The Goldfields region of Victoria is a region

Region

Region is most commonly found as a term used in terrestrial and astrophysics sciences also an area, notably among the different sub-disciplines of geography, studied by regional geographers. Regions consist of subregions that contain clusters of like areas that are distinctive by their uniformity...

 commonly used but typically defined in both historical geography

Historical geography

Historical geography is the study of the human, physical, fictional, theoretical, and "real" geographies of the past. Historical geography studies a wide variety of issues and topics. A common theme is the study of the geographies of the past and how a place or region changes through time...

 and tourism geography

Tourism geography

Tourism Geography is the study of travel and tourism, as an industry and as a social and cultural activity. Tourism geography covers a wide range of interests including the environmental impact of tourism, the geographies of tourism and leisure economies, answering tourism industry and management...

 (in particular heritage tourism

Heritage tourism

Cultural heritage tourism is a branch of tourism oriented towards the cultural heritage of the location where tourism is occurring...

).

Description

It takes in a specific area of North Central Victoria

North central victoria

North Central Victoria is a rural region in the Australian state of Victoria.- Location :Sustainability Victoria, a Victorian Government agency, defines North Central Victoria as the municipalities of Buloke, Gannawarra, Loddon, Campaspe, Central Goldfields, Mount Alexander, Macedon Ranges and the...

, the major cities of Ballarat and Bendigo as well as smaller centres including Daylesford, Victoria

Daylesford, Victoria

Daylesford is a town located in the Shire of Hepburn, Victoria, Australia. It is a former goldmining town about 115 kilometres north-west of Melbourne, in the foothills of the Great Dividing Range. At the 2006 census, Daylesford had a population of 3,073...

, Castlemaine

Castlemaine, Victoria

Castlemaine is a city in Victoria, Australia, in the Goldfields region of Victoria about 120 kilometres northwest by road from Melbourne, and about 40 kilometres from the major provincial centre of Bendigo. It is the administrative and economic centre of the Shire of Mount Alexander. The...

 and Maryborough

Maryborough, Victoria

-Education:Maryborough has three schools:*Highview Christian Community College*Maryborough Education Centre Years Prep–12*St Augustine's Primary School Grades Prep–6-Music:...

. It extends as far north as Inglewood

Inglewood, Victoria

Inglewood is a town in Victoria, Australia, located on the Calder Highway, in the Shire of Loddon. At the 2006 census, Inglewood had a population of 834...

 and St Arnaud. It encroaches on the Western District near Ararat

Ararat, Victoria

Ararat is a city in south-west Victoria, Australia, about west of Melbourne, on the Western Highway on the eastern slopes of the Ararat Hills and Cemetery Creek valley between Victoria's Western District and the Wimmera...

. Other significant towns include Maldon

Maldon, Victoria

Maldon is a town in Victoria, Australia, in the Shire of Mount Alexander local government area. It has been designated "Australia's first notable town" and is celebrated for its 19th-century appearance, maintained since gold-rush days...

, Creswick

Creswick, Victoria

Creswick is a town in west-central Victoria, Australia. It is located 18 kilometres north of Ballarat and 129 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...

, Clunes

Clunes, Victoria

Clunes is a town in Victoria, Australia, located 36 kilometres north of Ballarat, in the Shire of Hepburn. At the 2006 census it had a population of 1,026.- History :...

, Avoca

Avoca, Victoria

Avoca is a town in the Central Highlands of Victoria, Australia, north west of Ballarat. It is one of two main towns in the Pyrenees Shire, the other being Beaufort to the south. At the 2006 census, Avoca had a population of 951.-Geography:...

 and Buninyong

Buninyong, Victoria

Buninyong is a place in Victoria, Australia. The town is on the Midland Highway, south of Ballarat on the road to Geelong. It's known locally as the drug smuggling capital of the South West region. Local Dealers are said to import the majority of their cannabis supply from farmers in Durham Lead...

.

Although the region has a strong association with the Victorian gold rush

Victorian gold rush

The Victorian gold rush was a period in the history of Victoria, Australia approximately between 1851 and the late 1860s. In 10 years the Australian population nearly tripled.- Overview :During this era Victoria dominated the world's gold output...

 there are, however, significant towns associated with the gold rush and gold mining located outside of this region - notable examples include Walhalla

Walhalla, Victoria

Walhalla is a small town in Victoria, Australia, founded as a gold-mining community in early 1863 and at its peak home to around 2,500 residents. Today, the town has a population of fewer than 20 permanent residents, though it has a large proportion of houses owned as holiday properties. It...

, Warrandyte

Warrandyte, Victoria

Warrandyte is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 24 km north-east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Manningham...

, Chiltern

Chiltern, Victoria

Chiltern is a town in Victoria, Australia, located in the north east of the state between Wangaratta and Wodonga, in the Shire of Indigo. At the 2006 census, Chiltern had a population of 1063. The town is close to the Chiltern-Mount Pilot National Park...

 and Beechworth

Beechworth, Victoria

Beechworth is a well-preserved historical town located in the north-east of Victoria, Australia, famous for its major growth during the gold rush days of the mid-1850s...

. The goldfields region is more strongly linked to the impact than Victorian Gold Rush

Victorian gold rush

The Victorian gold rush was a period in the history of Victoria, Australia approximately between 1851 and the late 1860s. In 10 years the Australian population nearly tripled.- Overview :During this era Victoria dominated the world's gold output...

 than the discovery of gold in Victoria.

As a result of the gold rush, the region contains many old buildings, some celebrated examples of Victorian architecture

Victorian architecture

The term Victorian architecture refers collectively to several architectural styles employed predominantly during the middle and late 19th century. The period that it indicates may slightly overlap the actual reign, 20 June 1837 – 22 January 1901, of Queen Victoria. This represents the British and...

 and some which are now derelict and some ghost town

Ghost town

A ghost town is an abandoned town or city. A town often becomes a ghost town because the economic activity that supported it has failed, or due to natural or human-caused disasters such as floods, government actions, uncontrolled lawlessness, war, or nuclear disasters...

s and many of the towns were far larger during the boom times than they are now. The region contains a significant number of heritage registered buildings. Major tourism icons include Sovereign Hill

Sovereign Hill

Sovereign Hill is an open air museum in Golden Point, a suburb of Ballarat, Victoria, Australia. Sovereign Hill depicts Ballarat's first ten years after the discovery of gold there in 1851. It was officially opened on 29 November 1970 and has become a nationally acclaimed tourist attraction...

, Eureka Stockade

Eureka Stockade

The Eureka Rebellion of 1854 was an organised rebellion by gold miners which occurred at Eureka Lead in Ballarat, Victoria, Australia. The Battle of Eureka Stockade was fought on 3 December 1854 and named for the stockade structure erected by miners during the conflict...

 site and the Bendigo Talking Tram. The region is also associated with the Origins of Australian rules football

Origins of Australian rules football

The origins of Australian rules football are obscure and still the subject of much debate.The earliest accounts of "foot-ball" games in Australia date back to July 1829 and the earliest accounts of clubs formed to play football date to the late 1850s. Football in the early years was played by a...

, particularly as the home of Tom Wills

Tom Wills

Thomas Wentworth "Tom" Wills was an Australian all-round sportsman, umpire, coach and administrator who is credited with being a catalyst towards the invention of Australian rules football....

, some of the earliest known clubs and games, the origin of the indigenous tradition of marngrook and Irish immigrant pastime of caid

CAID

Caid may refer to:* Caid , a type of governorship found in North Africa and Moorish Spain* Caid , a form of football popular in Ireland until the mid-19th century...

 in Australia.

Demographically, the population of the region is approximately 244,900 The region has a well defined road

Road

A road is a thoroughfare, route, or way on land between two places, which typically has been paved or otherwise improved to allow travel by some conveyance, including a horse, cart, or motor vehicle. Roads consist of one, or sometimes two, roadways each with one or more lanes and also any...

 tourist route. The area retains a significant gold mining

Gold mining

Gold mining is the removal of gold from the ground. There are several techniques and processes by which gold may be extracted from the earth.-History:...

 industry and remains a popular for fossicking

Fossicking

Fossicking is a term found in Cornwall, Australia and New Zealand referring to prospecting, especially in more recent times, when carried out as a recreational activity. This can be for gold, precious stones, fossils, etc. by sifting through a prospective area. In Australian English and New...

.

The Goldfields region is also associated as a wine growing region with a large number of established vineyard

Vineyard

A vineyard is a plantation of grape-bearing vines, grown mainly for winemaking, but also raisins, table grapes and non-alcoholic grape juice...

s and popular wineries

Winery

A winery is a building or property that produces wine, or a business involved in the production of wine, such as a wine company. Some wine companies own many wineries. Besides wine making equipment, larger wineries may also feature warehouses, bottling lines, laboratories, and large expanses of...

. An important ecosystem associated with the region is the Box-Ironbark forest

Box-Ironbark forest

Box-Ironbark forest is a forest or woodland ecosystem that is largely limited to central Victoria in south-eastern Australia. Because its component tree species produce abundant nectar and pollen throughout the year, it is important for the conservation of many species of birds and other...

, now much fragmented and cleared but still important for the conservation of many birds and other animals.