Aradale is located 3 km from the centre of Ararat and covers approximately 101 hectares. It consistes of an impresive group of mainly heritage buildings of national significance surrounded by open farmland. Aradale was designed in 1864 in the Victorian Italianate style by John James Clark of the Public Works Department, Victoria. A three storey nurses quarters was built in the 1930s and the Forensic Psychaitry Centre was established in the 1980s. The design of asylums as a specific building type orginated in England in the mddle of the 19th century when it was decided that 'pauper lunatics' would be better cared for in a separate institution rather than being house within the workhouses. Some of the early purpose built asylums were based on the radiating principle of prisons but the arrangement of separat wings at right angles used in hospitals and whorkhouse design soon came to be seen as the most appropriate. The largest 19th century asylum in England was built at Colney Hatch. Kew, Beechworth and Ararat Asylums closely followed the Colney Hatch model. In victoria the population rose due to the gold rushes resulting in severe housing shortages, and additional pressure on asylums. The first asylum in Melbourne was established at Y arra Bend. In 1862 a new asylum was established at Kew. Ararat Asylum and Beechworth Asylum were designed in 1864. Ararat was opened on 19 October 1867, with Beechworth Asylum opening five days later. Soft covered bookletararat regional development board inc., aradale training centre, aradale, grano street ararat, alfred st ararat, ivar nelson, john christie, jon duggan, wes matthews, peter helfer, michael burke, john grant, asylum, lunatic asylum, colney hatch asylum, ararat asylum, fever tents, sunbury asylum, kew asylum, beechworth asylum, wine industry training

A document outlining all the hostelries that existed along the Yarra Track between Marysville and Wood's Point.A document outling all the hostelries that existed along the Yarra Track between Marysville and Wood's Point.yarra track, marysville, wood's point, woods point, fernshaw, paradise plains, black spur, mount grant, george edwards, walker family, melbourne, new chum, hit & miss restaurant, mr clifford, michael woods, glen watts, tri bhean hotel, ewen cameron, ewen hugh cameron, thomas barton, butler's wood's point directory, globe hotel, swanston street, mount juliet, ben more & c, jordan district, jefferson's watts bridge inn, matthew jefferson, reefer's hotel, boyle's hotel, william henry johnson, samuel boyle, black spur hotel, fisher's creek, narbethong, fisher's home hotel, black spur inn, frederick fisher, william hodson, wood's point road, acheron river, acheron bridge hotel, john robson, granton, clifford, wilks creek, wilks creek hotel, patrick maloney, steavenson, marysville hotel, australian hotel, junction hotel, the dutchman's restaurant, henry kuyper, william podlech, mount arnold, mount arnold hotel, charles schultz, james toohey, john gleeson, joy burchall, ian newman, henry brockman, belle isle, belle elle, bellell creek, upper yarra, guerin's bridge, bell's hotel, henry petty, celia moran, ruth petty, cumberland creek, cumberland creek store and restaurant, cumberland creek hotel, charles edwin hargreaves, annie hargreaves, urina hargreaves, alice hargreaves, healesville, josiah hargreaves, henderson drysdale, henry whelan, halfway house, thomas smith, svendson, gosling, donovans creek, chesterville, perry's hotel, john perry, perry's coach and horses hotel, edward courtney, scandinavian hotel, the swede's, walker's hotel, jacob burchart, golden fleece, theodore kappler, george koehler's hotel, david walker, millicent walker, elsie jowett, bill walker, big river, royal mail hotel, shaw's, slingsby davies, edwin jones, elizabeth jane parker, sandridge, archibald charles edwin jones, matlock, alexander myers, frank berwick frederick jones, ned jones, jennie jones, sophie milllicent parker jones, thomas shaw, dorothy walker, travellers rest hotel, reefton, summers, john fehring, f fehring, katerina fehring, john christoph blumeyer, anne fehring, john baker, evelyn observer, anna katrina baker, hannah catherine baker, john frederick baker, mcmahon's creek, oaks, the springs, st clair, sinclair's valley, mountain home hotel, neilson, collins, waters, jan emma sinclair, john sinclair, mr cox, peter sinclair, willie we have missed you hotel, spring vale hotel, robert matthews, thomas crawford

Dr Michele Matthews has been a local and social historian for nearly three decades since she first used correspondence held by the then Bendigo City Council for her Honours thesis. She is an ardent advocate for the use of local history records to tell Victorian and Australian history from a grassroots perspective. Michele’s MA thesis, ‘A forgotten “Father” of Federation: Sir John Quick 1852‑1911’ (2003), and her PhD thesis, ‘Survivors, schemes, Samaritans and shareholders: the impact of the Great Depression on Bendigo and District 1925‑1935’ (2007), both drew heavily on Bendigo and district records. This document from the Australian Mining History Association Annual Conference in Bendigo July 2005 provides a historical analysis of the exploration, development, and management of the Bendigo goldfield by major mining companies from the 1930s to the early 1990s, focusing on two main episodes: 1. Gold Mines of Australia (GMA) and Bendigo Mines Ltd (BML) in the 1930s. BML, a subsidiary of GMA, invested over $1 million (equivalent to $35 million today) to reopen and develop the Bendigo goldfield. Extensive infrastructure was built, including three major new shafts, a stamp battery, and associated plant. Despite significant scientific and engineering efforts, no major gold discoveries were made. Only 7,347 ounces of gold were recovered from 47,000 tons of ore, yielding revenue far below investment. The company was liquidated in 1937, with shareholders receiving nothing. Excessive spending on production infrastructure before confirming ore reserves. Misapplied expertise (iron ore mining methods used for gold exploration).Insufficient focus on exploration and prospecting before large-scale development. 2. Western Mining Corporation (WMC) in the 1970s–1990s WMC reassessed the Bendigo field in the late 1970s, leveraging improved drilling technology and historical data.Comprehensive geological reviews and innovative drilling identified several promising areas. WMC invested over $20 million in exploration, shaft rehabilitation, and bulk sampling. Environmental regulations, local opposition, and administrative hurdles complicated operations. Attempts to form a public company (Great Bendigo Goldfields Ltd) to share risk and involve local stakeholders failed due to regulatory delays and waning public interest. Falling gold prices, loss of tax incentives, and restrictive government policies led WMC to cease operations in 1989. The project was sold in 1992 for $1.6 million, a fraction of the investment. 3. Both major efforts ended in financial loss, encapsulated by the phrase "We did our dough, in Bendigo. "Key factors in failure included premature large-scale investment, external economic and regulatory pressures, and underestimation of exploration risk. The document notes that future efforts may benefit from the accumulated knowledge and changed technical, economic, and political conditions. These episodes illustrate the risks of large-scale mining ventures without adequate exploration and the impact of external factors on mining project viability. Michele Matthews Collection: Presentation - "We Did Our Dough in Bendigo" July 2005 by Gilbert M Ralph, MBE, OAM This item includes the following two documents: 8672.20a This eight typed paged document from the Australian Mining History Association Annual Conference in Bendigo July 2005 provides a historical analysis of the exploration, development, and management of the Bendigo goldfield by major mining companies from the 1930s to the early 1990s. 8672.20b Business card - Gilbert M Ralph, Consultant, Mt Waveley - Victoria - Contact BHS for detailsbendigo, brac, michele matthews collection