Old Kilmore Gaol

Kilmore
Reputedly Victoria's oldest inland town
It is claimed, contentiously, that Kilmore is Victoria's oldest inland town. It is located 61 km north of Melbourne on the Northern Highway and 370 m above sea-level. Over the past 20 years the population has doubled to nearly 3500 as the town has a become a satellite of Melbourne, with the Hume Freeway rendering it well within commuting distance for those trying to avoid full-time existence within the capital. Kilmore has a strong racing fraternity which supports many subsidiary industries and there is some pastoral activity in Mitchell Shire.

The area was inhabited by the Woiwurung people prior to white settlement. The first Europeans in the district were explorers Hamilton Hume and William Hovell in 1824. They named Mt Disappointment, to the south-east of Kilmore.

It seems that European settlement commenced in 1837. Squatters arrived from the north attracted by the agricultural potential of the district's rich volcanic soil. Four years later William Rutledge conducted a survey of 21 square kilometres and the area was mostly settled by Irish tenant farmers. The town allotments he sold were amongst the first outside of Melbourne in the territory that would later be named Victoria. Rutledge named the settlement Kilmore (gaelic for 'big church') after his Irish birthplace. An inn opened in 1841.

The settlement was able to capitalise on the growing through-traffic in the area as it was situated just north of a gap in the Great Dividing Range and not far from the new settlement of Melbourne. This role as a staging post was greatly enhanced when gold was discovered at Chiltern and Beechworth in the early 1850s and the town entered a boom period. A daily coach service to Melbourne began operating in 1854 when the population was recorded as being 1426. That year it also became the first Roman Catholic Parish in Victoria outside of Melbourne and it retains a strong Catholic community to this day. Work began on a Catholic Church in 1857 and it is still standing. The settlement became a municipality in 1856.

Substantial public buildings were erected in the late 1850s and early 1860s, including the 1864 courthouse. That same year the father of famous bushranger Ned Kelly became one of the first recipients of its august wisdom. He was convicted of possessing stolen goods but was saved from prison when his wife paid the 25-pound fine.

By the mid-1860s the town had several hotels, two breweries, two cordial factories, a few sawmills and a gaol, post office, courthouse, hospital, tannery and brickworks.

Kilmore hosts some major horseracing events, including the Kilmore Cup and the Kilmore Pacing Cup, Australia's richest provincial harness racing event (there is a large racecourse off East St). The Kilmore Celtic Festival falls in June (kilmorecelticfestival@yahoo.com), the Kilmore Harness Racing Carnival in October, the Highland Games in November and the Agricultural Show in early December.

Things to see:  

Tourist Information
The Kilmore Tourist Information Centre is located in the town library at 12 Sydney St, tel: (03) 5781 1319.

Whitburgh Cottage
Whitburgh Cottage is the town's oldest surviving house. The first two rooms of this bluestone building were erected in 1853 for Scots coachbuilder and blacksmith William Smeaton whose family lived in the house until 1966. Another two rooms were added in 1857. The whole is enclosed by a fine little picket fence.

The cottage is signposted off the main road in Piper St and is now a museum which has been set up to reflect the domestic culture of mid-19th-century Australia. It includes many heirlooms of the Smeaton family. Opening hours are from 2.00 p.m. to 4.00 p.m. on Sundays or by appointment, tel: (03) 5782 1118.

Historic Buildings - Powlett Street
Kilmore has a number of historic buildings. At the corner of Powley St and Foote St is the old bluestone post office (1861) which is now an antique centre. Just along the road is the former bluestone courthouse (1864) and adjacent that are the red-brick police barracks (1892).

Kilmore Post Office

'Bindley House' is an imposing two-storey bluestone residence which was built c.1862 for a local doctor. Recently restored it is located at 20-22 Powlett St and is now open as bed-and-breakfast accommodation. Lavender Cottage Craft and Tea Rooms, at 80 Powlett St, is located in a late Victorian building (c.1890) and is open Thursday to Sunday and public holidays.

Also of interest are Atholton Antiques at 11-13 Powlett St (open daily) and Fulvio's Pottery at 90 Clarke St, which also has antiques, reproduction furniture and arts and crafts (also open daily).

Town Hall
The former town hall (c.1894) can be found at 16 Sydney St. The imposing and decorative facade, with its enormous Corinthian pilasters, seems a little overblown in relation to the rest of the building, reflecting the fact that it was originally meant to be a much larger structure. However, it is still an outstanding element of the town's streetscape.

Old Kilmore Gaol
The Old Kilmore Gaol was opened in 1859 as a maximum security prison. In 1891 it became a butter factory and a private residence in 1968 and is now a tourist attraction. There are guided tours with historical commentary. For individuals and small groups the cost is $5 a head. For groups of 10 or more it is $3 a head but you must book first. There are also antiques, collectables, a trash-and-treasure, a monthly market and a restaurant. Covering an acre-and-a-half it is located by the corner of Foote St and Sutherland St, tel: (03) 5782 1108.

Other Historic Buildings
St Patrick's Catholic Church (1857-62) is located in Sutherland St (a different one to the Sutherland St of the prison). In 1854 Kilmore became the first Roman Catholic Parish in Victoria outside of Melbourne and it retains a strong Catholic community to this day. St Andrew's Presbyterian Church (1868) is in Hamilton St. The Tea Rose Cottage (c.1856), at 67 Fitzroy St, is now a bed-and-breakfast.

Hudson Park
Hudson Park is adjacent Powlett St in the centre of town. There are picnic and barbecue facilities.

Victoria's Tramway Museum
The Tramway Museum offers tram rides through the countryside and an extensive display of cable cars and trams dating back to 1884. It is open on Sundays from 10.00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m, tel: (03) 9798 6035. To get there head south along the highway and, about halfway to Wallan, turn left into Union Lane. Bylands is located on a big hill which used to be called Big Hill. It was renamed Pretty Sally after a woman who ran a sly grog shanty here in the 1840s.

Pyalong
Pyalong is a tiny little hamlet which is located 22 km north of Kilmore along the Northern Highway. Its focal point is the cluster of single-storey buildings in High St which are collectively known as 'Whitehart' and which were once the White Hart Hotel (1857). The main building has a long verandah of later vintage and the other buildings are gathered around a rear courtyard.

Nearby are two timber trestle railway bridges which were built in 1889-90 over Hanford's Creek and Mollison's Creek as part of the Bendigo to Wandong track.

Mt William Winery
Mt William Winery, to the north-west of Kilmore, specialises in pinot noir, chardonnay and sparkling burgundy. There are barbecue facilities in a garden setting and the cellar door is open weekends or by prior arrangement during the week. To get there head west along the Lancefield Rd for 14 km then turn right, heading north on Mt William Rd for 8 km to its end, tel: (03) 5429 1595.

	Tourist Information
	Kilmore Tourist Information Centre 12 Sydney St (town library) Kilmore VIC 3764 Telephone: (03) 5781 1319
	Motels
	Kestrel Motor Inn 99 Powlett St Kilmore VIC 3764 Telephone: (03) 5782 1457 Rating: ***
	Kilmore Country Motel 95 Sydney St Kilmore VIC 3764 Telephone: (03) 5782 1346 Rating: **
	Hotels
	Mac's Hotel Sydney St Kilmore VIC 3764 Telephone: (03) 5782 1317
	Red Lion Hotel Sydney St Kilmore VIC 3764 Telephone: (03) 5782 1411
	Royal Oak Hotel Sydney St Kilmore VIC 3764 Telephone: (03) 5782 1291
	Bed & Breakfast/Guesthouses
	Mt William Winery Bed & Breakfast Mt William Rd 3734 Kilmore VIC 3764 Telephone: (03) 5429 1595 Rating: **
	Cottages & Cabins
	Laurel Hill Cottage 12 Melrose Dve Kilmore VIC 3764 Telephone: (03) 5782 1630 Rating: ***
	Caravan Parks
	Kilmore Caravan Park Northern Hwy P.O. Box 336 Kilmore VIC 3764 Telephone: (03) 5482 1508 Rating: ***
	Restaurants
	Kilmore Palace Chinese Restaurant Sydney St Kilmore VIC 3764 Telephone: (03) 5782 1523
	Old Kilmore Gaol Restaurant Cnr Foote & Sutherland Sts Kilmore VIC 3764 Telephone: (03) 5782 1101
	Old Mill Gallery Kilmore Function Restaurant Mill Rd Kilmore VIC 3764 Telephone: (03) 5781 1218
	Red Lion Hotel Sydney St Kilmore VIC 3764 Telephone: (03) 5782 1411