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The historic township of Malmsbury (Victoria, Australia) grew from a travellers stop, on the banks of the Coliban River, on the road from Melbourne to the Mount Alexander Goldfields (Castlemaine District) in the 1850s. Travellers would stop and camp at the river to await a safe crossing. The headstation of Alexander Fullerton Mollison's Colliban pastoral run (1837) was on the west side of the Coliban. With the discovery of gold in Victoria and the need to open up the land for freehold purchase, the run was surveyed and large portions offered for sale which greatly reduced its size. Two early features of the town were a hotel and the Caroline Chisholm Shelter Shed, one of only 10 built in Victoria to offer safe and affordable accomodation for travellers, especially women and children, to and from the goldfields.
Eventually Malmsbury became a gold town itself, but it is also famous for its bluestone rock which has been used to construct many an historic building. Not only is the local railway viaduct and station built with it, but many buildings in Melbourne, including Parliament House feature the local stone.
The Malmsbury Mechanics Institute, built in the 1870s and extended in 1895, is another historic building in the town, and is the home of the Malmsbury Historical Society. The Mechanics Institute movement was the forerunner to todays public library system and often provided meeting places and events for all levels of local communities with the aim of self-improvement. Our motto is We Serve to Preserve and through our records, research and exhibitions we keep alive the history of Malmsbury.
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