Meandering Mondays XII

After somewhat of a hiatus we’re back and travelling to a small Victorian outpost called Malmsbury for this Monday’s meander.

Malmsbury

Ask a Toddler - Malmsbury

There isn’t that much to say about this place but that’s the point. It exists not because there’s a big piece of fruit or a dinosaur park but because the people that live there [all ~600 of them] call it home [that doesn’t include the wayward youths!]

Malmsbury has been around since the 1850’s which makes it a lot older [in European settlement terms] than a lot of other places in the country. Originally it serviced diggers in search of gold in other bigger towns like Castlemaine and Bendigo. If you decided for whatever reason to dig in Malmsbury all you’d find is bluestone. Notwithstanding, the bluestone from Malmsbury has been used to build some of the most famous bluestone buildings in Victoria, Australia.

The photo you see is the town’s emblem: the Malmsbury Viaduct; a large brick and stone masonry arch bridge over the Coliban River. It was erected as part of the Melbourne, Mount Alexander and Murray River railway between 1858 and 1861, and was at the time the largest masonry arch railway bridge built in Victoria and probably one of the pioneering private investment consortiums in the country. They went bankrupt.

If you’re ever in town try one of the pies at the local bakery. Stop and have a gander in one the galleries. Have a nibble at the Malmsbury Mill. Take a walk through the botanic gardens. It’s nice. A community intact.