During the Gold Rush years Kilmore was a major stop over for those coming from the ports and town of Melbourne to the gold fields. In its busiest times it was home to over 26 public drinking and boarding houses, numerous churches, schools and a large hospital.
Other towns in the Shire were also frequent stop overs offering many boarding and drinking houses and other services such as black smiths, butchers and banks.
The towns of Mitchell Shire, therefore, are rich in history.
Rustic timber cottages, old country pubs, century old bluestone buildings and infrastructure; as well as historic farms, homesteads, machinery and shedding dot the country side in a mosaic of colour and eye catching scenery that throws the observer back in time.
Take yourself back in time with an afternoon wandering the region, stopping for a coffee in a century old building, a beer inside a century old pub, warming yourself in front of the same open fire that the publicans own ancestors warmed themselves.
The Kilmore and Seymour Visitor Information Centre volunteers can offer great knowledge in the regions history and provide maps and brochures on the many heritage walks, drives, museums and buildings in the Shire.
Historical Collections
The Shire is home to a great variety of historical collections and sites of historical significance:
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Melbourne Tramways Museum - in the South of the Shire at Bylands just outside the town of Kilmore.
The Museum houses a large collection of heritage trams.
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The Seymour Railway Heritage Centre houses a premier collection of vintage trains.
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Australian Army Tank Museum - just outside Seymour, at Puckapunyal.
The Museum exhibits the finest collection of Australian armoured fighting vehicles
- over 87 tanks, armoured vehicles and Australian Light Horse memorabilia.
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The Kelly family home in Beveridge, where the infamous Bush Ranger Ned Kelly lived with his parents John and Ellen.
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The Australian Light Horse Memorial Park - on the Goulburn Valley Highway just outside of SeymourThe 150 hectares of bushland Park was home to Victoria's Largest Army Base, the Seymour Camp, known to many as site 17. The history of the Park dates back to 1887 when the Seymour troop of the Victorian Mounted Rifles was formed. Today the park is an ideal location for bushwalking, mountain bike or horse riding and picnics.
