Zelda Martin was a PhD candidate at the University of Melbourne. This paper was an introduction to the proposed chapters 5-9 of her thesis - "The Main Towns and Their Hinterland".Nine page article on Victorian goldfields town. The article was written during the author's PhD study. zelda martin, victorian goldfield towns, hinterland, central place theory, mining camps, bendigo, castlemaine, ballarat, buninyong, moonambel, william dale, elizabeth dale, the loddon, redbank, maldon, george clendinning, richard william schmidt, newbury, william newbound, william luelf