Buninyong Blue Plaques Walk
This walk around the township gives a good sense of the history, important buildings and the community 'feel' of this charming village. On the map below are more than 40 sites of interest dating from the mid-1800s. Each has a blue Historic Buildings of Buninyong plaque affixed to it. These provide interesting historical information about the building or location.
Start/finish - Old Library (Cnr Warrenheip Street and Forest Street). Time: 1.5 hours. Distance: 4 km. Conditions - mostly paved, gently undulating.
1. The Old Library/Mechanics' Institute (1861)
2. Middleton's Ironmongery & Garage (c1873)
3. Clifton Villa (1859)
4. Glencairn (c 1855)
5. Old Tannery Site
6. Old Burial Ground (1840s), On Learmonth Street, 200m west of the old Post Office
Look for a detailed sign behind a white picket fence. Here is Buninyong's Old Burial Ground, the oldest in the Goldfields region. But you'd never know it was there unless you knew where to look. While the first burial took place in this cemetery around 1837, the site was abandoned in the 1850s and no record of who is buried here has survived. Look for the plaque on the stone and the memorial bunya bunya tree.
7. Thomas Hiscock's Cottage (1851)
8. Old Post Office (1874)
9. Crown Hotel (1885)
10. Former National Bank (1866)
11. Adams/Eames Store & Bakery (1852)
12. Whykes' Butchers Shop (1893)
13. Town Hall & Court House (1886)
14. Old Fire Station (1872)
15. Uniting Church (1860) Learmonth Street
A landmark in Learmonth Street, originally this was the Presbyterian Church and was served by Buninyong's first Minister, the Rev Thomas Hastie from 1847 to 1888. Look for his commemoration in the church's beautiful stained glass window.
16. Former Nugget Hotel (1854)
17. St Peter and Paul's Catholic Church (1858), Fisken Street
Tucked away on a knoll in Fisken Street is the oldest of Buninyong's existing churches with its foundation stone dated 1853. The area's first Catholic school, operated on the site from 1851. A new adjoining church, with brilliant modern stained glass was opened in 2014.
18. The Gong (1861)
19. Old Brewery (1855)
20. Kingshill (1857)
21. Old Police Court House (1858)
22. State School (1873)
23. Queen Victoria Rotunda (1901)
24. Mrs Carey's Cottage Hospital (1880)
25. Old Manse (1886)
26. Police House & Stables (1887)
27. Camellia Cottage (1886)
28. Netherby (c1860)
29. Holy Trinity Anglican Church (1862), Warrenheip Street
This classic village-style small bluestone church is located in a beautiful treed setting on the corner of Warrenheip and Scott Streets. Look for the marble memorial plaque dedicated to its first priest, the Rev Garrett Russell. The redbrick building to the rear was built in 1857 and operated as a denominational school until 1872.
30. Old Vicarage (1857)
31. Former Methodist Church (1865), Warrenheip Street
The red brick church replaced a wooden one built in 1853, and which operated until the establishment of the Uniting Church in 1974. It is now a private residence.
32. Havilah Cottage (1875)
33. Site of old Buninyong Hotel (1853)
34. St Alban's Cottage (1873)
35. Dr Longden's House (1898)
36. Caffrey's Blacksmith & Coachbuilder (c1860)
37. Isaac's Grocer Store (c1882)
38. Brydon & Hedrick Store (c1850)
39. Buninyong Coffee Palace (1899)
40. Howard's Bootmaker (1899)
41. Former Eagle Hotel (1858)
42. Whykes Grocery Store (1865)
43. Mrs Phillips' Cottage (c1890)
Other plaques are at Mossmont (1860) in Winter Street, Fassifern (1880) in Herriott Street, and at Brim Brim (1860) in Lal Lal Street.
Location
Cnr Warrenheip Street and Forest Street, Buninyong 3357 View Map
