Chewton
The charming former goldmining town of Chewton, only minutes from Castlemaine, is rich with history and has a strong, connected community.
Quieter than its neighbour Castlemaine, with a real village feel, around 1,300 people currently call Chewton home and the town is well serviced with a great local primary school, small businesses, a busy soccer club and a community-run outdoor pool.
Originally settled by graziers, the discovery of gold changed Chewton forever. During the 1860s the town had a busy commercial sector. The town hall and post office, both on the State Historic Buildings Register, remain and the Red Hill Hotel, one of the earliest on the goldfields to be licenced, continues to operate and has recently undergone an exciting renewal, becoming a popular destination for great modern pub food.
Flanked by box-ironbark forests and the Moonlight Flat Pine Plantation, Chewton is central to the Castlemaine Diggings National Heritage Park, home to the Garfield Waterwheel, built to bring water to the goldfields and the largest in the Southern Hemisphere at the time, and Expedition Pass Reservoir, a popular spot for swimming, fishing, canoeing and picnicking. It's also the site of the famous 1851 Monster Meeting, where up to 20,000 diggers gathered to protest the cost of licenses.
The Chewton Bushlands community, a 300 acre site which opened in the 1970s brought an influx of people with a dream of self-sufficiency to the area and the community as whole has continued to grow over the years. Sustainable new construction is popular and many of the town's historic homes have been transformed.
Getting around
Chewton is under 10 minutes drive from Castlemaine, just under 40 minutes from Bendigo and just over an hours drive from Melbourne on the Calder Freeway. Train services to Bendigo and Melbourne operate regularly from the Castlemaine railway station.
School buses operate and transport students to Castlemaine and Maryborough.
Services
Chewton is connected to the NBN. Town water, electricity and natural gas are all connected.
Property
Established at the height of the gold rush Chewton is well known for its miners cottages and many historic structures from the time remain. Sustainable new construction is popular and many of the town's historic homes have been transformed.
Rental accommodation is available but as a high percentage of homes are owner occupied this can be more difficult to secure.
