Junction Lodge (c.1873)

Carisbrook
Small, historic goldmining town
Carisbrook is a very pleasant little town of several hundred people located 159 km north-west of Melbourne between Castlemaine and Maryborough (7 km to the west). A former goldmining town it possesses some fine old bluestone buildings.

Carisbrook derives from an early pastoral run which was named in honour of the squatter's daughter Caroline. The Simson brothers, who later took up runs in the area, made a great deal of money in the 1850s by collecting tolls from diggers travelling between Castlemaine and Maryborough. The township also arose on the backs of this through-traffic which was in need of facilities and supplies.

In 1854 the population was around 100. It became a borough in 1857. A goldrush attracted some 15 000 diggers to Majorca, just south of Carisbrook, in 1863.

Writer and teacher of the blind, Matilda Ann Astor was born at Carisbrook in 1873. She lost her sight at the age of six but went on to Melbourne University before becoming principal of the school at which she studied.

Things to see:  

Tourist Information
Maryborough Visitor Centre, tel: (03) 5460 4511.

Lock-Up
The town's old vernacular log lock-up is located in Bucknall St. It is thought to have been built around 1852 on the police paddock and moved to its present site in 1886. The walls are made of interlocking horizontally-laid logs. The shingle roof has been replaced with corrugated iron.

Bluestone outbuilding - part of Junction Lodge complex

Junction Lodge
'Junction Lodge' is a complex of homestead buildings made of bluestone around 1873. Apart from the two-storey house there are stables, a barn, a blacksmith's, a kitchen and the employees' quarters. The complex is in Camp St. Nearby are the ruins of a wall from Chalk's No.1 Mine.

Carisbrook Archaeological Site
5 km south-east of town, on the banks of Tullaroop Creek, is a well-preserved Aboriginal stone arrangement measuring 60 metres by 5 metres. It is one of only four stone arrangements in the state and the only one of a boomerang design. There are also a number of stone circles and a cairn.

	Motels
	Carisbrook Motel Pyrenees Hwy Carisbrook VIC 3464 Telephone: (03) 5464 2334 Rating: **
	Hotels
	Britannia Carisbrook Hotel Green St Carisbrook VIC 3464 Telephone: (03) 5464 2223
	Cottages & Cabins
	Lochinver Cottage Maldon Rd Carisbrook VIC 3464 Telephone: (03) 5464 2356
	Restaurants
	Caroline's Colonial Restaurant 11 Bucknall St Carisbrook VIC 3464 Telephone: (03) 5464 2251