Creswick

Goldfields

Creswick is a town in west-central Victoria, Australia. It is located 18 kilometres north of Ballarat and 128 km northwest of Melbourne, in Shire of Hepburn. It is 430 metres above sea level. At the 2006 census, Creswick had a population of 2,485. Creswick was named after the Creswick family, the pioneer settlers of the region.

The area was inhabited by the Wemba-Wemba people before white settlement. The pioneer white settlers were Henry, Charles and John Creswick, three brothers who started a large sheep station in 1842.

Creswick is a former gold-mining town, established during the Victorian gold rushes in the 1850s. The Post Office opened on 1 September 1854 but was named Creswick’s Creek until around 1857. The population reached a peak of 25,000 during the gold rush. Today, local industries include forestry, grazing and agriculture.

Creswick was the site of the New Australasian Gold Mine disaster on 12 December 1882, Australia’s worst mining disaster in which 22 men drowned.

Creswick is located on the Midland Highway. Creswick railway station is served by V/Line train services to Ballarat and Maryborough, as well as buses from Ballarat operated by Davis Bus Service.