January 21, 2025
Bowled over: Heathcote’s 19th century cricket scene
CRICKET was a popular summer pursuit in Heathcote during the second half of the 19th century. Local clubs sprang up across the Victorian goldfields and...
December 23, 2024
From the pages of the McIvor Times
140 years ago Published 12 December 1884 THE session of parliament, which is now drawing to a close, is one that should long be remembered by...
December 17, 2024
‘Tis the season: a Heathcote Christmas in the 1860s
CHRISTMAS on the goldfields in the 1860s could be challenging. Air-conditioning and refrigeration were non-existent, and for many Europeans their loved ones were half a...
December 9, 2024
Testing boundaries: the downfall of Henry Stephenson
THERE have always been those who make a habit of minding other people's business and Heathcote's Henry Stephenson was no exception. But his prurient interest...
December 2, 2024
From the pages of the McIvor Times
140 years ago Published 7 November 1884 An extraordinary occurrence ON Thursday evening, the 23rd inst, as Mr Speed, of Heathcote, was returning from the Show at...
November 25, 2024
Roderick Gates: a life of service
RODERICK James Gates was one of late-nineteenth-century Heathcote's quiet achievers. Born in Clapham, Surrey, in 1859, he worked as a civil engineer and draftsman after...
November 18, 2024
Pitch perfect: Heathcote’s 19th century music scene
LIVE musical performances were an integral part of 19th century life at Heathcote. Commercial radio did not exist until the 1920s and although gramophones were...
November 11, 2024
The Heathcote Show: a journey through time
HEATHCOTE celebrated its 140th show this year, and we're sharing some snippets from the past to mark the occasion. These edited extracts reflect the history...
October 10, 2024
From industry to art: the Heathcote mill building’s proud heritage
LOCAL retailers Hugh Moore, James Christie and Frederick Spinks launched their new Heathcote flour mill in December 1869 and the impressive brick structure still...
October 7, 2024
Fruitful Victorians: Heathcote wine’s long-forgotten past
SINCE the 1970s Heathcote has gained a reputation as a world-class producer of fine wine. However wine grapes were being grown in the area more...
September 30, 2024
From the pages of the McIvor Times
140 years ago Published 26 September 1884 A TORNADO or cyclone passed over the Cornella, or Mount Pleasant, district on Saturday evening last. It is stated to...
September 23, 2024
Selling snake oil
DURING the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, the pages of the McIvor Times were filled with advertisements spruiking patent medicines and miracle cures. From...
September 3, 2024
From the pages of the McIvor Times
140 years ago Published 15 August 1884 AS time progresses, the introduction of the new Railway Construction Bill is most anxiously looked forward to by the...
August 28, 2024
Historic first flight by local inventor
IN 1910, the windswept paddocks of the Spring Plains pastoral run near Mia Mia, south west of Heathcote, were the site of the first...
August 19, 2024
Early Reminiscences: the origin of the Mia Mia
First published 14 January 1909, THIS account of how the Mia Mia area, south-west of Heathcote, was named was published in the McIvor Times...
August 13, 2024
The Heathcote Mechanics’ Institute: enrichment and entertainment
MECHANICS' institutes sprang up across Australia during the nineteenth century, and many of the buildings remain in use today. Their primary purpose was to provide...
August 7, 2024
The age of the bachelors’ ball
HEATHCOTE'S social calendar was filled with dances in the early years of the twentieth century. With no television, and music only from instruments played by...
July 29, 2024
From the pages of the McIvor Times
140 years ago Published 11 July 1884 ONE of the most important events in the history of this town that has occurred for some time is...
July 21, 2024
The Redesdale Bridge: shining a light on a hidden historical beauty
ONE of Victoria's oldest and most ornate iron truss bridges can be found nestled in a valley in central Victoria.The Redsdale Bridge, roughly halfway...
July 16, 2024
Heathcote’s contribution to the 1866 Intercolonial Exhibition
THE 1866 Intercolonial Exhibition showcased resources, products and artistic works from across Australasia. It opened in Melbourne on 24 October and was the antipodean prelude...
July 9, 2024
Stand and deliver: the 1853 gold escort robbery at Mia Mia
THE sleepy hamlet of Mia Mia, south-west of Heathcote, hit headlines across Australia in 1853 after the ambush of a private gold escort. On 20...
June 30, 2024
From the pages of the McIvor Times
140 Years Ago Published 27 June 1884 BACHELORS' BALL AT AXEDALE A grand ball was given in Drake's Assembly Room, on Wednesday night, by the bachelors of...
June 23, 2024
Heathcote’s Union Hotel: the early days
THE Union Hotel is one of only two nineteenth century watering holes still operating in Heathcote, the other being the Commercial Hotel. At one stage...
June 17, 2024
The weather outside is frightful
EVERY year in late May, a sharp wind whistles up High Street, Heathcote, stripping the last burgundy leaves from the claret ash trees and...
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