Victoria (Western Region)

Maryborough
Although the town of Maryborough owes its origin to gold found at White Hills, Four Mile Flat and the Maryborough Diggings, today it stands as a substantial manufacturing community. Mark Twain said "Maryborough (is) a railway station with a town attached". You'll understand why when you're here. The equally handsome courthouse, town hall and post office are grouped around Civic Square and date from the town's days as a goldfields administration centre.
MARYBOROUGH was relatively late getting on the gold bandwagon – the first find here was in 1853, but it didn’t take long to exploit it. The town is now a large, solid and rather dull country place, interesting only for its remnants of architecture far too pompous for this quiet setting. The train station is exceptional: when Mark Twain visited Maryborough he described it as a train station with a town attached. The restored building has been converted into a tourist complex, housing the tourist information centre (daily 10am–6pm; tel 03/5460 4511), an antiques and collectables emporium, a gallery and exhibition space, and a restaurant and café. 

The Civic Centre at the heart of town is a classic nineteenth-century square with an elegant post office and gracious town hall and courthouse.

If you want to stay, try the Bull & Mouth Hotel at 119 High St, which has a bistro downstairs serving inexpensive meals Mon–Sat. For B&B accommodation try the Maryborough Guesthouse at 44 Goldsmith St.

Around Maryborough

Twenty-one kilometres north of Maryborough is Donolly, an attractive town filled with many distinctive old buildings and with kurrajong trees lining the main street. Fourteen kilometres south of Maryborough, Talbot is a tiny settlement consisting of little more than a restaurant, a pub and a corner store. Avoca, 26km southwest of Maryborough on the Pyrenees Highway, was another rich source of alluvial gold.