Mount Alexander Thematic History
Location
Dja Dja Wurrung + Taungurung Country
Mount Alexander, VIC, Australia
Client
Mount Alexander Shire Council
Significance
Local Heritage Study
Completed
2016
Services Provided
Heritage Studies
Awards
-
RBA prepared a Thematic History for Mount Alexander Shire in central Victoria, which provided a basis for the understanding of culturally significant places and events in the shire in a broad, mostly post-contact, historical context.
Historical information was grouped under nine key themes crucial to understanding the development of the Shire and what distinguishes it.
The Thematic History provides the basis for understanding places that have already been included in the schedule to the heritage overlay, as well as the types of places that could be included in the future, allowing the Shire to be considered holistically and to achieve a more comprehensive representation of places protected by the heritage overlay.
Whilst the important role the gold rush has played in the development of the Shire is widely known, the Thematic History drew out other distinguishing aspects which are reflected in the richly layered cultural landscape of today such as the profound influence of the geology on land use, the strength of local activism for political and civil rights, the contribution to the development of the industrial economy of the state, and the retention of a wealth of 19th-century streetscapes.
The largest town and administrative center in the shire is Castlemaine. Other townships include Maldon, Campbells Creek, Harcourt, Chewton, Newstead, Elphinstone, Guildford, Taradale, and Baringhup.
The thematic history was adopted by the Mount Alexander Shire Council in mid-2016.
