SELF-CONTAINED ACCOMMODATION IN MALDON, VICTORIA, AUSTRALIA

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The historic central-Victorian town of Maldon is a charming reminder of past times. The "roaring days" of the gold rush era are long gone, but the architecture of Maldon remains intact to a large degree. The town came into existance because of the discovery of gold, which occured in 1853.

In 1966 Maldon was awarded the special status of "Notable Town" by the National Trust. This was the first time such a title had been bestowed. The main reason that Maldon is so worthy of note is that, in an architectural sense, very little has changed since the gold mines closed in the early part of the 20th century.

Of the twenty thousand people that flocked to Maldon (then called "Tarrengower") when gold was found, very few had any intention of staying. In fact, one year later only two thousand remained. Most lived in tents, and the first buildings were of rather crude construction. However, before long, some more substantial buildings were being erected. The Penny School, in Church Street, is definitely worth a look. Not long after it was first built, this building "blew down" in a storm. It was later rebuilt, and now it has 2 foundation stones; one showing the date when it was first constructed, and the other showing the date when it was rebuilt.

Stone-lined drains are a feature of Maldon, and some are quite deep. It is not by chance that they are so large. Although Maldon has a climate that is generally quite dry, at times large volumes of water stream down from Mount Tarrangower and it is quite a spectacle to see it rushing down the drains. The center of town is actually built on a watercourse, and this fact was ignored by the early settlers. The first time that they experienced a major storm, the water caused much damage to buildings and their contents. This led to the construction of a large underground drain that begins outside the Athenaeum Library, and travels beneath the streets and buildings to exit on the other side of the town.

As well as the attraction of the well-preserved streetscapes, Maldon offers many other delights for the visitor to enjoy. If you would like to find out more maldon.com.au is a good site to visit.