Traces in the creek
Reading the Goldfields Through Landscape and Memory
What does it mean to read a landscape, not just for what’s visible, but for what lingers beneath the surface?
At Extent, our work is grounded in this practice. We partner with Traditional Owners, archaeologists, historians, and communities to trace the complex histories that shape Country today.
With the Central Victorian Goldfields region recently nominated for UNESCO World Heritage status, we’re reflecting on the deep and layered heritage of this extraordinary landscape. From cultural knowledge systems to colonial disruption, from gold rush dreams to the resilience of Country, the traces remain.
One such trace was recently uncovered by Extent historian Kacey Sinclair, who lives and works on Dja Dja Wurrung Country. This story begins with a walk along Forest Creek.
Kacey Sinclair, Historian at Extent Heritage
This, is Forest Creek
Forest Creek, where the 1851 gold discovery sparked a rush that reshaped Castlemaine and Dja Dja Wurrung Country
In 1851, the discovery of gold triggered a rush that would transform Dja Dja Wurrung Country and the wider Victorian landscape forever.
One local account says it began with a young Aboriginal boy, probably a Djaara boy, who picked up a heavy, soft nugget “too soft for a spear point or a knife, too heavy to carry” and showed it to a shepherd’s son. That small act helped ignite one of the largest shallow alluvial goldfields in the world.
In the months that followed, more than 30,000 people flooded this region, drawn by dreams of freedom and fortune that for most would never materialise. They stripped the creeks, carved out the hills, and left deep marks in the landscape that are still visible today.
On a recent walk through the area, Castlemaine local and Extent historian Dr Kacey Sinclair spotted something curious: the eroded remains of what appeared to be a 19th-century wheelbarrow, half-submerged in the creek bed.
“It’s likely gold rush-era,” Kacey explains. “This part of the region has been stripped bare for over a century. Finds like these aren’t uncommon, but they’re always a reminder of how close the past sits beneath our feet.”
“Might it have been the same wheelbarrow that helped a young family sieve their way toward a happier life, as captured in 1851 by S.T Gill in his “Digger's hut, canvas and bark, Forest Creek, Victoria”. We will never know!”
Remnant timbers on a Castlemaine creek bank showing traces of the gold rush
Digger's hut, canvas and bark, Forest Creek, Victoria, S. T. Gill, 1851
Nearby, she also found a hollowed tree that had been ringbarked, of a large enough size to be a possible remnant of the same fevered period, and likely, even older.
These fragments may seem small. But they speak volumes about the social, cultural, and environmental upheaval that reshaped this place. At Extent, we work closely with Traditional Owners, local communities, and landscapes like this one to understand, protect, and interpret the traces that remain.
With the Central Victorian Goldfields recently nominated for World Heritage status, it’s a timely reminder that the past is never still—and that heritage is shaped not just by what we preserve, but by how we pay attention.
If you’d like to see more stories like this—grounded in place, guided by expertise, and centred on people—subscribe to stay connected. We’ll be sharing reflections from the field, insights into our work across Country, and snapshots of the past that still shape the present.