Daylesford, Victoria
For the Pennsylvania location, see Daylesford, Pennsylvania.Daylesford () is a town in rural
Hepburn Shire in
Victoria, Australia, about 115 kilometres northwest of
Melbourne, in the foothills of
Great Dividing Range. Together with
Hepburn Springs to the north, where the major spas are located, it has a population of about 6,000. The town is located in mountains formed from
volcanic activity about five million years ago, and at 616 metres above sea level has a cooler, wetter climate than Melbourne. Summer (January-February) temperatures range from 10°C (50°F) to 26°C (79°F), whilst July temperatures are cold, ranging from about 1-2°C (34-36°F) up to 9°C (48°F). Annual precipitation, occasionally falling as
snow, averages about 870 millimetres (34 inches) but has ranged from 445 millimetres (18 inches) to over 1350 millimetres (53 inches).
Originally founded in
1852 with the finding of
alluvial gold in areas now occupied by
Lake Daylesford, the town, initially named
Wombat was later renamed by
Sir Charles Hotham after the English birthplace of
Warren Hastings, the first governor-general of
India.
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Midland Hwy - Wombat Hill in background |
Market gardening was developed by Chinese immigrants who worked on the goldfields shortly after the town was founded, and a local flour mill was opened in the 1860s but closed down because the climate is too wet for effective grain production. Vegetable growing is still a significant industry, as the region has a good climate for the production of such vegetables as
potatoes and is near enough to the large Melbourne market to provide a low-cost supply.
Daylesford is noted for its mineral
springs: the region contains as much as 80% of all the hot springs in Victoria, and from the 1880s to the 1920s the town was a major spa resort after the railway from
Carlsruhe reached the town in
1880. The spa resorts declined in the 1930s, but were redeveloped in the 1970s. Since then, Daylesford and all of eastern Hepburn Shire has become a major
alternative lifestyle centre, with such services as
massages,
reiki,
shiatsu,
acupuncture,
aromatherapy,
reflexology,
spiritual healing,
tarot and
psychic readings being found.
Daylesford is also known for being a
gay-friendly destination. The town boasts one of the highest percentage of gay and lesbian residents in regional Australia; many of the local businesses are gay- or lesbian-owned. The
Chillout Festival is an annual local event celebrating gay culture. It is held during the
Labour Day long weekend in March. There is also a tourist railway (the
Daylesford Spa Country Railway), which has one of the largest collections of railmotors in Australia.
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Photos of Daylesford*
Daylesford World - for links to everything Daylesford
