View of Steiglitz looking south along Regent St, 1868 (Image 2511/9, courtesy Geelong Heritage Centre)

The township of Steiglitz lies in the centre of a small goldfield located in the rugged Brisbane Ranges midway between Geelong and Ballarat in southern Victoria. There are very few buildings left and only a handful of inhabitants, scant evidence of the bustling community that developed around the rich quartz reefs first mined in 1855.

The first three years of Steiglitz’ existence witnessed explosive growth, frantic activity and spectacular finds of both alluvial nuggets and reef gold. However alluvial ground was limited and it soon became obvious that future prosperity lay in the development of hard rock underground mines. By 1856 there were about 2500 people in town and seven quartz crushers were in operation or being built. Due to the need for capital to fund deeper workings, the first companies were formed in 1859, but poor management saw many of them falter and mining activity declined in the early 1860s.

Later in the decade however the prospects of Steiglitz began to improve as companies were taken over by local managers who had a much greater interest and belief in the field than the previous incumbents. The wider availability and improved efficiency of steam power also helped to fuel the resurgence. This new wave of mining activity naturally encouraged a flurry of commercial business as well, and Steiglitz experienced a golden period from 1868 to 1873. By then however the richest zones had been extracted and the remaining gold was deep, so a slow decline set in, lasting until about 1890.

Mining activity escalated rapidly in the last decade of the nineteenth century due to the introduction of new technology (the rock-drill and cyanidation), the availability of cheap labour, and the ability of mining companies to acquire large tracts of contiguous leases. Once again the population of the town reached about 2500 but, as before, the lack of large tonnages proved an economic obstacle and the field gradually waned as companies wound up their operations one by one. The last hotel closed in 1917 and the last mine in 1941.

Today Steiglitz is no more than a sleepy hamlet but the rusty mining relics scattered through the bush give testament to the industry of the many men and women who once made it a thriving community they called home.

Steiglitz today, from a similar vantage point to the above view.

Descendants of Steiglitz residents get together at the Back-to-Steiglitz Day held on the last Sunday in October each year. There are many activities and displays, and the historic documents and photographs held by the Steiglitz Historical Society are available to browse in search of ancestors' records. The courthouse and the restored St John's church are opened.

Further reading:

History of Steiglitz 1835-1951, Gold Centenary Memorial Committee, Steiglitz, 1951

Steiglitz: Memories of Gold, Ray Sumner, National Parks Service Victoria, 1982. ISBN 0-7241-2645-7

The pubs and licensees of Steiglitz, and History of the Alfred (ANA) Hall, Tony Scott, 2007. ISBN 978-0-9751809-2-1  
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