Who, When and Why?

In the 2004 book Time gentlemen, please!: Maitland’s Hotels Past & Present, a redrawn copy of this old undated plan of West Maitland was published, with an estimate that it was drawn around, or at least represents, the year 1858. But what evidence places it in the 1850s? For the Wonnarua people, the area depicted […]

Read More…

Ophir’s Gold Heart

This enchanting heart-shaped gold nugget has little monetary value today but its unearthing at Ophir, near Orange, in April 1851 spurred gold fever far and wide. It became the first payable gold in Australia and commenced the nation’s historic gold rush era. The gold rush transformed many aspects of life in the Central West, and […]

Read More…