, Maryborough's population had exploded and over 25,000 diggers were busy seeking their fortunes. By the time mining ceased in the early 1900's, other industries had developed and Maryborough continues to be an important regional centre. We camped in the attractive campground on the banks of the lake.

Day 4 – Maryborough to Dunolly

Even allowing for Alan's usual detours, the ride from Maryborough to Dunolly is only a short one. There was no hurry to be packed up and we enjoyed a leisurely cooked breakfast of bacon and eggs before setting off to visit some of the sites. After coffee and cakes at the local bakery, we headed out of town at about 11 o'clock.

Old Timor general store

After 8 kilometres, we stopped at the old Timor general store. Unfortunately, the store has now closed but the old transportable gaol adjoining the store is worth stopping to look at. Nearby are the remains of the Grand Duke mine which produced over 216,000 ounces of gold. Water was a major problem for the 150 men employed and the large granite arch which acted as a fulcrum for the "Cornish" beam pumps is still standing.

The ruins of the Grand Duke Mine at Timor

From Timor we rode through Bet Bet and Betley to Dunolly. We were now in the "Golden Triangle". 90 percent of world's largest gold nuggets were found in this area. The largest of these, the largest gold nugget ever discovered, was the Welcome Stranger which weighed an incredible 66 kilograms. The great rush began in 1856 and the population soared to over 50,000 and seventeen licensed hotels quickly opened to cater for the miners. Dunolly is now a quiet backwater but fossicking is still a popular activity and can sometimes pay huge rewards. In 1980, a 27 kilogram nugget was found and shortly afterwards, three schoolboys found an 85 ounce nugget. The mining supply shop sells small nuggets if you can't be bothered looking for your own.

Day 5 – Dunolly – Rest Day

Time to relax and enjoy the self guided walk around this historic town or just to sit and read. Nobody did anything very energetic. Alan gave a talk on general bike maintenance for those who were interested. After a pleasant lunch organised by Phi we all wandered down town to visit the local museum. It was interesting to wonder what Dunolly must have been like in 1869 when John Deason and Richard Oates discovered the "Welcome Stranger" nugget. Even one of the numerous smaller nuggets would have been enough to make the finder a wealthy man.

Day 6 – Dunolly to Avoca

On the road from Dunolly to Avoca

After leaving Dunolly the road climbed over a low range of hills before dropping down to flat open grazing country. We made good time on the quiet roads and it wasn't long before we could see the Pyrenees and Mt Avoca rising in front of us. After lunch beside a small river, we rode on tiny tracks through the forest. When we arrived in Avoca, we headed for the bakery to enjoy the coffee and freshly cooked pastries.

There are a number of well known wineries in the Avoca area and we enjoyed a bottle or two of the local wine with dinner. 

Day 7 – Avoca to Ararat

We split into two groups again today. One group taking the easier main road through Amphitheatre to Ararat. While the other group followed Alan on a climb over Mt Avoca.

The easy riders had a pleasant ride with lots of rest stops before having to tackle the only climb of the day over the Great Divide about 15 kilometres before Ararat. Just after our lunch stop, Barry and David stopped to check a newly dead kangaroo on the side of the road. They found an injured Joey inside the pouch of the dead kangaroo. Barry carried the Joey inside the front of his jacket to Ararat and then spent a frustrating couple of hours trying to find someone to care for the Joey. Eventually the local police came to the rescue. 

On a previous ride over Mt Avoca, Alan took the group down a very steep and rough track from near the summit. Nobody managed to ride down the track. After studying the map, he thought that he found an easier route and set off with about half the group to find out. After the long climb to the summit, they found that Alan's "new route" wasn't any easier than his previous one and nearly everyone was forced to walk down the step, rocky track. There had been a bush fire through this area a couple of weeks previously and the blackened countryside added a depressing air to the ride.

It had been a great week's cycling and everyone seemed to have enjoyed themselves. The Victorian goldfields offer some great cycle touring routes with pleasant countryside, history and architecture. For the more adventurous and the fit cyclist, there is even a challenge or two.

That night we went to the local RSL club for enjoyable end of ride dinner. The train didn't leave until one o'clock in the morning and everyone had a long cold wait to catch the train back to Adelaide.